Information for Session Chairs

Preparing the Session

Please be present in the room at least 15 minutes before the start of the session.

In-person presenters have been advised to introduce themselves to you before the start of the session so they can begin testing their slides.

Remote presenters have been advised to join Discord for a technical check at least 40 minutes before their talk to make the transition between in-person and remote presenters as seamless as possible.

Volunteers

Each room has two dedicated volunteers, a Room Volunteer and a Video Volunteer. Volunteers have been advised to be present at least 15 minutes before the start of the session. Please make sure you know who they are. If you cannot locate them, please contact the Student Volunteer chairs.

• Room Volunteers can assist with various non-technical duties, such as helping presenters test their slides, swapping microphones, replacing batteries, and reading text questions from remote attendees during Q&A. In case of technical difficulties/emergencies, they can also escalate to the Video Chairs.

• Video Volunteers will manage the in-room audio, projection, streaming, and recording, all at the AV desk. They will also manage the testing of slides and audio.

Running the Session

As a session chair, you are expected to be the orchestrator between volunteers, presenters (remote and in-person) and the audience (remote and in-person).

Please ensure the session is progressing according to schedule. It may be helpful to indicate remaining time to the presenter.

Microphones

Each room has at least two microphones: a lapel microphone for the presenter, and a handheld microphone for the session chair and audience. Please ensure that presenters and audience members are always speaking into the microphone. Microphone etiquette applies.

The Room Volunteer may alert you if the presenter has muted themselves or their microphone has died; if so, please consider interrupting the presenter to resolve this. Even if they are audible in the room, they will not be heard on the livestream nor the recording if the microphone is not working.

Remote Talks

You are the only person who can communicate with remote presenters via the microphone. If your room has a camera facing the audience, please try to stay in front of it so that they can see you as well.

Q&A

Q&A from the in-person audience is handled as expected using the in-room microphones.

Remote attendees may also ask questions via text on Discord. Please monitor these by following these directions:

1. Open the conference Discord server.

2. Go to Channels and Roles located at the top-left of the server sidebar.

3. Follow the Q&A category.

4. Under the Q&A category, select the forum channel for the track you are managing e.g. haskell.

5. Select the thread for the current talk. You can search by title to narrow your selection.

6. Monitor the thread for incoming questions. If time permits, read them out during Q&A and/or have the Room Volunteer do so.