General Information

• The 101st NCSS Annual Conference will be presented using the Whova platform, and Zoom to provide the live stream of your presentation within the platform.
• The conference will begin on Monday, November 15, 2021 with governance meetings and the release of some pre-recorded sessions. Additional pre-recorded sessions will be released throughout the week, along with some live programming scheduled in the evenings.
• The conference will then go live over the weekend, with concurrent sessions beginning around 12:00 pm ET on both Saturday and Sunday.
• Presentations may be viewed only by NCSS Virtual Conference registrants through the Whova platform, and will not be available for download.
• Registrants will have access to all content through April 30, 2022.

Synchronous ("Live") Sessions

Before the Conference

• Presenters will receive link for you to use to your information such as your bio and photo, and to provide any handouts that you wish to make available to session attendees. Please make any updates or corrections to your speaker information no later than November 8.
• Prior to the conference, please download and install the Zoom app on your computer. We recommend you to use Zoom on your computer when presenting rather than a smartphone or tablet because it will provide a more stable network connection and better performance.
• Please test your camera, microphone, and screen-sharing prior to the conference. You can do it with your friends or colleagues.

Presenting a Session

• Presenters will receive a link to access their session on the Whova platform. Before your session, simply click the link to go to the Whova web app. Please make sure to sign in with the email address you used to register for the event as a speaker. Once you click into the session on the web app, you may select whether you want to join from Zoom’s app, or join in Whova app. If you choose to join in Whova, your organizer will be notified to promote you as a panelist, and you can start presenting inside the Whova app without opening the Zoom app.

Asynchronous (Pre-Recorded) Sessions

• If you choose to present your session asynchronously, you will need to record your session prior to the conference and upload to the Whova platform. 
• Presenters will receive a link that you can use to upload your video, any additional handouts you would like to provide for attendees, and to update information such as your bio and photo. 
• Whova supports most video formats such as mp4, mov. 
• All pre-recorded videos must be uploaded no later than November 8. 

Recording Video

Getting Started

Before you begin, quit all software not related to recording the presentation. Software running in the background may interrupt your recording with pop-up or sound notifications, such as email, instant messaging, or antivirus monitoring.  Automatic backup software may cause the recording to stutter if it starts backing up your computer during your presentation.

Always do a short test recording of your presentation to ensure that everything is working correctly.  After viewing the result, you should make any adjustments to the sound or video settings as needed.  Then, start a new recording session and record your presentation.

Multiple Presenters

If your presentation has multiple presenters, you can either record each part separately and then connect the videos to produce a single presentation, or use a video conferencing tool.

Connecting Multiple Videos

These tutorials will help walk you through the steps to combine videos:

• Windows 10 
• Mac Quicktime 
• Adobe Spark  

Video Conferencing Tools to Record Multiple People

The following video conferencing tools provide an easy way to film yourself, your co-presenters, and your screen at the same time.  You can use any of these to record your presentation. Make sure to save your recording as an .mp4 file

• Zoom
• Google Meet
• Skype for Business
• Microsoft Teams

If you need any assistance, please contact conference@ncss.org

You can get more information about presenting and the Whova platform here.  You can also get suggestions on how to engage your audience here.

Presentation Best Practices

Whether this will be your first virtual presentation or you’ve been doing this for years (or months), we have some quick tips that can help you showcase your work in the best way.

We have all gained experience in watching people talking from home.  We have come to understand and forgive technological issues in this environment.  People are not looking for perfection; they are drawn to authentic and engaging interactions.  Be yourself.

Getting Ready

• Practice your presentation.  Get comfortable with talking and advancing any slides.
• Consider having someone watch you practice and provide feedback.
• Dress as you would if presenting in-person.

Think About the Audience’s Perspective

• Your camera should be at eye level height.  Do not set the camera pointing at your chin, or pointing down at you.  If you’re using a webcam built into your laptop, place something under the laptop to get the camera to eye level, but don’t put it too high.
• Make sure your light source is in front of you. Any light source (lamp, window, etc.) behind you darkens your face and body.  The more light you can get in front of you, the better your camera will look.
• Your background should be as plain as possible. A crowded background will be distracting for the audience and will make it harder for you to stand out.
• Make sure your microphone is plugged in. Don’t use your computer’s built-in microphone.  Some external webcams have good microphones, so test yours to see if the sound quality is good.  The closer you can get the mic to your mouth, the better it will sound.

Recording with Multiple Presenters

• Determine who will be adding any visuals (e.g., slides) into the presentation before you start recording.
• Rehearse your introductions to avoid talking over one another.
• Create clear talking points and designate who is saying what.
• Determine any transitions.
• Maintain eye contact with your webcam.
• Remember that even when you are not speaking, you may still be visible on camera.