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Centre for Teacher Education

Guidance for presenters

Live session content submission deadline: 5.00 pm on Monday 6th December 2021.

Please email any presentations or supplementary resources for the live sessions to A dot Ball dot 1 at warwick dot ac dot uk.

The live sessions will be delivered via Blackboard Collaborate which is an online virtual classroom/meeting space which allows users to connect via audio, see each other via webcams, use a chat tool and view presentations. With the exception of the keynote session (which has a room capacity of 500 participants) all other sessions will take place in rooms with a capacity of 250 participants. Each external presenter's session will have a CTE member of staff present who will act as a moderator to provide support for the presenter during their session.

We recommend using the latest version of Firefox or Google Chrome as your browser as Safari (Mac only) does not support application and desktop sharing. Please note we do not recommend using Internet Explorer as your browser when using Blackboard Collaborate as this will cause audio issues.

To get the most out of your online experience we recommend using a headset (rather than a desktop microphone) as this reduces interference and feedback.

You do not have to have a webcam to gain the full benefit of using Blackboard Collaborate, this is an optional extra. However if you are presenting, it can sometimes personalise the experience more if you do use a webcam.

Abi Ball will be available at the following times if you would like a brief introduction to Blackboard Collaborate:

  • Tuesday 7th December 10.00 am or 11.00 am
  • Thursday 9th December 10.00 am

If you would like to attend one of these sessions please email Abi on A dot Ball dot 1 at warwick dot ac dot uk to book your place.

Blackboard Collaborate will accept PowerPoint (ppt or pptx) files and PDF documents. You do not have to include these (you can just talk) but if you do, then please bear in mind the following:

  • Remove any animations or transitions from your presentation as these will not work in Blackboard Collaborate.
  • Do not clutter your slides as the layout can sometimes change slightly when the presentation is uploaded into Blackboard Collaborate.
  • Remove any unnecessary images as these will increase the file size and may impact bandwidth.
  • Links to websites or videos will not work in files that have been uploaded to Blackboard Collaborate. You will either need to add the links to the chat pane and give participants time to watch/read the link during your session or you will need to share your screen to show the content.

Further comprehensive support material on using Blackboard Collaborate is available here:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cte/students-partners/academictechnology/academictechnologies/otherat/blackboardcollaborate

Pre-recorded session content submission deadline: 5.00 pm Thursday 2nd December 2021

Please email any recorded content (links or files) and supplementary resources for the pre-recorded sessions to A dot Ball dot 1 at warwick dot ac dot uk. This deadline is deliberately earlier than the live session deadline in case there are any issues with video files.

Pre-recorded sessions can take the form of a narrated PowerPoint presentation; a narrated screencast or a talking head video. Whichever form you choose, please save your files in .mp4 format (as this is the most accessible format). If the files are small enough you can send them directly to the email address above. Otherwise you will need to save them to a platform that enables sharing (e.g. SharePoint or Google) and then share the link with the above email address. Please also include any supplementary resources that you would like to make available with your recording.

We are not endorsing or recommending any particular software to create your pre-recorded content, but you might want to consider using one of the following:

Any .mp4 files that we receive will be uploaded into Echo360 to generate a transcript and this copy will be made available to delegates. If you are sharing links to videos created in something like Animoto, you will need to provide a summary of your video for delegates with accessibility issues.

Posters submission deadline: 5.00 pm Thursday 2nd December 2021

Please email your posters to A dot Ball dot 1 at warwick dot ac dot uk.

Poster presentations and the images they contain can be used to:

  • convey your research aims/objectives
  • demonstrate how you have conducted your research
  • illustrate your research findings
  • summarise the conclusions you have drawn

Poster content should be easy for a non-specialist to understand. Remember you are the expert in your research field but do not assume that your audience will know anything about your research topic! Boyd (2017) rightly adds that:

'... a poster is a summary of the headline findings, ideally it should take no longer than two minutes to read and inspire your audience to want to read it ...'

You should use a single PowerPoint slide to create your poster. The poster will be uploaded here and delegates will be given the opportunity to add comments/questions to your work during the conference. You are invited to respond to these comments up until midnight on Sunday 12th December via Padlet. Your poster should contain the following components:

  • Your name
  • Your research title (or the research question that you are answering)
  • A brief introduction
  • Your research method (how you undertook your research)
  • Any findings/results (with limited discussion on key points)
  • Any conclusions/recommendations (if appropriate)
  • References

Poster layout

Your poster should have visual impact but not at the expense of a logical and easy to follow layout. Content should read from top to bottom and from left to right and should comfortably fit on one PowerPoint slide. Be cognisant of accessibility when designing your poster. Further information about accessibility is available at the top right of this page.

Use a text size that is easy to read and ensure that the font you use and any spacing between it, is consistent. The space between the different parts of a poster is just as important as the text and images, so don't overload the slide or any individual textboxes. Think about rewriting sections if they look too crowded and use bullet points instead of full sentences to help with this process. Always include accurate references!

Avoid using jargon and consider providing a glossary of terms to make things easier for your audience to understand. Explain acronyms. We use a lot in education, but don't assume that your audience will understand what they all mean. Remember, delegates are likely to be accessing your poster in isolation, so they need to understand it without any further input from you. Spell and grammar check your work - nothing is more irritating than typos on a poster!

Use good quality, royalty free images (or images that you own or have permission to use). Images can sometimes explain concepts more effectively than written text, but do not use images just for the sake of it. Remember you have limited space to design in, so each component of the poster needs to work very hard to earn its place. Further information on copyright is available at the top right of this page.

Carefully consider the format of your data and label any charts, graphs and tables that you use to illustrate it. Sometimes using charts or graphs is an effective way to convey your message, but sometimes they can just add to the clutter (particularly if they require lots of explanation). Infographics can be great but they need to convey meaning, rather than just look pretty.

Finally, ask a critical friend to check the content and layout of your poster - does it make sense to them? If not then it won't make sense to your audience either!

Further information about accessibility and copyright is available below: