Video Conference Playground at ISTE10
This year, I had the opportunity to lead the team to develop and manage the Interactive Video Conference Playground at ISTE10 in Denver. It was a great honor for me. The Pirate Crew was Janine Lim, Audra May, Lori Colwill, and Anne Marie Millar with the superb technical support from Paul Heironymus, Shane Howard, and Craig Mollerstuen.
The idea began last summer at NECC in D.C. Anne Marie and I attended several showcase sessions and listened to the 
questions at the end of the sessions and many people were confused about the technology and were not getting accurate answers to their questions. So, we pitched to idea to the SIG leadership and next thing I know, I am leading a team to create a playground.
Early in the planning process, we established our goals and objectives for the playground and our planning wiki so that all could contribute in a decentralized planning process. This is crucial to achieve maximum results from a high-functioning team.
Purpose: To share our passion for interactive H323 video conferencing with others in a hands-on, easy to learn format.
Strategies
- Develop a fun theme for the playground that costumes, print materials and content providers could easily join in. (Pirates!)
- Develop a web presence to continue sharing information after the playground.
- Market the playground using printed bookmarks beginning on Sunday with the first workshop at 8:30 AM. Pirates passed out bookmarks during the IVC Showcase, SIG Open House, poster sessions and any additional sessions related to interactive video conferencing.
- Have volunteers “be the pirates”. Many people kept seeing pirates and joined us Wednesday to learn and participate.
- Create partnerships with providers and obtain a hefty amount of swag and pirate booty to give away. The total this year was over $4000 in prizes.
- Design the playground around constructivist learning theory and differentiated strategies. We could share information with the novice to the expert in an engaging, hands-on format.
Design
- Set up 6 islands where participants could practice dialing, muting/unmuting, moving the camera and talk with someone trying to discover where that person was located.
- The Pirate Queen would welcome participants and issue them their letter of marque to enter the playground.
- Provide the “island pirate guides” with instructions on how to let the participant drive the interactions. We wanted this experience similar to the first day in small groups during JAZZ.
- Establish a rotation of content providers to be connected for one hour at a time. (During the playground, we connected with 30 different locations.)
- Anyone who visited at least 3 islands was eligible to participate in our drawing for content provider programs, online classes to learn more about video conferencing, workshops on various topics, and gift cards.
Outcomes
- 132 participants completed the scavenger hunt and registered to win prizes.
- Volunteers who originally offered to help for one hour stayed the entire length of the playground.
- The Pirate Crew provided flexible support during the entire playground.
Ideas for 2011
- Add some Virtual Pirates (VPs) who cannot attend the conference IRL, but have some creative projects or collaborations to share. Think mini-showcase.
- Strengthen the vendor/pirate guide structure and relationship so that we have additional knowledge in the playground.
- Continue to recruit additional pirates so that our crew can have a break during the playground. The Queen got quite tired.
- Better signage for Treasure Island.
We will be gathering additional data via our post-playground survey and will be sharing ideas during the coming year. All in all, it was a great way to introduce video conferencing to attendees. Thank you to ISTE for their support and the SIG IVC for permitting The Pirate Crew to create a fun, learning environment. See you in Philly next summer.
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