EventsAir makes it easy to manage all aspects of conference presentations: from calling for abstracts, arranging reviews, collecting speakers' information, setting up session times and locations, and much more. Planning will often begin 6-18 months before the event. 

Steps include:

• Creating a committee to manage the speaker program.
• Calling for papers and accepting submissions for presentations by type, length, format, etc.
• Following a review, rating and approval process (as part of this you may assign session roles such as 'Track chairperson').
• Communicate acceptance of submissions and tell speakers how to register
• Manage biographies, photos, final presentations (in the correct format), travel and accommodation arrangements.
  
  As part of this, you'll also set up portals, apps, and registration sites - this article just covers the setup of the Presentations module. Read more about the process of managing presentations in this guide.

Setting up the Presentations module

Presentations - Preferences 

This is where you choose which fields and options will be available in the Presentations module.

You can also enable or disable Concurrent Sessions in this section.

Preferences - Optional fields

What you select here determines what's visible on sites/apps/portals.

• Paper Reference - can be any reference number or code for your internal use.
• Preference 1 and 2 - you can offer first and second preferences for Presentation Type, Session, Themes and Sub Themes.

• Presentation Time - give session start and end times.
• Presentation Order - indicate a presentation order (if there are multiple papers within one session).
• Question Time - the number of minutes allocated for audience questions.
• Poster Board Number - optional reference field (enter a poster board number).
• Abstract Book Page Number and Author List Page Number - you can include these fields if you want to collate an abstract book outside EventsAir.

Preferences - Optional tabs

What you select here determines what's visible within the module setup (and therefore on sites/portals).

• Biography - this biography can be stored in the presenter's contact details instead of adding it to each individual presentation.
• Authors - allows multiple author details to be added for a specific paper or presentation. 
  If you enable this, you'll also have the option to create new contact records for co-authors.
• Reviewers - allows reviewers' names to be added.
• Enable Review Panel - lets you create Reviewer Panels for presentations.
• A/V - you'll use this the same way you do in the Functions module. (A/V items defined in Functions will become visible in the Presentations module, and vice versa).
• OnAIR - enable audio/visual Interpretations - enable this to allow live audio/video interpretation. (See more in the Session Live Interpretation section, below.)

Preferences - Sessions

• Enable Concurrent Sessions - this allows multiple tracks (columns) in the agenda, with multiple rooms/presentations available at the same time.  Enabling concurrent sessions also makes the "Run Sheet" tab appear within the setup for a Session (since you may have more tasks to manage in this scenario).
  
  
• Synchronize Session Name with Paper Title - this will automatically change the Session Name to the Paper Title. (You would only use this when there's only one paper being presented at a session.) For example, you can initially use session names like "Monday Session 1", and have them automatically update to presentation titles when papers are allocated.

The following options and tabs may or may not be visible based on your Preference settings.

Creating a Session

To add a session, once you've defined all other important settings, use the plus icon "+" next to the word Session.

Session - Details tab

• Name - the name of the paper being presented.
• Type - choose Session or Concurrent Session. Concurrent sessions are sessions occurring simultaneously with other sessions. (You first need to enable concurrent sessions in Presentation Preferences.)
• Override Start/End Time - if you've chosen Concurrent Session, you can check this box and then enter a different start or end time to the other session, but still show as a concurrent session in the agenda.
• Date - based on the event time zone.
• Start and End Time - again, these are based on the event time zone.
• Inventory - you can set an inventory limit here. If the limit is reached, attendees will see a "Full" indicator on the registration site and in the Agenda component of the Attendee App.
• Optional Alert - receive an alert when attendance milestones are achieved.
• Overview - a broad description of the session viewable in the Agenda.
• Details - more information about the session
• Expected Attendees - an optional field where you can enter an estimate of attendance.
• Track - you can assign an agenda track number from 1-99.
• Options 
  • Do not Publish to Attendee App
  • Do not Publish to OnAIR
  • Do not Publish to Event Websites and Portals
  • Do not Publish in My Agenda
  • Allow attendees to indicate attendance
• Location - locations are defined in a different section of the Presentations Module (or in Functions) - see more information below.
• Room Setup - add information about seating, podium and other room layout options.
• Food & Beverage - enter any food & beverage comments here (e.g. "water and mints on tables")
• Agenda Color - choose a text color for this session on the agenda.
• Agenda Background - choose the background color for this session on the agenda.
• Agenda Bold Checkbox - checking this box will make the session title bold in the agenda.
• Session Survey - select the correct session survey in this field. [Session surveys are built in the Communications panel, but you choose the session survey name here. They'll appear in the Attendee App and OnAIR portal once the session starts.]
• Alias - add an alias here to create a unique URL and QR code that links directly to this presentation online.
• Enable Live Polling and Enable Live Q&A - you need to enable these here if you want these options to be available in the session via the OnAIR portal and in the Attendee App.
• Enable "Not Now" option - lets attendees skip the session survey.
• Comment - any other information you need to record.

Session - A/V tab

Once you've created A/V items (either in the section below in this module OR in the Functions module), you can add them to this presentation.

Session - Roles tab

Once you've created session roles (in the section further below in this module), you can assign one or more people to this session, and specify their role (such as Chairperson, or Moderator). If needed, you can create a new contact record for the person taking on the session role by adding the necessary details, or you can choose an existing attendee (whose details are already part of a contact record). 

Session - Reviewers tab

Once you've created Review Panels (in the section further below in this module), you can use this tab to allocate a review panel to the papers being presented in this session.

You can also add extra reviewers, either by adding contact details to create a new record, or choosing an existing attendee record. (You can leave the reviewer panel blank and just manually add reviewers here.) This is just one way to allocate reviewers to sessions. Read the full Presentations and Abstracts guide for more information.

If you check the box to Automatically Add Reviewer to Papers, then any papers added to this session will also be allocated this reviewer.

Session - Sponsors tab

You can add one or more Sponsors to a session. You can add contact details from scratch, or select an existing attendee/exhibitor record. Sponsor information is shown both in the Attendee App and in the OnAIR Virtual Event Portal. If you want to link a sponsor to a virtual exhibition stand in the OnAIR Portal, you should link an exhibitor record as a sponsor in this tab.

Session - Run Sheet tab

Select Add Task to add any necessary items to the run sheet tasks for this session.

Session - OnAIR tab

OnAIR is virtual event platform directly integrated in EventsAir. The options outlined briefly below are covered in more detail in the Setting Up Your Virtual Events topic.

When you open the OnAIR tab, you can set up the different formats for broadcasting virtual sessions to your attendees within the OnAIR platform.

Enable Live Streaming

Check this box to enable OnAIR for your event.

Live Stream Access

The following options are available:

• All Virtual Attendees – automatically gives all virtual attendees access to the live stream of this session. The Virtual Attendee checkbox is found in the setup panel for each Registration Type you define.
• Virtual Attendees who registered for this session –  registers all virtual attendees for the live stream of this session if they selected it during online registration (or you assigned the session to them manually, via the Attendee Panel).
• Target Group – registers all attendees for the specified session based on your filter selection. For example, you may have a sub group of “Student Attendees” that you can search and filter for, and these “Student Attendees” would all be signed up for the specified Live Stream Session.
• All Attendees – all attendees can access the live stream of this session (unless they have no registration item on their record). 

Delivery Mode

These are the different ways you can broadcast session content in your virtual program. These include:

• AIRCast Studio - this is the powerful studio environment for presenting professional session content to your attendees. Please refer to AIRCast Studio for additional information.
• Webinar - this format lets you use Zoom Webinars as the source for your session content. Please refer to Webinar for additional information.
• Interactive Workshop - this format lets you use Zoom Meetings and their workshop environment for your session content. Please refer to Interactive Workshop for more information.
• Poster Presentation Session - this format lets you organize multiple poster presentations for this session. Please refer to Poster Sessions for more information.
• Live Broadcast - this format lets you live stream content from external sources into OnAIR, using one of several different live stream services. Please refer to Live Broadcast for additional information.
• Synchronized Video - this option lets you present pre-recorded content at a specific time during your virtual program. Please refer to Creating Pre-Recorded Sessions for additional information.
• Video on Demand - this option lets you present pre-recorded content during your virtual program that attendees can join and watch at any time (during scheduled time frames or in the Resource Gallery). Please refer to Creating Pre-Recorded Sessions for additional information.
• External RTMP Live Feed through AIRCast - this option, similar to Live Broadcast, lets you stream external content through the built-in RTMP live stream server built into AIRCast. Please refer to The AIRCast Streaming Platform for more information.
• Email Invitation Webinar (Does Not Use the OnAIR Portal) - this option lets you offer a native Zoom Webinar option to your virtual attendees. They can sign up online via your registration site, and Zoom will directly send them an invitation to see the session directly in Zoom. Please refer to Live Streaming in EventsAir for additional information.

OnAIR - Pre-Opening

You can set when an attendee can enter a session before the start time. This may be useful to let people use the Discussion Forum and see session details before the session starts.

Extra Session Options in OnAIR tab

• Automatic Session End - checking this option lets presenters continue beyond the session end time if needed

• Recording - makes recordings available to attendees after the event ends directly in the OnAIR Portal.
• Session Entry Terms & Conditions - this option, if enabled, lets you present terms and conditions to virtual attendees before they can enter the session
• 3D Mode Scenes - when using 3D Mode, these options let you assign custom scenes for the Auditorium, Breakout Room and Poster Presentation Room. When enabled, you can select specific sessions and create custom scenes for this session.

Sessions - Access Control tab

This option, when enabled, lets you manage restrict and control access to this specific session. Refer to Access Control App for additional information.

Concurrent Session Blocks

If you've enabled this in Presentations - Preferences, you'll see this section in the module setup.

Concurrent sessions are how you describe multiple presentations (or papers presented) at the same time and date. It's common to group similar sessions at a conference - such as creating a Wednesday morning block, from 10 am to midday, with 6 separate presentations during that block.

(You can also group topics by agenda track, or theme. For example, you may create an Intermediate track and an Advanced track.)

Presentation Type

There are two items to configure:

• Details -  name the Presentation Type. These are used to categorize your presentations, for example:
  • Workshops
  • Panels
  • Poster Presentations
  • Keynote Presentations
  • Technology Presentations
  Reviewers -  you can assign a Review Panel (created separately in the section below) or individual reviewers to a Presentation Type.

Themes (and Sub Themes)

These are optional categories to help organize and describe presentations with similar content.

For example, you could have an Early Education theme and a Middle School Education theme, to make it easier for your attendees to decide which presentations to attend.

Sub Themes let you categorize further. For example, under your Middle School Education theme, you might have two Sub Themes: International Trends in Middle School Education and Technology in Middle School Education.

Keywords

Keywords are terms or words that can help you manage various categories of presentations, and help your attendees find presentations of interest. There's no limit to the number of keywords you can create.

Paper Status

Paper Status definitions help you classify the status of submitted papers or presentations. For example, many organizations use:

• Submitted
• Under Review
• Accepted
• Rejected

You can create whatever Paper Status terms you need. You'll use these when setting up apps/portals to manage presentations.

Checklist

Checklist items are action items that need to completed by specific dates, outside EventsAir. These may be things such as:

• Posting a welcome pack
• Asking the session chairperson to do a pre-event introductory call with the speaker
• Following up with the speaker after the event to get their feedback on the venue

This is a useful way to make specific notes attached to each speaker's attendee record. Just enter the name of the checklist item, indicate if it's required by default, and enter the default due date for delivery.

Documents

When you define your document specifications, EventsAir will provide fields and a method to upload and store the documents either from the management console or from the Presentation Portal App that you can create. You can define:

• Name
• Presentation Supporting Document
• Type
  • PDF
  • Uploaded Document
  • Plain Text
  • Image
  • Link
• Size Limit - lets you define (in Kilobytes) a size limit for each document.
• Order - lets you control the order in which multiple documents appear.

Session Roles

With Session Roles, you can create a library of roles such as Host or Session Chair, assigning these to an existing contact, or creating a new contact for this role.

Session Roles are useful for all types of events but are required for virtual or hybrid events as this how you assign presenters, AIRCast Studio Hosts, Moderators and/or Interpreters.

[Read more about setting up interpreters in the section below on Session Live Interpretation. You need to set up languages first before you can add Interpreter roles here.]

For AIRCast Studio Hosts and Interpreters, you need to check the correct box.

There's also the option to include this session role in the OnAIR portal and your online agenda.

Add new session roles as required, and they'll become visible in the Session Roles tab when you're setting up a session.

Review Criteria

This is where you create a pre-defined list of review criteria, such as:

• Content
• Accuracy
• Relevance
• Visual Appeal

The fields in Review Criteria are:

• Name - the name of the criterion.
• Score Type - these are the ways your reviewers can input their rating of these criteria:
  • Check Box - the reviewer will check a box to indicate the criterion has been met. (Also enter the weighting percentage for this condition here.)
  • Date - to record any date relevant to the paper review.
  • Score - number that falls in a pre-set range. (Also enter the range, and the weighting percentage for this condition here.)
  • Number - good for numbers that may not fall in a known range. (e.g. word count)
  • Percentage - number out of a hundred.
  • Tag - select the review value from tags.
  • Text - free-form text, for when no other category carries enough information.

• Display Ordering - you can assign the order in which each criterion is displayed on the screen, with lower numbers being higher on the list than larger numbers.
• Weighting - enter a weighting percentage number for this specific review criterion.

To learn more about reviews, paper statuses, document types etc and how all of these are part of the abstract review process, read this guide.

Review Panel

 Review panels are groups of reviewers that you organize into a specific panel. You can create Review Panels for certain themes, topics or other criteria. For example, you could create Review Panels for:

• Medical Presentations (and Themes)
• Sales Presentations (and Themes)
• Educational Presentations (and Themes)

You can select from your list of existing Reviewers, or you add extra reviewers by entering their details or selecting an existing Attendee's contact details. (See also the earlier information about why a presenter can't be allocated to their own review panel.)