They looked amazing! Dressed in their most professional attire, all 32 senior nursing students were ready to present their virtual research posters in our final ZOOM meeting for the semester. The excitement was palpable! After setting up the timeframe and virtual environment presentation criteria, my colleague, Dr. Walker, and I split the group into two breakout rooms, with one professor in each room. For the next 90 minutes, students presented their virtual posters before a peer audience and guests. The presentations were excellent; the students asked engaging, probing questions; and the time flew by. Although we could not meet face to face in our large lecture hall in the nursing building, we still had a wonderful time. Students were satisfied with their success and the opportunity to connect and share their work.
The pandemic prompted rapid agility and adaptation in education environments and virtual learning spaces. Many teachers discovered highly effective ways of transforming validated teaching and learning approaches into new and exciting methods using virtual platforms. One such method is the scholarly virtual poster presentation.
Why Use Scholarly Virtual Presentations?
While in-person poster presentations offer opportunities for networking and one-on-one conversations, virtual poster presentations have several advantages over in-person events. Virtual posters can be created at little to no cost and easily edited or modified. Presentations can be live or pre-recorded, displayed in a virtual space 24/7 over one or more days, and can be shared with a broad audience with just a click of a mouse.
What Is a Virtual Poster?
A virtual poster, like a printed poster, requires the researcher to create a pleasing display of a large amount of content. Posters can be built using PowerPoint presentations, WORD, Google slides, or other programs. Depending on the poster criteria, features may include a title, purpose statement, keywords, introduction, literature review, research methods, findings, recommendations, summary, and suggestions for future research.
Virtual poster presentation platforms may allow researchers to embedded videos or link to websites or downloadable documents. Some digital platforms may allow for real-time question-and-answer sessions or space for visitors to type in questions and researchers to respond. For more about virtual posters, see “The Virtual Poster Presentation: An Innovative Way to Connect and Share,” in The Journal of Adventist Education® (JAE): https://jae.adventist.org/2021.83.3.10.
The 2022 General Conference Virtual Exhibition Experience
The 2022 General Conference (GC) Virtual Exhibition Experience will occur during the GC Session, June 6-11, 2022. This first-of-a-kind event will host a poster hall, where Adventist organizations and academic entities from around the globe will display research posters and provide presentations. Attendees can view posters, listen to short videos, and ask questions about research taking place within the Adventist church. With more than 130 posters, attendees can interact with reesarchers in the areas of Discipleship and Mentorship, Education, Health and Wellness, Leadership and Management, Mission and Outreach, and Theology and Spiritual Life.
We can’t wait to see you there!
Author
Sharon Aka
Sharon, PhD, is a consultant full time, currently working for 4 organizations: Adjunct Faculty at Andrews University in the graduate leadership department, Adjunct faculty at Notre Dame of Maryland University - leading their School of Nursing Competency-based Curriculum Revisioning, a researcher and author with the NAD Center for Research and Evaluation, and works half time for the General Conference as a contractor with the Virtual Exhibition Team and the Adventist COLLECTIVE. Sharon worked as the Associate Director of the Adventist Learning Community & Associate Director for the North American Division Office of Education. Sharon is a Registered Nurse by trade, with 16 years experience as Surgical Nurse and Nurse Educator at The Scarborough Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. She also has 11 years experience as a Professor of Nursing and Professional Development Specialist for faculty at Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning in Toronto, Ontario.
1 comments
Thank you for your information and sharing the work of the Students.