On a rather cold Thursday afternoon, Adam Morgan and Katrina Waite, the organisers behind the UTS Teaching & Learning Forum, took time from their busy schedules to have a little chat about the event that is happening in about four weeks here at UTS. The forum is the major event for academics and professional staff at UTS to share, learn about and experience different ways of teaching and learning.
In this post, Adam and Katrina will tell us some things we need to know about presenting at the event and the submission process.
Can you tell me a bit about the call for contributions?
Sure, the call is now open. We have set up an online submission form, which is really simple. All you need to do is provide us with some details such as your presentation title, your presentation preference, what the presentation is about etc.
What can my presentation be on?
It can be anything in the wonderful world of teaching and learning at UTS. It is about presenting on any initiative that you have been doing. It’s about sharing your experiences with others in the teaching and learning community. If you had a Teaching and Learning grant this year or last, that might be something you want to present on as well. Part of the expectations when you get funding is that you will disseminate your findings and this a great place to do that. It is important to stress that we also encourage presentations from professional staff as well, not only academic staff. We also strongly encourage casual academics to present.
When submitting to present, I see that the submission form requires an abstract. How is this used?
In the submission form we require a short 50-100 word max abstract. That abstract is to go into the program so people can see in advance; not only your title but also what your presentation is about. We also have an extended abstract, which is to help you start fleshing out your idea. It also helps us to get a better understanding on what you are going to do in your presentation.
What presentation types are there?
We have two. 1. A poster presentation, which takes place in the morning tea break and 2. A paper presentation, which takes place in a scheduled 20 minute time slot. Most people elect to present in the paper format.
How long is each paper presentation?
Each presentation is scheduled for 20 minutes. We usually schedule the presentations in blocks of about four, with a 5 minute changeover in between. How you use those allocated 20 minutes is up to you. We recommend you talk for 10-12 minutes with 8-10 minutes for Q&A. There will be a chair in each room, who will let you know when your time is up. You can always continue your conversations in one of the breaks.
Can I include an activity in my presentation?
You sure can! We have another field on the contribution form which asks you how you are going to present. We always encourage people to present in an interesting way. We want people to see this as an opportunity to take risks, maybe do something in a “quick fire” kind of a way, which you would not necessarily have the opportunity to do anywhere else. We try to embody the learning.futures ethos, which is moving away from the ‘death-by-powerpoint’ types of presentations. It’s about doing something active in the presentation space that shows what can be done. That has really taken off in the last 2-3 years, people have been presenting in much more interactive way rather than just get up there and talk at people for 20 long minutes. A lot of people present on the use of some form of polling in the classroom, say with Mentimeter and Kahoots and give a demo. People in the audience then get to experience what that is like from the student perspective. You can always assume that everyone in the audience will have similar technologies to your students so go ahead, be creative and use technology!
Where am I going to be presenting?
The forum is going to take place in the DAB building (Building 6) and we are going to be on level 3. The plenary will be in the Guthrie Theatre and we’re going to have five breakout rooms for the presentations. So all the presentations will be across the rooms on level 3. You will know which room you will be presenting in about 2 weeks prior the event, once you have been accepted. This is important to note. What we have said so far is contingent on being accepted to present. We do our best to fit everyone into the day, but that’s no guarantee.
How many people can I expect to have in the audience?
You might have anywhere from 10 up to 55 attendees in the room. It depend on how relevant your presentation is to the attendees. It is a little bit competitive to draw a crowd, so it is really important that you think about the title of your presentation and what you write in that short abstract field. This is what people are going to use to decide which presentations to attend on the day.
Can I just clarify the poster presentation option?
Sure. We have a poster session in the morning tea break. It’s actually a good option to consider. You get to the chance to present/talk to all the attendees. It’s more personal. We often see some really deep conversations happening around the posters. We often get people who have made a poster presentation at some other conference and ‘re-cycle’ and submit to the Forum. That’s fine, as it’s usually new to the UTS community, so we encourage this.
Thanks for your time. Anything you would like to add?
The call for contributions form is open to anybody at UTS; not only for full-time academics and professional staff but also casual academics. We also encourage presenters to consider co-presenting with a student. A number have done this in the past and they have always been very well received. We thank these students with a gift card for their time as well. They are also welcome to stay as long as they like and eat the food of course. – there is food btw! The whole day is catered.
Take advantage of this excellent opportunity to share your work with the UTS community and submit your abstract today! Secure your place now and register for the forum here on Futures.
For further information, contact Adam on 9514-2196 or email Adam.Morgan@uts.edu.au