Before the start of an online seminar, you should take the following steps:

• Login Decvar
• Decide on a display layout
  (Note that viewers and presenters have different layouts)
• open a browser to the seminar URL

During the seminar presentation, you will be refreshing your frame or browser window. This should be done with the 'Refresh Window' links within the frame, not by using the 'BACK' button on your browser. If you inadvertently use the 'BACK' button, your screen will change to display the original slide instead of the slide you are presently viewing. If this happens, you should click the link to take you to the proper slide.

Seminar Viewing Layouts

The seminar application has three display layouts: framed, modified framed, no frames. Within each layout, there are two different designs, viewing and presenting. The presenter has access to an extra window which allows them to manipulate the seminar slides during presentation. Other than this, the layouts function the same.To better utilize this facility, you need to first determine which layout is better for you. If your browser and OS can manage frames with no problems, you should select the frame versions of the application. They are easier to use and will eliminate having to switch between browser windows during the presentation. If you decide upon the multiple windows option, you will need to size each browser window so that you can see all the windows without loosing track of them. You can see the different layout options below.

Window/Frame Purposes

Whichever layout you choose, you should keep in mind that each window or frame has a specific purpose.

• Presentation Window: where the seminar slides display
• Question Window: where questions and answers are displayed
• Manage Window: for presenters to manipulate slides
• Discussion Room applet window: where the speaker delivers the seminar content

The Seminar slides can be viewed in the Presentation Window. Most likely, only the first slide will be activated at the time the seminar starts. You will have to refresh the Presentation Window during the seminar to ensure you have access to the slides as they are activated. The presenter will alert you of the proper time to refresh this window. There is a link to refresh the screen at the bottom of the Presentation Window. To see a previous slide, just click on the slide number. To proceed through to the next slide, click the slide number or hit the 'next' button.

The questions and answers related to the seminar can be asked and viewed within the Question Window. To keep the flow of the seminar going smoothly, questions should not be asked in the discussion window as this can be very disruptive. Also, there is a risk the question can be overlooked due to the high volume of screen content which will be displayed during the seminar.

The Manage Window is only available to the presenter and the coordinator of the seminar. This allows them to activate questions and answers and individual slides during the seminar.

The Discussion Room Applet, whether embedded in the window or opened separately is where the talking of the seminar will take place. Once you connect to the discussion room applet, you must change to the room the seminar will be held in. This information will be provided to you along with the other seminar information.

Presenting Seminar

In addition to the Presentation and Questions Window, the presenter and coordinator, selected by the seminar creator, has access to the Manage Seminar Window. This page is where you will carry out the following:

• Activate Slides
• Activate question
• Activate answers

The presenter may need to leave room on their screen for a document window if they will be referring to its contents during the seminar. If you select the non-frames version, you can carry out the above functions using the Manage Seminar page

Seminar Protocol

• During a seminar, the speaker and coordinator should be the only persons speaking.
• If a participant of the seminar has questions, unless they are having problems viewing or accessing parts of the seminar, the questions should be directed to the Question Window. This prevents distractions to the flow of the talk and ensures the seminar stays on focus.
• Participants should consider their behavoir in an online seminar to be very similar to sitting in an audience at a live seminar. As in that situation, please avoid distracting the talk so everyone will be able to obtain the maximum benefit of the material being presented.
• Real-time distractions should be minimized for your benefit as well as the speaker.
• You should avoid multi-tasking, making phone calls or doing other distracting things so you can focus on the material being presented. This ensures you do not lose track during the seminar.

Click below to view full-size image.

	Framed version with embedded discussion room One Open Browser contains Presentation, Question and Discussion Room Applet Windows. NOTE - You may need to adjust the frame widths to ensure you are able to view the material contained within.
	Modified frames without embedded discussion room One Open Browser contains Presentation and Question Windows. Another Browser contains Discussion Room Applet Window. NOTE - You must keep the browser window that generated the applet open or your discussion room will close.
	No frames multiple window layout Three Separate Browsers open for the Presentation, Question, and Discussion Room Applet Windows. NOTE - You must keep the browser window that generated the applet open or your discussion room will close.

Seminar Presenter Layouts

Click below to view full-size image.

	Frames with embedded discussion room One Open Browser contains Presentation, Manage, Question and Discussion Room Applet Windows. NOTE - You may need to adjust the frame widths to ensure you are able to view the material contained within.
	Modified frames without discussion room One Open Browser contains Presentation, Manage and Question Windows. Another Browser contains the Discussion Room Applet Window. NOTE - You must keep the browser window that generated the applet open or your discussion room will close.
	No frames multiple window layout Four Separate Browsers open for the Presentation, Manage, Question, and Discussion Room Applet Windows. NOTE - You must keep the browser window that generated the applet open or your discussion room will close.