Using Networked Technologies To Support Conferences

This page contains details of a paper on Using Networked Technologies To Support Conferences which was presented at the EUNIS 2005 Conference.

The conference was held at the University of Manchester, England on 21-24^th June 2005.

Citation Details

Using Networked Technologies To Support Conferences, Kelly, B., Tonkin. E. and Shabajee, P. EUNIS 2005 Conference Proceedings (CDROM),
<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/papers/eunis-2005/paper-1/>

Materials

Paper

This paper is available in the University of Bath institutional repository.

Using Networked Technologies To Support Conferences

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Slides

Using Networked Technologies To Support Conferences

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Paper Details

Proposed Category

Full paper

Conference Topic

Research Support; Developing Strategy: supporting emerging technologies and practices

Draft Title

Using Networked Technologies To Support Conferences

Keywords

collaborative software, WiFi

Authors names, complete affiliations, addresses

Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath BATH UK BA2 7AY

Emma Tonkin UKOLN University of Bath BATH UK BA2 7AY

Paul Shabajee ILRT University of Bristol BRISTOL UK BS8 1HH

Name and contact details of author to be contacted for correspondence

Brian Kelly
Email: b.kelly@ukoln.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1225 383943
FAX: +44 1225 386838

Short abstract

The increasing availability of WiFi networks in conference venues is an opportunity to provide additional services for conference delegates and to enhance and enrich the learning experience.
This paper reviews experiences of use of networked applications in a conference environment and outlines a number of potentially useful technologies. The paper addresses potential concerns over use of networked technologies including dangers of disruption and distraction, legal and copyright issues as well as the danger of being over-fixated on the technologies themselves, rather than the uses they can provide.
The paper concludes by summarising the issues which need to be addressed when considering the provision of networked services in a conference setting.

CV of Authors

Brian Kelly is an adviser on Web standards and technologies to the UK Higher and Further Education Communities and the museums, libraries and archives sector. Brian became active in Web development in the early days of the Web, having helped establish a Web site at the University of Leeds in January 1993. He immediately saw the potential of the Web and became a early pioneer and advocate of the Web. Brian joined UKOLN in 1996 and has been active in promoting use of Web standards and best practices since then, initially within the higher and further education communities, but now also to the cultural heritage sector.
Correspondence on this article should be send to Brian Kelly, UKOLN, University of Bath, BATH, UK, BA2 7AY

Emma Tonkin joined UKOLN in the autumn of 2004 as an Interoperability Focus Officer, working on a range of areas including the application of user-centred design and evaluation in the context of interoperability. Her current projects include an experiment in digital convergence designed to facilitate communication with UKOLN's partners and an interface intended to provide Web-service discovery agents with access to library-specific services. She holds a masters degree in Physics and a MSc. in Human Computer Interaction, and has been involved since 1993 in various aspects of Web development. She is currently working towards a PhD in Artificial Intelligence in Wearable Computing.

Paul Shabajee is a Research Fellow based in the Institute for Learning and Research Technology, University of Bristol. He has wide ranging interests focused around the meaningful application of new and evolving technologies to support learning, research and community development.
In 2003 Paul wrote an article for the Times Higher entitled "'Hot' or Not? Welcome to real-time peer review", describing his experiences at the WWW2003 conference where the informal use of IRC at the conference opened his eyes to the wider applicability (and issues) of such technologies.