Virtual Abstract Presenters

You might have some questions about presenting your abstract virtually - whether as a Poster, Platform Presentation or President's Round. This page will help guide you through the process.

Poster Presenters

Congratulations on having your abstract accepted as a poster.We would like to add your poster to the event platform as early as possible for attendees to access on demand, and to be able to submit questions to you using the 1 to 1 direct messaging and calling features about your research.

We will also add your abstract text and poster to the Abstract book, and these will be published on the BGS site and for our main BGS Spring and Autumn meetings as an online supplement in our journal Age and Ageing. Abstracts at other events (G4J, BGS Scotland Spring etc.) will not be published other than on the BGS site.

Next steps
Preparing your poster

The poster will be available for 12 months in the platform. We recommend portrait orientation for virtual posters, in A4  size.

  1. Upload posters via the Dropbox link communicated to you. If you don't have this, email abstracts [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk 
  2. Register via the BGS Site at least 2 weeks before the event
  3. Complete and return the Author Attending forms and consent to share slides and recordings
  4. Login to the event platform in advance
How will my poster be accessed?

The videos will be added to the Platforms and Posters Page in Swapcard. People can message you in the platform at anytime, which you will see and be able to reply to regardless of the number of days you have registered for. 

Delegates can browse posters individually using the links in pink. The full abstract book will also be available.

There will be a stable link on the BGS site to cite your abstract/poster in future. We will not issue certificates of presentation on top of the CPD attendance certificate.

Our online platform makes it easy to access the programme, schedule session, speak with exhibitors and connect with colleagues and participants in advance.

  • First step is to register via the BGS Site and activate your profile in Swapcard and start building your profile. Remember, a browser other than Internet Explorer (IE) needs to be used.
  • When registered and logged into Swapcard - navigate to the Posters and Platforms session. Questions will appear in the Live discussion bar or people will message you directly. Please ensure you are visible in the event platform, so you can answer questions via chat about your poster.
  • Please see our video here on the challenges we pose to you attending this virtual meeting. There is a prize for the most engaged person, so get involved and contribute!

Please do check the platform/poster section on the programme and reply to any questions, queries or messages directly. 

Contact us with any questions and congratulations again on having your abstract accepted via abstracts [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk .

Platform Presenters

Congratulations on having your abstract accepted as a platform presentation.
 
We would like to add your platform recording to the event platform as early as possible for attendees to watch on demand, and to be able to submit questions to you using the 1-to-1 direct messaging and calling features about your research.

We will also add your abstract text to the Abstract Book, which will be published on the BGS website and as an online supplement in our journal Age and Ageing.

Next steps
  1. Pre-record your talk. The recording should be 10 minutes in length, and recorded in .mp4 format
  2. Upload via the Dropbox link communicated to you. If you don't have this email abstracts [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk
  3. Register via the BGS Site at least 2 weeks before the event
  4. Complete and return the Author Attending forms and consent to share slides and recordings
  5. Login to the event platform in advance
How will my platform be accessed?
These videos will be added to the Platforms and Poster Page in the relevant Swapcard event. Delegates can watch the platforms on demand individually.

There will be a stable link on the BGS site to cite your abstract/poster in future. We will not issue certificates of presentation on top of the CPD attendance certificate.

Our online platform makes it easy to access the programme, schedule session, speak with exhibitors and connect with colleagues and participants in advance.
 

President's Round

Congratulations on having your abstract accepted as a President's round poster.

We’ve would like to add your platform recording to the event platform as early as possible for attendees to watch on demand, and to be able to submit questions to you using the 1 to 1 direct messaging and calling features about your research.

We will also add your abstract text to the Abstract book, and these will be published on the BGS site and then as an online supplement in our journal Age and Ageing.

Next steps
  1. Pre-record your talk. The recording should be 10 minutes in length, and recorded in .mp4 format.
  2. Upload via the Dropbox link communicated to you. If you don't have this email abstracts [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk
  3. Register via the BGS Site at least 2 weeks before the event
  4. Complete and return the Author Attending forms and consent to share slides and recordings
  5. Login to the event platform in advance
  6. On the day of the meeting, join a Zoom call (link to be shared) at 3pm on the 29 April 2021 to receive questions from the BGS President and VP Academic Affairs based on your work
How will my platform be accessed?

These videos will be added to the Platforms and Poster Page in the relevant Swapcard event. Delegates can watch the platforms on demand individually.

There will be a stable link on the BGS site to cite your abstract/poster in future. We will not issue certificates of presentation on top of the CPD attendance certificate.

Our online platform makes it easy to access the programme, schedule session, speak with exhibitors and connect with colleagues and participants in advance.

FAQs

Information, advice and tips on presenting your abstract virtually at a BGS meeting

Recording your platform presentation

Congratulations on having your abstract accepted as a platform. We’d prefer your file to be in .mp4 format.

To pre-record your talk there are several different options available.

Recording a narrated presentation via PowerPoint

In PowerPoint you can record yourself with audio, and camera, with the timings of your slides. See here for help.

In Teams or Zoom, or any other video calling platform, it is usually possible to record yourself by starting a meeting, without inviting anyone to join and recording your shared screen content. This will only permit audio narration alongside your slides. Below is a guide on how to do this in Teams.

If you have any questions please reach conferences [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk

Recording a narrated presentation via Microsoft Teams video call

This guide will explain how to record a narrated presentation via Microsoft Teams, from the video call function. The video call function can be used to screen share and record your desktop and any content displayed on your desktop, such as PowerPoint slides.

Overview

  • Start a video call meeting in Teams

  • Start a recording of your presentation / present your content

  • Access and download a recording

  • Share your recording with BGS - Upload your recording directly to BGS

  • Start a video call meeting in Teams

  1. Open Microsoft Teams from a browser or the app. Please see further guidance on the following help page;

From a browser, only Google Chrome or the latest version of Microsoft Edge will allow screen sharing. Mac users may be prompted to change privacy settings to screen share, and window sharing isn’t available for Linux users.

  1. Click on the meet now option from your Teams calendar to start a video call (please click on the following link for further guidance;

  2. You will now see an option to join now. Before you join, select devices to check that your preferred device settings are selected for audio and video input. Also check the audio icon indicates audio is on (a line through the icon means it is off).You can choose to turn off your video by double clicking on the video icon. This will mean your webcam will not show your image. If you leave your video on, your image will appear in the bottom right-hand corner during your recording. If you turn it off, it will show your initials or your saved profile picture.

  3. Click on join now when you are ready to start.

Start a recording of your presentation

It is strongly advised to complete the following steps with a test recording of a few minutes duration to check you are happy with the recorded view of your content and the sound quality.

If you make a significant mistake, start the narration of a particular segment / slide from the beginning again, whilst keeping the recording going. Make a note of when it happened. It is possible to trim the start and end of a recording and also cut out an unwanted segment / slide narration. It is not possible to easily cut out many minor mistakes in a flow of uninterrupted speech. If you make many mistakes, the easiest thing to do is to start a new recording.

  1. Navigate to your desktop and open your PowerPoint slides or other content you wish to narrate over (for example an image, a Word document, a website in your browser).

  2. Navigate back to the Teams video call you have started.

  3. Select more options/ start recording from the call menu bar. As explained above, if you are a guest, you will need to have arranged a call with a non-guest to record on your behalf.

  4. In the call menu bar now choose to screen share your desktop (please click on the following link for further guidance;

Choose from the listed options to share:

  • your desktop (useful if you want to share views of multiple items you are accessing – browser windows, your desktop, and files etc,.)

  • a browser window only (useful for sharing a view on one item you are accessing – a browser window, a file you have open etc,.)

  • a PowerPoint file only

It is preferable to share a view of a PowerPoint file that is open on your desktop. If you share and display a PowerPoint file in Teams, the image may be slightly compressed or framed by additional content in Teams.

Present your content

  1. If you are presenting only slides, navigate to your PowerPoint slides on your desktop and open slide show view.

  2. You can now present your slides and narrate over the content. Your voice and the slide show view of your slides will be recorded, as well as either your image in the right-hand corner or your initials / profile picture.

  3. To stop sharing, navigate back to the meeting tool bar in Teams and select stop sharing.

  4. To stop recording, navigate back to the meeting tool bar and select stop recording.

As soon as you select record, you will be recording everything you are sharing. Please ensure you have checked there is nothing you have open / displayed that you do not want in a recording.

Access and download a recording

You will receive an email notification to your associated Office 365 Outlook email account with a link to your recording when ready. You will then be able to view your recording online in Microsoft Stream (an application available as part of your Office 365 suite, please see further guidance at the following help page; Microsoft Stream). You will also see a copy in the associated chat for the meeting in Teams.

Guests who have had content recorded on their behalf can see the recording in the meeting chat too, but will need the person who recorded to download / share the content from Stream on their behalf.

Click on the link in the email to open the recording in Stream. Select download your content from more actions in the menu bar beneath the recording.

Share your recording with the BGS

You can notify the BGS that you have completed this by uploading the .mp4 video file to the Dropbox link.

Email conferences [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk for any help.

(Adapted from https://howto.hyms.ac.uk/knowledge-base/recording-a-narrated-presentation-via-microsoft-teams)

Preparing an ePoster

Preparing an ePoster

Virtual posters should be portrait in orientation, but landscape can be accepted if necessary. Please prepare your poster as a high quality PDF (300dpi).

When designing the poster page, size (i.e. A4, A3, A0, etc) is less important as we can resize posters as needed when compiling them. They will be viewed on attendees' computers so will display on a variety of different devices, but PDF viewers can allow people to navigate and zoom in as needed.

Some articles here on how to create a better poster design and communicate information: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/06/24/theres-movement-better-scientific-posters-are-they-really-better

Video: How to create a better research poster in less time 

Templates can be found here: https://osf.io/ef53g/

 

Will I get a certificate?

No. There will be a stable link on the BGS site to cite your abstract/poster in future. We will not issue certificates of presentation on top of the CPD attendance certificate.

Presenting your poster at the virtual event

Our online platform makes it easy to access the programme, schedule session, speak with exhibitors and connect with colleagues and participants in advance.

If you have not registered for the conference, or your co-authors haven’t, the first step is to register via the BGS Site and activate your profile in Swapcard and start building your profile. Remember, a browser other than Internet Explorer (IE) needs to be used. 

When registered and logged into Swapcard, navigate to the Session Posters and Platforms. Questions will appear in the Live discussion bar or people will message you directly. Please ensure you are visible on the platform, so you can answer questions via chat or 1 to 1 video calls, about your poster, research and findings.

Do I need to register for the meeting?

Yes. At least one author of the poster or platform needs to register for the meeting. Traditionally posters are viewed on Thursday but in the virtual world, they can be accessed from much earlier and we encourage early registration.

I want to make an adjustment

Your abstract has been through a rigorous adjudication process as we received it and we will not make any alterations to it for updated results, additional content or similar errors. For fundamental changes please reach abstracts [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk