Zoom Instructions

Online platform

The conference will be conducted virtually using the Zoom platform in “Meeting” mode. Having a
Zoom account is a prerequisite! Prior to joining a demo room (more on that below) or the conference rooms,
please ensure that you have created a Zoom account, and installed the Zoom application on your device.
Create a Zoom account here: https://zoom.us/signup . 
The Zoom application will ask to be installed the first time you join a Zoom meeting; you can also
download the Zoom Client for Meetings manually if you wish here: https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting
Please check the conference program where the room name
will be stated for each session to ensure you are in the correct room! An informative email with Zoom links
(and their corresponding room names) will be sent out prior to the conference.

Testing Zoom

You can test Zoom by clicking on the “Join” button on the page: 
https://zoom.us/test .

You can access Zoom’s Video tutorials at: 
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us?_ga=2.255863371.1948149168.1620290363-1530465875.1620290363

You can also find some general information on Zoom in the images of the interface below.

DISCORD Instructions

We have chosen DISCORD as a parallel digital messaging platform to accompany our conference.
This platform will be open simultaneously with our conference and will remain open for two months after the actual conference ends.

We hope that this arrangement will allow participants to have a level of personal interaction which, by nature,
the online conference has deprived us. 

You will need to download the application at this address: https://discord.com/download

After download and sign up you can access the RCIS 2021 server we have created.
We would encourage you to familiarize yourselves with the “Getting Started Guide” of the
application so you can benefit from the whole range of what it has to offer.

A few quick points can be found in the descriptive image of the interface below.

Chairing Instructions

Preparation

The team at Easy Conferences will do all the necessary meeting set up so no involvement on your part will be required for that.
You will, however, be sent the URL as well as the date and time of your session.

Meeting Overview

Meetings are designed to be a collaborative event with all participants being able to screen share,

turn on their video and audio and see who else is in attendance. Meetings can also utilize the

Breakout rooms’ function (not planned for this conference).

Each Session which will be held in Meeting mode will have the following features.

1. The meeting will be open 15 min before the programmed time.
2. The meeting will have a dedicated member of the organizing team present to help at all times.
3. The “Chat” function will be used for “person to person” and “person to all” exchange of messages.
4. Chairs will be assigned as “Co-host”.
5. All attendees will have their mic muted upon entering the room.

Starting a Session

The chair will be required to start their session at the programmed time. This can be done by giving a short welcome and
description of the session, go through the rules of the session (all mics except the presenters should stay closed,
keep questions to the end, raise hand to ask questions) and by introducing the presenters.

The support team member will check that each presenter in the session is present and if one is not will inform the Chair accordingly.
In the unlikely event that a presenter is not present the Chair should simply introduce the next presenter.
In the meantime, the support team will attempt to locate the missing presenter.

During the session

The chair will be responsible to monitor time and inform the presenter that his or her allocated time is coming to an end.
Please have in mind that our program has allocated each presenter 15' min of presentation followed by 5' min of Q&A.

During the Q&A portion the Chair will give the floor to each person ‘raising’ their hand.
When an attendee raises their hand, their window is moved to the top or the beginning of the line on the screen,
so they are visible to the chair.
The chair will also be responsible to convey the questions posted on the “Chat” function of the meeting.

Closing the Session

The Session chair should make sure that the session allocated time is not exceeded. So, a relevant declaration closing the
session should be given on time.

External chat space

The organizing committee understands the need of presenters and participants to interact even after a session is over and
for this reason we have prepared, for each session, a corresponding “room” on the DISCORD chat platform.
The link to this should be shared with presenters and attendees of each session at a point nearing the end of the session,
by posting the link to the session’s chat stream and accompanying it with a relevant announcement.
Please make sure that everyone has had the chance to copy the link to the chat space.
This chat platform will remain open for two months after the end of the conference.

Demo Sessions

The organizing team of Easy Conferences has organized two demo room sessions on Zoom on Friday, 07 May 2021
Available times: 10:00AM – 14:00PM (GMT+2)   and on Monday, 10 May 2021 Available times: 12:00PM – 16:00PM (GMT+2).
During this time, you are welcome to join the demo room (links have been sent to you on the General email) and meet the
support team who will assist you in practicing your presentation role and guide you to whatever aspect of your role you
feel needs support. This will also be a great opportunity to test-run your presentation and pinpoint any connectivity issues.
If your connectivity proves unreliable or slow for the material you have to present the support team will guide you to
prepare accordingly.

Presentation Instructions

Presentations during the conference

To facilitate discussion and networking, the conference may be run live in the “Meeting” mode.
You will need to be online at least 10 minutes before your session.

Sharing a pre-recorded video

If a video needs to be played back during the session, it is handled similarly to sharing the screen for a presentation.
There are two options needed to be enabled to allow the audio from the video to be routed to the attendees and
to enable smoother playback: Enabling the Share computer sound and Optimize Screen Sharing for Video clip must be
turned on prior to selecting the video player window.

Questions during the session

After a presentation is over, the session chair will prompt attendees to Raise their hand or type a question in the chat and
may relay them back to you or allow the attendee to ask the question verbally.
Questions can be typed also during the presentation: the session chair is going to collect them and then give the word to
the person who made the question.

Helpful hints for virtual presentations

1)    If presentations are conducted live you will need to open your presentation file on your device and then
click the Share Screen button in the Zoom controls to select the application (i.e. PowerPoint) window.
Your screen will then be shared with the conference participants; do not forget to run your presentation in full screen!

2)    As you will be sharing your computer screen to present your work it is recommended to
prepare your presentation in a Widescreen format (16:9).

3)    Ensure that light shines on you from the front; try to avoid having a window in the background.

4)     Have a stable connection; if on Wi-Fi, try moving closer to the access point if you are having connectivity issues or
use a cable if possible.

5)     Do a test run; test your equipment and presentation from beforehand. You can make use of our demo rooms for that purpose.

6)     Use headphones / a headset with microphone! Using a computer’s built-in microphone typically brings in unwanted noise and
can be detrimental to the audio quality.

7)    Attendees may ask questions via chat during your presentation and that can be distracting; do not look at the chat window,
focus on your talk.
After your presentation is over, the session chair will prompt attendees to “raise their hand” and allow them to ask a question.

8)    Evaluate yourself; you can record yourself presenting and look for areas working well or any that may require improvement.

9)    Enjoy the sessions and have fun! Let your personality shine through, we all love authenticity and can retain information
better when you connect with us. In case you have questions regarding the Zoom platform please do not hesitate to
contact us at: support@easyconferences.org

Demo Sessions

The organizing team of Easy Conferences has organized two demo room sessions on Zoom on Friday, 07 May 2021
Available times: 10:00AM – 14:00PM (GMT+2)   and on Monday, 10 May 2021 Available times: 12:00PM – 16:00PM (GMT+2).
During this time, you are welcome to join the demo room (links have been sent to you on the General email) and
meet the support team who will assist you in practicing your presentation role and guide you to whatever aspect of
your role you feel needs support.
This will also be a great opportunity to test-run your presentation and pinpoint any connectivity issues.
If your connectivity proves unreliable or slow for the material you have to present the support team will
guide you to prepare accordingly.