Ellen McIntyre, PHC RIS
An on-line conference uses the Internet as a conference venue. I recently presented at one such conference. Over 800 delegates from 42 different countries attended.
As a delegate, it couldn’t have been easier. Once I had registered and been allocated my password, I logged onto the website and was able to listen to presentations (and see the slides), ask questions (via a discussion forum) as well as listen to presentations I had missed.
As a presenter, it was smooth sailing – I sent my presentation slides a few days beforehand, took part in a 30 minute training session and was ready to go. I presented from the comfort of my own computer and headset, could see the names of those present in the virtual room, and answer any questions they posed via the forum. For the next few days I received emails whenever a delegate asked a question concerning my presentation. I was then able to respond through the forum.
While I still prefer attending face-to-face conferences, there are times when this is just not possible, whether it be due to cost, lack of time or some other reason. In this case, I was actually recovering from surgery which did not allow me to travel. But the on-line conferencing made it possible to not only hear what others had to say, but also present as well as participate in the forum discussions. So when you next come across an on-line conference (a form of webinar) that interests you, give it a go!
For examples see: The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) <www.hitsp.org/webinars.aspx>
and The International Online Medical Conference (IOMC 2010) <www.iomcworld.com/2010/>
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