Instructions for Invited Chairs of IMPS Keynote/Invited/Spotlight Talk Sessions

Thank you for being willing to serve as a chair for an invited/spotlight talk at the virtual IMPS meeting.  You have been assigned as chair of the invited/spotlight session you were contacted about, and should be able to find it in the ExOrdo system (please visit https://event.imps2020.exordo.com/ and enter your name in the search box, or else access an electronic copy of the program schedule from the Society website at https://www.psychometricsociety.org/imps-2020).

This document reviews the intended duties of the chairs of the keynote/invited/spotlight talk sessions.  As indicated via email, we intend the chairs to function similarly to how they function at in-person IMPS meetings, although some things will naturally be different in the virtual environment. As we are running the conference using Virtual ExOrdo, during the conference you will need to login in at https://event.imps2020.exordo.com/  to be able to access the appropriate Stage room under the “Live” menu option.  We ask that you enter the room of your live session at least five minutes prior to the start of the session.  We unfortunately learned only recently the live sessions will only run on a Windows or Mac system (e.g., they will NOT run on Linux).  We regret this limitation as an unfortunate consequence of our fast pivot to a virtual conference.

Assuming you are using either a Windows or Mac system, when you attempt to enter a live session room for the first time, Cisco WebEx will be installed on your computer.  As a result, it will be good to have attended an earlier live session in the conference (if possible) to be sure your ability to enter the stage room isn’t delayed by the installation of the software (we will also plan to set up some trial sessions before the conference, so you can install Cisco WebEx and check your ability to enter a live session room then).

Each room will be managed by a “host” (not you) that is responsible for assigning presenter/panelist rights to the individuals that will be presenting in the session.  As you will be speaking during the session, once you enter, the host will assign you to be one of the “panelists” in the session, meaning you have the privilege of speaking (your audio/video can be turned on and off).  You don’t need to worry about anyone’s audio or presentation controls, as those will all be managed by the host.

If you are chairing a spotlight talk, it will be good to view the recorded presentation of the spotlight presenter prior to the live session so that you have a familiarity with the talk.  In addition, please review any questions posted in the Question box below that presentation for possible questions to ask during the Q&A portion of the live session.  For the invited/keynote/dissertation award presentations, everything will be LIVE, so there should be nothing to review beforehand.

During your introductory remarks, please remind session attendees that if they have any questions, they should post them in the Q&A Box, which is in the lower right-hand portion of the ExOrdo screen, and that you will review and pose these to the presenter after the presentation is concluded.

The host will provide the speaker “presenter” status and they will be able to control their own audio, share their own presentation slides, and optionally turn on their video camera during their presentation. In the case of a spotlight talk, the presenter has been asked to provide a 5-10 minute summary of their talk (possibly using presentation slides) before Q&A.  For the keynote/invited/dissertation award talks, the entire presentation will be given at the LIVE session, but should ideally conclude with approximately 10-minutes for Q&A.

After the presentation is finished, your job as chair will be to select from among the questions posted in the Q&A Box during the live session (or otherwise the Question Box beneath the spotlight talk presentations) to ask the presenter.  If for a particular speaker there are no questions, ideally the session chair (you) will have a question or two prepared to ask.   As what happens in Q&A is naturally unpredictable and you may not get to all questions asked, please also remind session attendees that they can contact the presenters with their questions after the session through the Question box or my contacting the speaker directly.

TIP: Chairs should also monitor the “chat box” just in case the attendees may pose questions there if they are unclear to use the intended Q&A area.

Please also be sure to conclude your session at the schedule concluding time.  Notice that we only budgeted 5 minutes between sessions, so there will not be the possibility of running overtime.  There may be others joining towards the end of your session in anticipation of the next session, so the host will be removing and reassigning presenter and panelist status in the 5-minute window between sessions.

Below is the list of the main hosts for each stage. If you encounter issues, are running late, can no longer chair, or have a question, you can directly contact your host the day of your session and/or reach out to Psychometric Society’s National Office staff via email at: info@psychometricsociety.org

• Stage 1: Ed Merkle – merklee@missouri.edu
• Stage 2: Dan Bolt – dmbolt@wisc.edu
• Stage 3: Susan Rees – srees@reesgroupinc.com
• Stage 4: Brooke Miller – bmiller@reesgroupinc.com

We appreciate again your help with this.  While we would like to think this will all unfold smoothly, we know some technical glitches are probably inevitable.  The host will also be there to help with any problems.

Please visit https://support.exordo.com/article/922-attending-an-event-on-a-live-stage for additional information on attending a live stage event.