Schedule sessions
In brief
Don’t worry. It’ll all be fine. It’ll be better than fine: it’ll be fun.
Why wait so long to schedule sessions?
The fact that no one knows exactly what will happen at THATCamp until they get there is often the most worrying part of the event for both organizers and participants. It’s therefore worth noting here what you’ll gain from leaving the agenda-setting until the first hour or two of the event:
- Participants, instead of carefully preparing what they will say (or staying up late the night before to finish a presentation, which of course we here at THATCamp have never ever done, not once), must perforce speak spontaneously. This usually leads to greater candor and more admissions of uncertainty, which in turn leads to problem-solving instead of posturing.
- Proposing, voting for, sorting, and discussing sessions together in the first hour or two is a great ice-breaker; it means that campers must engage with one another right away. It’s a bonding thing; it’s a collaboration thing; it’s a getting to know each other thing.
- Topics and tasks will be current. Things emerge, change, and disappear fast in technology.
- The schedule, having been so quickly and casually arranged, can be just as quickly and casually disarranged. A last-minute schedule is more flexible: sessions can be eliminated or added (especially if you make sure to leave a few slots free) depending on interest. It’s a very frequent occurrence at a THATCamp that a session is going so well that participants clamor for another; this way you can accommodate them.
Even if you have asked (as many organizers do) for some initial ideas for sessions from THATCampers, you will likely find that not everyone has proposed something, and you will subsequently find that it doesn’t matter. As long as you ask again when THATCamp begins, and as long as you have a reasonable system for tracking and sorting the ideas (more on that below), an agenda will inevitably emerge. Just trust the process.
The blank schedule
Create a blank schedule on your website that lists time slots and rooms. You can do this in a simple list with both time slots and room numbers listed, or in a table, as below (you might want to grab the code for this table by viewing the HTML source of this page):
Day 1
| Auditorium | Room A | Room B | Room C | Room D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30am-9:00am | Coffee and tea | – | – | – | – |
| 9:00am-10:15am | Introduction and schedule review | – | – | – | – |
| 10:15am-10:30am | Coffee and tea break | – | – | – | – |
| 10:30am-11:45am | Session | Session | Session | Session | Session |
| 11:45am-1:00pm | Lunch break | – | – | – | – |
| 1:00pm-2:15pm | Session | Session | Session | Session | Session |
| 2:15pm-3:30pm | Session | Session | Session | Session | Session |
| 3:30pm-3:45pm | Coffee and tea break | – | – | – | – |
| 3:45pm-5:00pm | Session | Session | Session | Session | Session |
| 5:00pm-5:15pm | Wrap-up | – | – | – | – |
Day 2
| Auditorium | Room A | Room B | Room C | Room D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30am-9:00am | Coffee and tea | – | – | – | – |
| 9:00am-10:15am | Session | Session | Session | Session | Session |
| 10:15am-10:30am | Coffee and tea break | – | – | – | – |
| 10:30am-11:45am | Session | Session | Session | Session | Session |
| 11:45pm-12:00pm | Wrap-up | – | – | – | – |
Supplies
You will then need
- A large whiteboard, chalkboard, an easel, or sheets of large white paper that can be stuck to the walls with tape or similar.
- Markers or chalk.
- Post-It notes (optional).
The Process
Before THATCamp begins, draw a blank grid (or list) on your whiteboard, chalkboard, or empty piece of paper with the same number of cells (spaces) as your schedule grid. Before or during the first session, as people are gathering, ask them to write a word or two describing their idea for a session in one of the cells (or on a Post-It note that they can put on a cell). Ask them also to put a hash mark or other indication of interest beside sessions they are interested in attending. Cells can have more than one proposal, or none at all. After everyone has had a chance to propose and to vote (some, of course, will choose to abstain from the former and perhaps also the latter) you’ll have a board that looks something like the one pictured above.
At that point, someone should retire with the schedule and begin a process of light editing. Session proposals that are of little interest to participants can be combined with other, related sessions, or eliminated altogether. Popular sessions can be assigned to larger rooms. Sessions can be arranged so that sessions on related topics are not happening at the same time. A few empty time slots are a boon rather than a curse; it means that exciting conversations that happen during the unconference can be given a time and place to continue.
After editing, the schedule should then go on the website, and if you like, participants can be given a chance to comment on it and to suggest changes.
The schedule should be posted or left up on a prominent screen so that participants can refer to it as they begin the day. You may also wish to print copies.
