KOTESOL2021 / Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions related to the conference.

Zoom rooms are listed as the location for each session (ex: "Room LH," "Room WJF," "Main Stage," "KOTESOL room," etc.). The links will be "live" (clickable, accessible) starting ten minutes prior to the start of each session. Just click the "Enter" button to join the session! Note that the "enter" button is accessible ONLY to ticketed users who are logged in on this event space.

* Zoom is asking me for a passcode! What do I do?

All Zoom rooms are supposed to have the passcode automatically embedded in the link, so Zoom shouldn't ask for a passcode. If there's a problem and Zoom does ask for the passcode, though, please enter code KOTESOL.

* How can I watch the asynchronous sessions?

Like the Zoom links, the links to uploaded videos will also be live ten minutes prior to the start of each scheduled asynchronous session. In addition, since they're asynchronous and meant to be enjoyed throughout the conference, each video is available in our conference YouTube playlist (the link to which is accessible to ticketed participants only; we'll make the playlist public in about three months' time). 

* How can I get a ticket to the conference?

If you registered for the conference via the KOTESOL website (early bird registration; January 1-February 10), you just have to join the event space using the same name that you used during the registration process. Once we see and recognize your name, we will manually issue you a ticket. (Please note that because this is a manual process, it can take a little while! Thank you for your patience.)

If you did not register via the KOTESOL website, you can buy a ticket to the conference at full price (75,000 KRW / 7500 JPY / 75 USD) anytime until the end of the conference (February 28). After you pay (via PayPal), your ticket will automatically be issued, and you'll be able to access the sessions almost immediately.

* How do I know if I have a ticket?

If you hover over the "user" icon in the upper-right corner of the site, a dropdown menu will appear. Click "Tickets." It will either show you the ticket you've purchased or prompt you to purchase one. If you can see the "Live" schedule, you have a ticket. You can also see and click on the green "Enter (In progress)" buttons for events currently happening.

If you click the little "user" icon in the upper-right corner of the event space, the drop-down menu includes a link to your profile. You can add biographical details and a photo there. If you want people to be able to contact you directly, you may wish to add your email address to your profile information.

We'll be recording the keynote and plenary sessions along with many of the concurrent sessions, and we'll upload them to the 2021 KOTESOL International Conference playlist (a.k.a. the Video Library) throughout the conference. The conference playlist link is designed to be clickable only by ticketed conference participants for now; we'll make the playlist public in about three months' time. Our current plan is NOT to upload videos of workshops with many breakout rooms; recordings of an empty main space are not interesting to watch. (Those presenters may opt to upload a video of their workshop's contents, however, which will be then added to the video library/playlist.)

Presenters' names are listed below the session descriptions; if you click the name, you can view the presenter's profile.

There's currently no easy way to view all of the presenters' names in one place, but the overview schedules offer a handy way to scan for names you recognize. If you're searching for someone in particular, try using the search bar at the top of the site. You can also search the sessions by a variety of filters (topic, synchronous/asynchronous, format, and date) here.

* Will presenters have Q&A sessions after their presentations? // How can I interact with presenters and other conference participants?

To keep the conference running on time, sessions are expected to end promptly at their scheduled end time. But we LOVE when discussions are too big to be contained in a single time slot! Presentation discussions can be continued (or initiated) in our Discord server (for example, in the "Presentation Conversation Overflow" area). Questions for our keynote speaker can be posted in the "Keynote Gerd Leonhard" channel (forum/thread), and separate discussion threads have been set up for each plenary presentation, as well. Discord is also where participants can socialize via text and audio/video channels. 

Discord is similar to Slack: it's a tool designed for community and connection, allowing opportunities for text, video, and audio interactions. Discord is very keen on privacy, so you can join without fearing your information will be sold or that you'll be targeted for ads. In fact, Discord requires only minimal information to get you started. We have a brief introduction and explanation in our conference Discord server, and you can learn more about Discord in general here.

No, but it's a fun and easy way to connect with conference participants outside of the Zoom rooms. Plus, you'll be hip with all the kiddies.

The poster presentations have been collected on a padlet (location: Poster Presentation Padlet; can be "entered" after 12 p.m. KST on Friday, Feb. 19). We're really excited about doing asynchronous posters via Padlet; the tool allows a more interactive, multimodal experience than a traditional PDF/print poster would, and some of our poster-presenters this year really capitalized on it!

All of the sessions are available to ticketed participants without prior reservations EXCEPT Joe Dale's tech clinics, which have a maximum number of participants and a minimum number for the last two workshops (as they will be cancelled unless a minimum of ten participants sign up). If you'd like to participate, you must sign up in advance. Also worth noting: Many of the KOTESOL chapter and SIG events are open and available to all, including people who are not participating in the conference; and if you are a KOTESOL member who would like to learn more about KOTESOL and what you can do (or how you can help out), you might consider joining one of the KOTESOL Connections events.

* How can I get a participation certificate?

PDF participation certificates for thirty hours' attendance at the conference will be available on or around February 28. We'll create a session entitled "Participation Certificates" (or something similar) and embed the certificate's download link as the "location" so all ticketed participants can access it.

* I have another question....

If your question is not answered below or in one of our other how-to pages, please email our conference co-chair (iccochair2021@koreatesol.org).