Moderating an Oral Presentation at NCUR 2019

Overview of Oral Presentations

1. Oral presentations are the second-most popular way (after posters) for students to present their research at NCUR; we expect over a thousand oral presentations over the 2.5-day event. 
2. Students are given 20 minutes in total -- 15 minutes for the presentation with 5 additional minutes for questions. 
3. Oral presentations are grouped into one-hour timeslots with three presentations per timeslot. The groupings are done by discipline. 
4. Each presentation is scheduled for a particular time within the hour timeslot. For example, one presentation will be scheduled at 2:00pm, one will be scheduled at 2:20pm, and one will be scheduled at 2:40pm. Attendees are encouraged to stay for an entire hour-long timeslot, but realistically, many attendees quickly move from room to room to see particular presentations (for instance, a student may attend the 2:20pm presentation in one room and then switch rooms to see a 2:40pm presentation elsewhere).
5. Oral presentations are scheduled thoughout the conference, typically with 15 minutes between the hour-long sessions. The schedule-at-a-glance can be found here. 

What Do Moderators Do?

1. We encourage all KSU faculty to sign up to be moderators for oral presentations at NCUR 2019. You will receive a volunteer survey through your KSU email with more information. Remember that there are no classes during the conference, so you do not need to work around your teaching schedule in order to serve as a moderator. Conference organizers will make every effort to ensure that you are assigned to moderate oral presentation sessions in your discipline(s). 
2. Please check in at the volunteer hub located in the Carmichael Student Center 30 minutes before your scheduled session. 
3. Arrive at your designated classroom at least 15 minutes before your session. The room will already be unlocked - you do not need to get keycard access prior to the conference. 
4. Turn on the computer and projector (if they aren't already). If you have any technology issues, contact the building coordinator (located on the main floor of each classroom building) or call the NCUR hotline at 470-578-6737.
5. As presenters arrive, ask them to load their presentations onto the computer. 
6. Start at the correct time; do not start early even if all presenters are in the room. Welcome all attendees to the session, and introduce the first presenter by name and title of presentation. 
7. Start a timer. At 13 minutes, let the presenter(s) know that they have two minutes left. At 15 minutes, ask the presenters to stop and ask the audience for questions (moderators are encouraged to ask questions too). 
8. After 5 minutes of questions, stop the presentation, start applause, and then introduce the second speaker (name and title of presentation). Again, start a timer so that you can give a 2-minute warning and stop them after 15 minutes to ask the audience for questions. 
9. Repeat the procedure for the third and final presentation in the hour-long session. 

Common Errors by Moderators of Oral Presentation Sessions

Feedback from previous NCURs illustrates several complaints about moderators:

1. Moderators not starting and stopping presentations at the designated times. If a presentation ends early, do NOT start the next presentation early. If a presenter is absent, do NOT start the next presentation in that timeslot. Many attendees are coming specifically for a particular presentation, and they do not like finding out they missed it because the moderator changed the schedule. 
2. Moderators rearranging the order of presentations. Again, many attendees plan to attend a particular presentation assigned for a particular timeslot. When a moderator decides that the 2:40pm presentation would be better at 2:00pm, attendees planning to come to the 2:40pm  presentation will have missed it.
3. Moderators being late. NCUR oral presentation sessions are very tightly scripted, with only 20 minutes assigned to each presentation within each hour-long session and only 15 minutes between sessions. A late moderator takes time away from all students' presentations during that session. Students have worked hard on their presentations and have often traveled from far away; it is not fair to them when they are unable to give a full presentation due to a tardy moderator. 
4. Moderators being absent. At past NCURs, moderators sometimes do not show up at all, which means that students in the room have to fend for themselves. This makes the conference look unprofessional. If you sign up to moderate an oral presentation session, please be sure to show up for your assigned timeslot. 
5. Moderators not keeping time accurately. If a presenter goes past 20 minutes, this means that the next presenter(s) will not have their entire 20 minutes to present. Be sure to keep time accurately so all presenters have the same amount of time to present.
6. Moderators who are perceived as rude. It is rare, but some past NCUR attendees have noted that moderators can come across as hostile, rude, and/or dismissive of students. Please remember that these are undergraduates who are likely giving their first conference presentation ever. Let's be sure to give them a good impression of academic conferences in general and KSU in particular. Moderators are encouraged to ask good, probing questions; however, it is not acceptable to belittle or demean students.