Autism Canada AuSome Conference 2020-11-28

[VictorR]

Autism Canada has its next (virtual) conference on Saturday 2020-11-18.
It's 4 hours in length starting at 17:00 UTC (12:00 EST, 9:00 PST)

Registration (free) and more details at
Au-Some Conference - Autism Canada

 

[Sherlock77]

Interesting... Is this a mostly Ontario based organization (yes, I saw the name), as I live in Alberta... Having said that I tentatively made some plans that day, unless a complete lockdown in Alberta obliterates everything...

 

[VictorR]

Interesting... Is this a mostly Ontario based organization (yes, I saw the name), as I live in Alberta... Having said that I tentatively made some plans that day, unless a complete lockdown in Alberta obliterates everything...

I have to admit I'm not familiar with the organization or its operations much, but thought this was interesting, especially since they have Temple Grandin as the opening / keynote speaker.

 

[Sherlock77]

I have to admit I'm not familiar with the organization or its operations much, but thought this was interesting, especially since they have Temple Grandin as the opening / keynote speaker.

I suppose being virtual, it doesn't matter where I live, anyone in the world can attend it...

And maybe I should know this, but who is Temple Grandin?

 

[VictorR]

I suppose being virtual, it doesn't matter where I live, anyone in the world can attend it...

And maybe I should know this, but who is Temple Grandin?

She's a researcher / animal scientist who was one of the first prominent persons to "come out" as being on the spectrum, with her books Emergence: Labelled Autistic (1985) and Thinking in Pictures (1995 1e, 2006 2e) among some of the earliest biographies published, well before ASD became better known in general from the 2000s onwards.

Wikipedia has a pretty in-depth article on her.

 

[Misery]

I honestly have trouble understanding how all these virtual conferences/conventions/whatever even work.

I mean they sound like they're just normal streams? Is that how it works?

 

[Esa]

I suppose being virtual, it doesn't matter where I live, anyone in the world can attend it...

And maybe I should know this, but who is Temple Grandin?

Temple Grandin is a magnificent person that this forum’s members should get to know better. I especially love how she doesn’t like it when people on the spectrum aimlessly talk about their diagnosis as if it defines them. I love her and her approaches.

There’s also a movie based on her life. The movie’s also called “Temple Grandin” and it’s pretty good.

 

[Sherlock77]

I honestly have trouble understanding how all these virtual conferences/conventions/whatever even work.

I mean they sound like they're just normal streams? Is that how it works?

It's hard to describe, and (in my opinion) works best with a larger sized monitor/laptop screen, the speaker can be anywhere in the world using teleconferencing software, you can turn off the web cam but all the same you can see the speaker on your computer, I've seen people on Zoom who turn off their web cam...

 

[Alexej]

Autism Canada has its next (virtual) conference on Saturday 2020-11-18.
It's 4 hours in length starting at 17:00 UTC (12:00 EST, 9:00 PST)

Registration (free) and more details at
Au-Some Conference - Autism Canada

Thank you for posting this Victor. Due to lock down across the world event like this are becoming SO much more accessible irrespective of where you live. The only drawback is time zones.

 

[Joshua the Writer]

I honestly have trouble understanding how all these virtual conferences/conventions/whatever even work.

I mean they sound like they're just normal streams? Is that how it works?

Basically a voice or video call with multiple people. They aren't livestreams.

 

[Misery]

Basically a voice or video call with multiple people. They aren't livestreams.

Well, that part I understand, but there's a difference between a normal teleconference call, and these entire virtual "conventions" that I'm seeing more and more of over this year. 100 people in a virtual room makes at least some sense. 10000 does not.

 

[Joshua the Writer]

Well, that part I understand, but there's a difference between a normal teleconference call, and these entire virtual "conventions" that I'm seeing more and more of over this year. 100 people in a virtual room makes at least some sense. 10000 does not.

The most people I've seen in a room at once when using Adobe Connect for school was around 150 or so. Nobody is going to go much past 200 people in a room at once, especially if that number is 10,000 in one meeting. That would be way too chaotic, and not to mention all of the lag that would cause, and it would also likely kill a few peoples' CPUs. Somebody could livestream a meeting with 5-150 people to 10,000 other people by just using OBS alongside YouTube, though.

 

[VictorR]

That was a great four hours! It turned out to be a compilation of pre-recorded videos though some presenters were also present to chat with participants. They'll have it posted to Youtube so those who weren't able to make it can watch it later.

I really loved the mix of presenters and experiences, from career and work advice, getting into and succeeding at your special interests, ASD + ID and how Special Olympics helped, a young non-verbal individual sharing his world with us and some art and humour. Truly useful, amusing, and inspirational.

 

[Sherlock77]

Good thing about the Youtube posts, I forgot about this event, instead I was busy photographing and chasing an anti-mask rally (safely wearing my mask), Alberta seems to be an epicentre for libertarian thought, for bad or good, depending on what you think...