Winter 2007 New Brunswick

Who. What. Where.

What's an Unconference?

"An unconference is a conference where the content of the sessions is driven and created by the participants, generally day-by-day during the course of the event, rather than by a single organizer, or small group of organizers, in advance."
    -Wikipedia

JA-SIG has always been about people coming together to share and learn in an open environment, and this is what an "unconference" is all about. As demonstrated by the success of the Summer 2007 Conference mini "BarCamp" (another spontaneous approach), the unconference format fits very well with our community values and goals.

The November event will provide both spontaneous and planned opportunities to collaborate on all JA-SIG community initiatives and topics. (There will not be a separate Winter Conference or a Fall uPortal Developer Meeting.)

What are we going to do?!

It's up to you!  Ideas people are talking about so far include the following:

• Lightning Talks - Volunteers talk for up to 10 minutes. Any topic goes.
• Code Clinics - Bring your uPortal, portlet, or CAS code or problem and work on it with core developers
• Screencast Factory - Show off your work while a facilitator captures it to share with the community.
• UCamp - Fluid Project members will lead a workshop and collaborations about user experience design and accessibility.
• Strategic Planning - What should JA-SIG be focused on next year?  In three years?  Join the conversation.
• How-to's. How-not-to's.  Tips and techniques.
• Questions - Conversations topics attendees are interested in and who they would like to have involved.

As part of the un-conference format the final schedule will be determined in real-time, interactively with the attendees.  See a list of ideas for activities and add your own. 

OK, I'm Interested!  What do I do next?

If you're planning to join us, please do the following:

1. Register for the Unconference right here:https://www.concentra-cms.com/register/start.action?confId=28
2. Visit and add your name on the Unconference Planning Site on the JA-SIG wiki. This is a great place to indicate your interests---what you'd like to discuss, learn, share or teach. It is also a good place to note your travel arrangements. This can assist in coordinating with others.
3. Call the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center at 732-932-9144 to reserve a room  for your stay.  Hurry!  Rooms are limited, and the conference rate will only be held until October 25th. Make sure you ask for the JA-SIG room block and rate!
4. Take a look at hotel, travel directions, and other information at  http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/x/SoF7
5. If you are unable to book a room at the University Inn and Conference Center, consult these lists of other nearby hotels: http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/leadconf/hotels.pdf, http://www.travelforecaster.com/hotelinfo/east_brunswick/nj/usa/92151/#trafficID=500026519&refererPageID=10. You may want to check the participants page to see where others are staying.

See you at the Unconference,

The Winter 2007 Unconference Organizers

Participation 2.0