SWAO:Procedures

SWAO sessions require managing not only the session page on the wiki but also related files (such as slide decks for speakers and video recordings). This page describes the procedures and conventions for file names. All the procedures and conventions on this page were originally developed by Peter Yim and were updated by Ken Baclawski.

Speaker Suggestions

  • All meetings are open to the public and all materials are freely available publicly.
  • Update your namesake/user page. If you don't remember your username, use the search bar. If you don't have an account, send a request to Matthew West. Your namesake/user page is named "User:<username>".
  • Sending your slides before the meeting is appreciated but not essential.
    • Some participants prefer to download the slides and view them locally during the meeting, although this is getting less common.
    • A slide deck should be in pdf format. Other formats are acceptable, but may be problematic for some participants.
    • The speaker is responsible for conversion to pdf format. Experience has shown that the results are poor if it is done by anyone else.
    • It is generally best to avoid any slide transitions or animations. They may look great on your local machine, but they can be problematic for video transmission which can cause delays that spoil the desired effects. They also do not translate to pdf.
    • While slide animations should be avoided, demonstrations of software can be very effective and are encouraged. Just be sure to rehearse them beforehand.
  • The slides should be numbered consecutively starting with the first slide.
    • Since the meetings are video recorded, it is no longer necessary for the speaker to announce the number of slide as they speak (although it is still useful for the few participants who are viewing the slides locally).
    • The reason for the slide numbers is primarily for subsequent discussions. Participants will often refer to a specific slide. This is easy to do if there are slide numbers, and problematic if there are no numbers.

Convener Suggestions

The workspace consists of the following:

  1. The wiki page
  2. The wiki discussion page
  3. The easiest way to create a meeting page is to copy-paste-edit a previous meeting page. This will make it clear how to format it.
  4. The agenda on the meeting page should outline the session plan and objectives.
    • List each any invited speaker in the agenda. For each speaker, show the usual title, abstract and bio in the agenda.
  5. Be sure that your namesake/user page is up to date.
  6. Running the meeting:
    1. If you are giving a formal presentation, see the Speaker Suggestions above.
    2. At the start of the recording, state the date and the event so that it is immediately for anyone viewing the recording.
    3. Introduce each speaker just before they give their presentation. It should be brief The speakers will self-introduce themselves.
    4. When there are multiple speakers, it is helpful to go over the ground rules, especially the time limits. These should also be mentioned in the agenda.
    5. Open discussion is very important. Try to devote 40% to 50% of the time to open discussion.

Submission of Slides

  1. Format: A slide deck should be in pdf format. Other formats are acceptable, but may be problematic.
    • The speaker is responsible for conversion to pdf format. Experience has shown that the results are poor if it is done by anyone else.
  2. Slide numbers: The slides should be numbered consecutively starting with the first slide.
    • Since the meetings are video recorded, it is no longer necessary for the speaker to announce the number of slide as they speak (although it is still useful for the few participants who are viewing the slides locally).
    • The reason for the slide numbers is primarily for subsequent discussions. Participants will often refer to a specific slide. This is easy to do if there are slide numbers, and problematic if there are no numbers.

Slide Deck Processing

  1. The slide files are renamed with the following format: <title>--<speaker(s)>_<date>.<extension>
    • Titles and speaker names are written in CamelCase.
    • A long title might include one or more hyphens to help break it up.
    • Separate multiple speaker names with hyphens.
    • The date is in YYYYMMDD format.
    • Versions are not usually necessary, but if necessary, use a letter after the date: "a", "b", etc.
  2. The slide files are stored on the repository
    • Repository memory, such as Amazon S3, is considerably less expensive than web hosting memory. There is no significant difference in performance. So slide decks and recordings should be stored in a repository, not on the web host.
  3. The URL for a file stored on a repository is very large, so abbreviate it using a service like bit.ly. The bit.ly service is free and very reliable.
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