The XXIst International CALL Research Conference

Welcome to the
Smart CALL 2022 Conference
Help Guide

You will be able to see this information at any time by interacting with the computer terminals  located around the Conference Site.

There are four main things to keep in mind when using the site:

  • To talk to someone, make sure you are close to them (their video will appear).
  • To interact with objects in the site (they will glow yellow), press ‘x’.
  • All plenary sessions are held live in the Lecture Theatre (recordings will be available on conclusion).
  • All parallel sessions can be viewed in the Parallel Session rooms (Room 1 through Room 4).

You can always request help from our staff. Our conference team members will be right beside the help desk at the bottom of the Gather.Town lobby, wearing YELLOW shirts and BLACK pants.

The help desk will be manned from 12:00 to 17:00 on July 8 and from 9:30 to 17:00 on July 9 and 10.

Important Links

Conference Site Map

Please check out the layout of the Conference Site below:

General 

This year’s conference will be operated on the online platform Gather.Town only. You can only access this from within the Castledown Portal. We strongly suggest you use Google Chrome or Firefox to access the website. 

How to login

  • Please use the email address you used to register for this conference to log in to Gather.Town from the link in the Castledown Portal. 
  • Gather.Town will email you with a 6-digit code. Use this one-time code to log in to the conference. 

Set your character

  • After logging in, you can click   Edit Character   underneath your avatar to change your skin tone, hair, clothing, accessories and so on. Please don’t choose the same colours as the conference team or you might be asked questions all day!

Check your mic and camera

  • Before joining the Gathering, check your mic and camera input. If you can, we strongly suggest you turn on the camera so that you can easily interact with others. Note that you cannot change your background, so please make sure that you check what is behind you first! 

Go through a quick tutorial

  • If you are new to Gather.Town, there will be a short tutorial for you to get on with it (explained in the instructional videos). 
  • You can skip the guide as you like. 

Below are two guides we’ve prepared for you: 

  • First time using Gather.Town:
  • Having a conversation in Gather.Town:

Lobby 

Once you enter the conference, you will land in the lobby area automatically. Feel free to rest and talk in this area. 

If you explore the lobby a bit, you will find one big lecture theatre at the upper end of the lobby, and four parallel session rooms along both sides of it. 

How can I talk to others? 

  • As you get closer to others, you can see their videos appear in the top centre of your screen. Try to turn on your microphone and say hi!

What are those tables for? 

  • Breakout tables in the lobby allow you to have a private discussion with up to 3 people. 
  • When you sit around the breakout tables, this area will be highlighted. Your  conversation will be shared only with those who are in this highlighted area. 

Unable to see your appearance? 

  • First, make sure that you have turned on your camera. 
  • Then, down the bottom left corner of the screen, you can hover over your video and pin it to keep it a little larger. 

Feel the need to stretch? 

  • Walk by the windows of the lobby, and enjoy the views of Waseda University! 

Lecture Theatre

The Lecture Theatre is the place where we hold plenary sessions, which include the opening and closing ceremonies, academic publishing workshop and keynote speeches. These events will be live, you may check the schedule in case you missed it! 

Where can I find the Lecture Theatre?

  • You can find it at the upper end of the lobby.

Where should I sit?

  • You can sit wherever you want apart from the stage. 
  • Just like the breakout tables, you can have private conversations during the speech within the adjacent five seats (highlighted ones). 

How can I ask questions to the keynote speakers? 

  • You can start by clicking the “raise hand” button in the option bar down the bottom of your screen. 
  • There are two microphones near both sides of the stage. Step on to the broadcast areas (orange highlighted squares next to the microphones below the stage), turn on your microphones and video, and then shoot your questions!

What happens if I miss a keynote or plenary session?

  • On both sides of the entrance to the Lecture Theatre, you’ll be able to see a screen with chairs in front of it. If you take a seat and press “x” you will be able to watch any of the presentations that are ready. 
  • Please note that it might take a little while after they are finished before the videos are there, but they shouldn’t be too long! 

Parallel Session Rooms

There are 4 parallel session rooms along the upper sides of the lobby. The rooms are set for you to watch as on-demand presentations. They will be open from directly after the opening ceremony and will remain open until the end of the conference. You might like to watch a presentation and then pop back into the lobby to have a chat with someone before going into another room to watch a different presentation!

How can I watch the presentations? 

  • You can watch them by interacting with the projector on the desk (press “X” to interact). 
  • Scroll through the list, find the presentation you want, and click on the video icon on the right.
  • After you are finished, you might like to leave some feedback for the presenter.

Why does it say Not available yet on some videos?

  • Presentations won’t be available until the scheduled time. 
  • All times are given in Japan Standard Time (UTC+9). 

How do I interact with the presenter?

  • Click on the   View Presentation Feedback   link at the top of the page, which will take you to the comments section below the video. From there, you will be able to make a comment or ask a question of the presenter by filling in your registered email and your question or comment.
  • Please note that any feedback will be visible to anyone who visits the presentation. 

How do I resize the video?

  • If you find the video size is difficult to see, try resizing your browser or using full screen mode to see the video.

Can I use captions on the videos?

  • Yes, if you click on CC, you will be able to see automatically generated captions. They won’t be perfect, but they will help if you somewhere noisy.

Arranging Meeting Times

We ask if presenters can arrange a time where they make themselves available to talk to people who might have questions about their presentation, even if they leave feedback. If you log in to the Portal, you will see a box under your presentation where you can fill in information. Where possible, please fill this time in Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) as it makes it easy for people anywhere to work out the time because it is displayed in the Portal and in the presentations.

You will see boards marked “INFORMATION” in the lobby where the list of times posted by presenters can be seen in one place.

Downloading the Conference Proceedings

After you log in to the Portal, you will see a link to download the Proceedings, along with a coupon code that is linked to registered participants’ email addresses. Please follow the link and select “Download PDF” and then on “View Basket.” You can proceed to the checkout from there, and you will have the option to fill in the coupon code. Once you’ve entered the coupon code, the price will change to $0.00 so you will not need to enter any financial details.

Voting for the Best PhD Presentation

In the Portal, you will a menu item that says Vote . This will take you to a list of the PhD presentations, and you may choose the PhD presentation that you thought was the best. The presentation receives the most votes will be awarded the 2022 Jaclyn Ng Shi Ing Award.