Remote Participation¶
Now that you have been invited to attend an online meeting, or have registered to attend an online event. This is the checklist that will help you start preparing for your participation in the meeting/event and make the most of it. This checklist also aims to help participants support the event organisers by being proactive and informed about the resources that are available for them.
The tasks and responsibilities are listed in a chronological order and have been divided into “before”, “during” and “after” the meeting.
Before participating in the meeting¶
Note the date and time of the meeting in your time zone and mark them correctly in your calendar using custom links from the websites like arewemeetingyet.com and timeanddate.com.
Indicate that you will be participating by completing any formality put in place, like registering through a registration page, signing up on a shared document, or accepting the calendar invite
Check if there is any other information you need to supply as a participant, like adding or approving agenda items, filling a pre-event survey, signing up for different sessions of a longer event
Install software required for you to join the meeting online
Test your microphone, webcam, internet bandwidth and compatibility of the software used for the online meeting with your system minimum 2 days before the meeting
Check if the event offers any support that you can use for your participation and you are eligible to apply, such as the participation support grant
If the event doesn’t offer any support, check if you can seek this support from other resources, for example, as offered by the Open Bioinformatics Foundation and Software Sustainability Institute
Reach out to the organisers if you need any help with installation, or join one of their pre-event set up calls
Ask for the protocols and agenda for the meeting if not supplied already
Familiarise yourself with the participation guideline and Code of Conduct supplied by the conference organisers
Note the contact person for the organisation committee and the Code of Conduct
Familiarise yourself with other documents like agenda of the meeting, protocols for the participation, etiquette for online attendees (how to raise your hand, or participate in a discussion) and other shared documents that will be used during the meeting
If you are responsible for leading or chairing any agenda items, talks, or sessions, please note the slot and duration assigned to you
Check if there is a speaker or chair guideline, reach out to the organisers if you have not been given one already
Prepare your notes or presentation that you will use during your slot as per the guideline
Please consider accessibility and inclusivity when designing your talk, see this for reference
Join social media platforms, like Slack, Twitter, GitHub or Gitter, that will be used for announcing updates on the event, or facilitate live chat during the event
To get a head start on networking with other attendees, use the social media platform to introduce yourself
Help organisers correct any information that you notice by flagging it, and even better, by supplying the correct information
During participating in the meeting¶
You must have already tested your system in advance, therefore, log in the online call (using the links supplied by the organisers) minimum 5 minutes in advance so that you can troubleshoot any last-minute software update
The social media platform, especially for the live chat, will be particularly useful to ask for help or information during the meeting that you may have missed
Videos are very important to have effective interaction with someone on the online calls, so if you do not mind, keep your video on
Check the lighting of your room to ensure that your face is clearly visible and people can see you if you raise your hand or speak
You can use the blurring options to take your background out of focus
Always mute your microphone when not speaking.
Follow the etiquette for online meeting that should have been shared by the organisers in their protocol
Introduce yourself on the shared notes or verbally in short and clear sentences if a slot it assigned for that
Note the Code of Conduct facilitator’s contact during the meeting, so that you can directly contact them to report any breach or issue that may occur during the call
When participating in a group discussion, for example, during a breakout session, be mindful that you don’t use up a lot of time and give everyone a fair chance to speak and share their thoughts
If someone else raised their hand before you, give them a chance to speak first
Avoid repeating something that has already been shared by adding a ‘+1’, ‘I agree’ or ‘I second’ in the chat or in the shared notes
Help note-takers capture any information that they might have missed
Avoid off-topic discussion and keep the meeting focused on the assigned agenda points
Ask for clarification on any point that you did not understand so that you continue in the meeting effectively and leave the call with the right information
Note any action point assigned to you at the end of the meeting
Leave the call by thanking everyone!
After participating in the meeting¶
Finish any post-event formality such as by filling out any feedback survey or form requested from the organisers, or claiming any participation support grant if you are one of the awardees
If requested by the organisers, share with them what worked and what did not work for you in the call and if you have any suggestion for their future event
This can help them see the impact of their event, and continue doing their work by bringing any change that will be helpful in the future
If you write blogs on your experience from a meeting or event, share them with the organisers so that they can promote and highlight those in their final report
When the notes from the meeting are circulated for approval, make sure that information supplied by you are correctly captured
Send a thank you note to the organisers or anyone who might have helped in enhancing your experience as a participant
If you made new connections or established new collaborations during the event, send a follow-up email after the event
Finish any task assigned to you or your team, within the given time limit by coordinating with your collaborators