The PDF version is available here.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Support
3. Roles
4. Webcast, chat
5. Instructions for the parallel session chairs to add the session speakers to the webinar as panelists
6. How to run a session: instructions for session chairs and speakers
7. Recommendations for speakers
The plenary and parallel sessions of Higgs 2020 will take place in ZOOM “webinars”.
The webinars have been already created by the conference organisers, and the session chairs with a CERN Zoom account has been added as co-hosts. The other chairs, as well as the speakers, have been added as panelists and should have received an e-mail automatically generated by zoom.
For parallel sessions, the webinars have to be created by the session chairs, and the chairs added as co-hosts (if they have a CERN Zoom account; otherwise as panelists); speakers should be added as panelists, as described in the next pages. They should then receive an e-mail automatically generated by zoom.
The sessions will be recorded. Plenary and parallel sessions will be recorded by the conference organisers. Zoom will inform you that the session is being recorded when you connect to the webinar room
The links to the webinars will be available in indico, while the passwords to access the webinars will be sent by e-mail to the registered participants of the conference.
Due to security reasons, passwords and other internal information are not shown in this document; those have been sent to all chairs and speakers via email.
2. Support
For questions before the conference or before the start of their session, the session chairs can write to us at Higgs2020-VirtualLoc@cern.ch. We hope that this manual will help them setting up and chairing your session properly. During their session, in case of issues you can contact in real time on Skype (find the Skype names in the e-mail for chairs and speakers).
Zoom webinars have 3 roles:
- Hosts and co-hosts: they can mute/unmute participants, add/modify panelists, see raised hands, lower others’ hands... The session chairs and some of the organisers will be (co)-hosts of the webinar. The host also has to start the session and can record the meeting.
- Panelists: they can unmute themselves, broadcast their video, share the screen. The speakers should be panelists. They can join a meeting in “practice mode” even before the meeting is broadcasted to the whole audience. They and the hosts can see the messages of the chat that are sent to “All panelists”
- Attendees: they cannot unmute themselves unless a host has given them the permission to do so. They ask for this permission by “raising hands”. All the participants that are not hosts or panelists are attendees. They can join the webinar only once the hosts have started broadcasting it. They can only see messages in the chat window sent to “All panelists and attendees” but not those sent to “All attendees”. They cannot see who the other attendees are.
IMPORTANT NOTE: when a webinar is created from the Zoom web interface, only chairs with a CERN Zoom account can be added as alternative hosts. If it is not the case for some of the chairs, they should be added as panelists. They can be promoted as co-hosts directly from the meeting interface once the meeting has started (in principle this can be done even before starting to broadcast the meeting). Similarly, speakers that could not be added for some reasons as panelists, can be promoted from attendees to panelists when the meeting is started.
Plenary sessions will also be streamed to webcast through the CERN webcast. Q&A will be handled only through zoom, so questions will be possible only for registered participants.
- Once the webinar is created, in the Invitations tab, select the Edit button in the Invite Panelists section
- Enter the names and email addresses to invite them
- Click the Save button to save the panelist list.
6. How to run a session: instructions for session chairs and speakers
Between 30 and 15 minutes before the starting time of the session:
- Conference organisers will start the webinar session and activate the recording of the session
- The meeting is started in Practice Mode where you will be able to test your audio, screen sharing, and video.
- All chairs and speakers should join the practice session at least 15 minutes before the start of the session.
- Test your audio (mandatory for speakers/chairs), screen sharing (preferably the speakers will share screen, see below more instructions), and camera (chairs; if the speakers would like to use it).
- Speakers will screen-share their presentation using the Share Screen function in Zoom while presenting. When using the Zoom app, this is simply done by clicking on the green Share Screen button at the bottom center of the Zoom screen. Then select the window (for example, PowerPoint) that you would like to share. If you are not used to Zoom room, you can use your personal room to fully acquaint yourself with screen sharing, and fine-tune your video and audio settings.
10 minutes before the starting time of the session:
- Once practice has finished, the host who started the room (one of the conference organisers) will start to broadcast the webinar. Only at this point the attendees will be able to join the meeting.
At the starting time of the session:
- The chairs should say a few introductory words, with a brief welcome statement, saying for instance what is the scope of the session, how many participants are connected, and reminding the audience about the technical setup:
- Remind the speakers to mute themselves unless they are speaking. Attendees are by default muted during the webinar and just the hosts (session chairs) can unmute them during Q&A.
- Remind the attendees that they can submit questions at the end of each talk using the “raising hands” feature that is part of the web browser media player used to watch the session in the participants frame.
- Remind the attendees that they can post questions (at the end of the talk) using the raise hand feature.
- Remind attendees that when they are unmuted they should first say their name before asking their question.
Before each presentation:
- The chairs should briefly introduce the speaker and remind the timing of the presentation.
- The speaker starts to share the screen and could turn on the video (recommended, not mandatory)
During the presentations:
- The chair reminds the speaker the time left (also using the zoom chat window).
At the end of each presentation:
- The chairs should unmute and handle the Q&A. During the Q&A the attendees with a “raised hand” are in chronological order. Unmute the attendee for the question and answer and then mute her/him again. At the end remind the attendee to “put the hand down” if it is not done.
At the end of the session:
- The host (conference organiser) that started the meeting will close the meeting.
7. Recommendations for speakers
- The speakers should upload their presentations to the indico agenda at least 6 hours before their sessions, so that the session chairs can download them on their computers and broadcast the slides if the speaker has some difficulties in doing this themselves.
- Breakout rooms: parallel speakers (on a voluntary basis) may consider to include in their slides a link to a Zoom meeting room created by themselves (please use as password of the room the same password of your session). In this room they can meet the interested participants to have a direct chat after their session.
- As always, stay within the allocated time. You could start a time counter at the beginning of your presentation to monitor your pace. The session chairs will also remind you about the time left during your talk.
