Workshop Space
There is no right or wrong space for a workshop, and usually a space can be finetuned to meet diverse needs. One thing for sure, it's very important to make participants feel comfortable and give them a warm welcome. You can use the space in many different ways according to the topic and the methodologies of your workshop. In general when setting up hardware prototyping, digital fabrication and design workshops we have found these practices very helpful:
Showing digital content - if you are planning to project slides and/or show digital content, be sure you have access to a projector and the correct cables and adapters (if words like VGA, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort are unknown to you, then you might need to check this list before you start https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_connectors).
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| Prepare the material you want to show in a file format that is widely available and easily sharable. This is important in case you are not able to use your computer and you might need to use another computer to project your content. We have found PDF files and Google Slides (when internet is available) are good ways to avoid file format issues. |
| Be sure your material will fit the resolution supported by the projector. If you are showing text you want people to be able to read it! |
| As far as it may sound silly, it's always a good idea to find a good surface (preferably plain and white) to project to, the size of it being big enough so that everyone in the room can see/read. You only find out how disappointing it is to try to follow someone's speech referring to a slide when you can't see it, when you are attending such a workshop, and not when you are running it! |
| Last but not least, always try to be sure the ratio between the brightness of the projector and the amount of light in the space is good enough so that everyone can see what you are projecting. If your space is indoor and you can block sunlight with curtains, then you can probably rely on a cheap projector. If you are planning to project outdoor in the sunlight you might probably need a professional projector. Please refer to this brief overview to understand more about ANSI lumens, the unit that measures your projector light output power (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_projector#Overview) |
Sitting VS standing - Plan in advance to have enough tables and chairs if the participants will need some kind of support plane to work on.
Also, if your workshop requires participants to stand up it's still a good idea to have some chairs in case it last long or you have someone in the crowd who cannot stand up for long.
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| If you are setting up a workshop where participants will work with hardware it's a good idea to have big tables and to reserve at least one square meter to any of the participants if they are working on their own, or bigger if they are working in groups. |
Computers - If you are planning a workshop that will require participants to work on their laptop (very common in technology oriented sessions) don't forget to find a way to provide them with power, you can assume their laptop batteries will last long enough.
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| Power plugs, extension cords and multi-outlets are a must need when participants need to use laptops or powered devices without batteries. Rule of thumb here is "always bring one more"! |
Internet - Access to a WiFi network can also be considered a must have (apart from sessions where it is requested to avoid using the Internet, are there any?).
In case access to the Internet is fundamental to run the workshop (say for instance you are planning a workshop on Internet of Things tools), then please be sure to be ready with a plan B if the WiFi is not reliable.
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| Always be sure to bring: ethernet cables + an access point you can quickly configure + bring a GSM modem for worst case scenarios |