Main Results 2012
Main Results for Optimization Beside the Feedback of the participants (thank you for your feedback & suggestions):
- Single Computer Participation should be avoided, if possible. Create Local LMP or Regional Meeting Points RMP with multidiciplinary teams, that can discuss face to face.
- "Virtual Participation is better than no particpation": All institutions and organisations have to face a decline in the financial resources. So alternative options like Virtual Participation in an international network should be tested and improved. Nevertheless if face to face participation is possible, join with others at a LMP or RMP.
- "Participating in a conference and create at the same time capacity building material is a great idea, but I battled with the video techniques. But finally I was happy to see my presentation as video.
- Create an Open Feedback System, so that other event organizers can benefit from the AT6FUI results
Problems 2012
- Host Country Agreement necessary for a UNOOSA Meeting at the University of Koblenz Landau.
Possible Solution 1: Perform an Expert Meeting without the cooperation United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs UNOOSA - Programme on Space Applications
Possible Solution 2: Perform an Expert Meeting with the cooperation United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs UNOOSA - Programme on Space Applications at the UN-Campus in Bonn for 07/2012 (Many Thanks to Team of UN-SPIDER at the UN-Campus in Bonn for their support). - Face to Face (F2F) provides a better way of participation and interaction with the other participants. This is correct and if funding for the trip is available. If funding is limited, you should choose that Local Meeting Point (LMP) or Regional Meeting Point (RMP) that causes the minimal travel expenses and minimal carbon footprint. To meet with 4 people, one Flight Ticket from A to B is cheaper that 3 tickets from B to A. So you might consider to have the F2F meeting at B (e.g Regional Meeting Point RMP) with the group of 4 and have at the same time virtual connectivity to the other LMPs resp. RMPs.
- Working Title of the AT6FUI "OpenSPACE" is already used and might be misleading. First of all the Action Team 6 Follow Up initiative must show that it contributes to improvement of Public Health by Application of Space Technology by an Open Communtiy Approach, otherwise it will be closed after the 3 years project time in 02/2015.
- Security for Local and Regional Meeting Points (LMP/RMP) Due to virtual participation mode people will participate in some areas of the world at night time. This could create a security challenge during night time.
Possible Solution: Hotel with stable internet connection in a conference room and possiblility to stay and sleep in a room during night time.
Recommendations Flashmeeting/OpenMeeting Environment: Video Conferencing System
- to Organizers:
- Audio/Video Check: a Screencast for Flashmeeting with the wizzard to check audio/video environment is not sufficient. The organizers should remind the participants to check the audio/video setup of the computer every day before the conference starts. Provide time for checking these settings and remind participants to check these settings.
- Time for FlashMeeting/OpenMeeting: Time for Flashmeeting/OpenMeeting should be increased (e.g. 1/3 Presentation and 2/3 Time for Discussions)
- Availability of Videos prior to Meeting: More reminders to provide the videos 2 weeks prior to meeting, so that participants can view one or two selected videos prior to the conference as preparation. The allocation of the presentation time during the meeting is still necessary, because most participants do not have time to view all videos prior to the meeting.
- Fallback Strategies: The availability of videos prior to meeting is necessary for downloading the videos prior to the meeting, so that videos can be shown without network connectivity, low bandwith at LMP/RMP or with temporal breakdown of internet connection. Furthermore communicate the fallback strategy of "writing down questions & feedback and pose questions via e-mail later to contact presenter" to the Local (LMP) or Regional Meeting Points (RMP).
- Twitter Channel: Setup Twitter channel on Spatial Public Health for low bandwith communication between participants.
- Private Flashmeetings for Special Interest Groups (SIG): Derived from the topic of the meeting the option of having individual Flashmeetings/OpenMeetings with special interest groups was possible during this meeting and it was used by participants, but this option should be communicated to the participants.
- Provide Post-Conference meeting/presentation facilities: After the conference further milestones might be reached. It should be possible to use the Flashmeeting/OpenMeeting infrastructure after the meeting for Special Interest Groups (SIG) on certain topics and accomplished political, medical or technical milestones should be published as videos even after the conference for open access to these milestones for the AT6FUI community and beyond.
- Information about Post-Conference Video Submissions: Participants should be informed about post-conference video submissions.
Solution: Subscribe to YouTube Video Channel, so participants can decide if they want to be informed or not. The user decisions on subscription are better than dumping e-mails on participants they may not interested in.
- to Participants:
Feedback 2012
- Improve Video Editing Support for Windows Operating System: Video Editing on Windows Operating System caused problems due to incompatibility on different hardware and windows versions (thanks to Dr. Christan Noss for Feedback and Tests of Windows)
- Download Support for Software: For participants that are not experienced with virtual confernences that want to give a talk, it was not clear
- how to start with a presentation,
- where to download OpenOffice, LibreOffice for Win/Lin/Mac or NeoOffice for Mac
(thanks to Ajit N. Babu, India for Feedback) - Forms: Signed Form states that you need a signature of the head of your organisation/department. If you are the head of your department this is not necessary and you can sign that as head of your department yourself. It is necessary if you are not the head of your department. The signature states that your head is informed about your participation and in case you request for funding, that your head is not able to support you financially for the participation.
- Virtual Participation in regular Office Environment: It is nearly impossible to join a conference in your regular office environment. It seems to be necessary to change on the time zone of the meeting and be in another room setting.
- Invitation Letter & Approval of Virtual Particiapation: A Invitation Letter for virtual participation should include some organisational suggestions, how your agency will approve the virtual participation, so that it is allowed to join the virtual conference and the participants do not have to reach some milestone of your work or to accomplish some goals during the participation of the conference (by Juan-Carlos Villagran de Leon)
- Chat usage during Talks: It was not clear for the participants how to use the chat during a video conference. Comments, Thank you, Summary of Comment, Clarification of terms, ..... Provide the Screencasts that show application scenarios for the chat.
- Use of Interrupt Button: Using the Interrupt Button seemed to rude to most of participants. In this setting of a queue of e.g. 3 questions A,B,C the presenter of the talk should be possible to answered the questions one after the other. So Participants A is posing a question and she/he stays in the chat. Presenter comments with interrupt button. Then presenter "stops broadcasting". Question B is the next in the queue. Presenter interrupts and answers. Then Question C is in the queue, ...
- Multidisciplinar Teams at LMPs and RMPs: All Local LMP or Regional Meeting Points RMP with multidiciplinary teams should have one meeting point coordinator that know at least the meeting coordinator personally at the other LMPs or RMPs.
- Most participants joined such a type of conference for the first time, with more or less no experience in creating a video presentation. Beside some problems with deadlines all presentations were online in the Spatial Public Health Youtube Channel.