2021 Virtual Conference FAQ's
1. What is this virtual conference about?
2. Who is putting on this event?
3. What is the schedule?
4. Why is there a registration fee?
5. What time zones will be used for the virtual sessions?
6. How do I access the conference event?
7. How can I ask speakers questions during livestreamed events?
8. Will there be opportunities to communicate with the speakers after their sessions?
9. Can I communicate with other participants?
10. What ADA accommodations are available?
11. Do I have to be a AAAL member to register for the Virtual Conference?
12. What are the technical requirements of the virtual conference?
13. What platform are you using for the virtual conference?
14. Are there any browsers that your platform does not support?
15. Do I have to participate in real-time?
16. What are "on-demand" sessions?
17. Presenter Personalized Links?
18. My question is not listed here, how do I get an answer?
What is this virtual conference about?
AAAL2021 is an international conference involving scholars from the U.S., Canada, and over 50 other countries who are interested in and actively contribute to the multi-disciplinary field of applied linguistics. The #AAAL2021 Virtual Conference will bring together more than 2,000 attendees interested in such topics as language education, acquisition and loss, bilingualism, discourse analysis, literacy, psycholinguistics, second and foreign language pedagogy, language assessment, and language policy and planning, among many other themes.
We are offering four (4) days of engaging educational content.
The AAAL Conference is designed to provide stimulating, actionable ideas, state-of-the-art programming that will empower you to learn and effect change in your own contexts. Come ready to learn, network, participate, and transform your world!
Who is putting on this event?
The American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) is a professional society of scholars from the U.S., Canada, and over 50 other countries worldwide. Members use a wide variety of theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches to address a broad range of language-related issues in order to understand their roles in the lives of individuals and conditions in society. The mission of AAAL is to facilitate the advancement and dissemination of knowledge and understanding regarding these language-related issues in order to improve the lives of individuals and conditions in society.
What is the schedule?
The conference will take place March 20-23, 2021 with live-streamed plenaries, keynotes, colloquia, roundtables, and other special events, plus nearly 1000 on-demand papers, posters, and other sessions. The recorded content will be available to registered attendees during the conference and up to 6 months afterward. The Schedule of Events can be found here: https://assets.noviams.com/novi-file-uploads/aaal/Conference/2021/AAAL_Preliminary_SOE_updated_2_3_21.pdf
We also have planned virtual networking sessions to maximize your “face-time” with other attendees!
Why is there a registration fee?
The cost to register for the virtual conference is the same as an in-person AAAL conference due to the costs of organizing and running a large virtual conference such as this. Advantages of the virtual conference, however, are that travel and accommodations are not necessary and attendees can access an enormous amount of exciting content 24/7 for up to six months!
What time zone will be used for the virtual sessions?
Live session times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
How do I access the conference event?
On March 18, you will be sent a confirmation registration email with a link to access the conference platform. When you wish to attend, you will log into the conference platform and access the content and events.
How can I ask speakers questions during livestreamed events?
The sessions are pre-recorded to prevent technical issues but speakers can monitor chat during the livestreaming of their talks and possibly answer questions even before the live moderated Q&A. But most of the Q&A will take place in the 10-15 minutes at the conclusion of speakers’ presentations.
Will there be opportunities to communicate with the speakers after their sessions?
You definitely can, but it depends on individual preferences of our speakers. But we encourage you to reach out to them after the session/event using some of the communication tools within the conference platform.
Can I communicate with other participants?
Absolutely! Throughout the livestreamed sessions, there will be live chat, plus other ways of contacting participants in the conference.
What ADA accommodations are available?
For the virtual conference, we will have closed-captioning of all livestreamed and on-demand events.
You will be able to download any handouts and accompanying materials provided by presenters for both livestreamed and on-demand sessions.
Do I have to be an AAAL member to register for the Virtual Conference?
You do not need to be an AAAL member to attend the Virtual Conference! However, AAAL members do receive a discount off of their registration fee.
Interested in joining? Click here.
AAAL Members must be signed into their individual member profile in order to receive the membership rate for the conference.
What are the technical requirements of the virtual conference?
Generally, all you need to participate is a computer, consistent Internet connection and adequate speakers (or headphones) to project sound. Closing unnecessary applications on your computer, using Chrome as your browser, and having updated software on your computers may help you stream the content.
We have resources for presenters on our website: https://www.aaal.org/virtual-presentation-resources
What platform are you using for the virtual conference?
AAAL has partnered with X-CD to put on this conference. You do not need to download any special software in order take part but you must be registered and have a link to the platform.
Are there any browsers that your platform does not support?
It is recommended that attendees use Chrome.
Do I have to participate in real-time?
You do not have to participate in real-time and we have tried to schedule events in order to accommodate different time zones. Some sessions will have live participation opportunities, but if you are unable to tune in during the live sessions, registered participants will have access to the recordings to view at any time of day convenient for you for 6 months after the conference.
What are “on-demand” sessions?
Most of the conference content is pre-recorded. The plenary talks and keynotes as well as invited colloquia are prerecorded but livestreamed and followed by live, moderated Q&A, according to the posted conference schedule. Nearly 1,000 other sessions (posters, papers, and other colloquia, either 1-hr or 2-hr), can be viewed at any time during the conference or for 6 months after. In addition, the livestreamed presentations will be available on-demand shortly after they have been presented.
Presenter Personalized Links
Each presenter has been given a personalized auto-login link. The auto-login link is used to help presenters get into the site to load or record their presentations. The platform company we use has a security measure in place that if not activated within a certain period of time they expire. The platform company has set a deadline date of March 8th of which at that time, all links will expire, and presenters will be asked to please login. If presenters don't recall their password they can use forgot password functionality. They have access to X-CD at any time, they will just have to login. All presenters and attendees will get the virtual conference link when the week of the conference. Presenters will not be able to redo their presentations after March 1, 2021.
My question is not listed here, how do I get an answer?
Email your question to info@aaal.org. If you’re asking, you’re not the only one, and you will help us make our Q&A complete!