How Unconferences Schedule Sessions
For those who have never attended an unconference, such as a BarCamp, RecentChangesCamp, or the WhereCamp in Portland this weekend, the idea of no preset schedule can be intimidating. Most conferences spend months lining up speakers and meticulously organize tracks. That’s why they call this an unconference. The attendees make the schedule.
The rosetta stone of the entire event is the sessions grid. For having such tech-happy attendees, it turns out a physical grid works better than any software-based method for tracking sessions. Also unlike other conferences, the schedule shifts throughout the day, like cereal settling during shipping. Many sessions are moved around and some are merged. The latest schedule is always available in the central meeting room.
Here’s what the grid looks like before anything is scheduled. It’s just painter’s tape and large post-it notes:
Then WhereCamp PDX organizer Audrey Eschright explained the process, and WhereCampers made a run for the grid:
By midday, the schedule was mostly filled out:
[WhereCamp title photo by Selena Deckelmann]
