What Works for the Most Vibrant Experiences in a Hybrid Conference Format?

[Alan Levine]

For the October OEGlobal Conference, the theme being "Come Invent with Us!" I am seeking help on inventing the way it can/will work as a hybrid conference. The first thoughts seem to always center on the presentations, how to set up zoom, etc. To me though, there is so much more to a conference experience. I'm working on a column to outline ideas, but can really use some input from this community.

This is from a post today in OEG Connect, a regular series of weekly Monday Connect posts aimed into the ether, but not everyone ventures there (if you do, you will be greeted by a lovely openly licensed image of a hybrid parrot). But I will ask and summarize any responses from here to:

• If you have participated online in a hybrid conference format, what was an example conference that provided a meaningful experience? What was it that worked for you as a remote participant? What made it seem less isolated an experience?
• If you have attended in person a conference that had a hybrid conference format, what conference was it and did its offer some experiencse that connected you or at least made you aware of the participants not on site?

I'm feeling very far from having answers, just lots of thoughts. Help us invent?

Alan Levine, Open Education Global

[Stephen Downes]

Over a two-week period in 2002 I wrote a daily commentary for Australia's online Net*Working conference. It was a deep and engaging experience for me, and a success as a conference newsletter. They asked me to do it again the following year, but this time the conference was hybrid, and I felt cut off from what was happening, and it was a failure. This has been my experience with hybrid events ever since. I don't think there's any way to make the online participants feel equal to the people who paid their way through flights and fees to that exclusive in-person experience. It's not a technology divide, to my mind, it's a class divide. The only way to make it work is what we did when the government foolishly foisted hybrid 'back to office' mandates on us: we kept doing it all online. https://www.downes.ca/post/79233 

[Heather Blicher]

Hello CCCOER and Open community,

Please help us out and reply with positive experiences you've had attending a hybrid conference online (whether it was OER/Open-related or not). Or if you have any ideas you'd like to share- they don't have to be in-depth- we love brainstorming over here!

• If you have participated online in a hybrid conference format, what was an example conference that provided a meaningful experience? What was it that worked for you as a remote participant? What made it seem less isolated an experience?

• If you have attended in person a conference that had a hybrid conference format, what conference was it and did it offer some experiences that connected you or at least made you aware of the participants not on site?

Thank you!

Heather

[Alan Levine]

Thanks for the helpful responses, more (many more) are welcome. I copied a few (without naming names except for Stephen who posted it to his web site) to a thread in OEG Connect getting very active now. What makes the experience good outside of just the way presentations are done? There's so much more to a conference experience!

https://connect.oeglobal.org/t/monday-connect-what-works-for-the-most-vibrant-experiences-in-a-hybrid-conference-format/8977

Alan Levine, OEGlobal