Introduction

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Sessions, within the Community platform, provides a way for you to schedule interactive meeting with your members. A session is a single talk, keynote speech, panel discussion, plenary, workshop, breakout room, networking meeting, or anything else you can think of! Whenever you want people to interact virtually by turning on their camera and microphone, sharing their screen, or chatting in a live audience, that’s a session. Sessions streamed are automatically recorded and displayed on the Session archive tab.

 

Session Types

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Sessions are where people engage using video, audio, and screen sharing. We group sessions into two categories Break Out and Main Stage. You can rename them on your site so they’re relevant to your content.

 

Break Out

 

In a Break Out session everyone in a small group session can turn on their camera, microphone, and share their screen. They can also use engagement tools such as chat.

 

How many people can participate in a Break Out?

 

• We recommend setting a maximum of 40 people for the best video streaming experience. We also recommend including moderators who can disable the audio or video of anyone who’s causing a poor experience for others.

 

When should I use a Break Out?

 

• Use Break Out for Small group discussions. Two or more people can also schedule private breakout sessions for networking.

 

Main Stage

 

One presenter turns on their camera, microphone, and shares their screen. An audience member can only be on-camera if they’re brought on stage using the raise hand feature. Everyone can interact by using engagement tools, such as chat.

 

How many people can attend Main Stage?

 

• The maximum number of audience members depends on the streaming method. For example, the limit might be as low as 3,000 people or as high as 100,000 people when using Community's OpenTok methods.

 

When to use Main Stage?

 

• Use the Main Stage option for keynote sessions and main attractions.

 

Create Sessions

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1. Click the gear icon in the header bar. 
2. In the left hand navigation panel, click Sessions in the Content section. The preview screen will display your current sessions.

   

3. Click New Session.

   

4. On the Create a New Session screen, configure the following:

   • Click the gear icon in the upper left corner of the software.

   • Click Sessions in the Content section of the left-hand panel. 

   • On the Sessions page click the New Session button.

   • Enter a Title for the session.

   • (Optional) The Slug wil automatically populate based on the title you have entered. You can change this if you wish.

   • Add the Start Date: The date and time the session will start (required)

   • Add the End Date: The date and time the session will end (required)

   • Save to create the session.

     

Once you save the session you will be presented with additional configuration options.

 

 

Basic information

• You can make the session active through a checkbox, which defaults to active (checked).

• You can update the Title, Slug, and Preview text.

• You can also Delete the session in this area.

 

Interactive Options

• Chat: Enable this option to all for chat during the session. The audience and speakers will be able to interact in the chat window to the right of the video stream.
• Q&A: Enable this option to allow for Q&A during the session.  Attendees can ask questions in the Q&A tab. They can also vote on other questions by clicking the thumbs-up icon. Questions with the most favorites will jump to the top of the list.
• Attendee List: Enabled this option to display the attendee list for the session
• Access Pass: If applicable, choose an access pass to be used for this session.

 

Scheduling

• When you first setup the session you entered in your dates & times. You can change the information, if needed, in the scheduling section.

Activation, Type and Location

 

• This is where you can choose a room type: mainstage or breakout. Set a display label to override the default label for the room type. You can also set the location of the session.

 

Banner and Icon Images

• Preview: This image will display in rotator, grid, and list modules. Recommended size 800 × 450 px.
• Banner: Will display at the top of the session. Total dimensions: 1440 × 461 pixels. Safe zone: 1340 × 360 pixels

 

Specify User Roles

• Options include specifying user roles and adding presenters, moderators, and attendees.
• Attendees sync with front-end users and are indicated by a blinking effect upon save.

 

Green Room

• In this section, you can specify the duration of the green room for your session. Green rooms are spaces where moderators, speakers, and presenters can practice or prepare for the upcoming session. While the green room is active, attendees cannot enter or view the session.

 

Media

• In this section, you can upload files to be displayed as Session Resources, which anyone can download from the session. Multiple files and all file types are accepted. Tested file types include:

  • Documents: PDF, CSV, XLS, ZIP, PPT, DOC (and other document types)

  • Images: JPG, PNG, GIF (and other image types)

  • Videos: MOV, MP4 (and other video types, which can exceed 10 MB)

 

Once you have completed your configuration, click the Save button in the upper right corner of the Sessions page.

Recording Sessions

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Individuals joining a session that is being recorded will receive a notice: 'Recording has started. By joining this session, you consent to being recorded.' This notification will appear when the recording begins, as well as when entering a session that is already in progress.