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OpenACS/.LRN Fall Conference 2006

OpenACS/.LRN  Fall Conference 2006

• Location
• Dates and Schedule
• Registration (and Fees)
• Travel
• Lodging
• Visa Information
• Public Attendance List
• Social Program
• Sponsors

Location 

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Harvard Conference Center 

Directions to the Conference Center

Map (includes location, close hotels, and public transportation stops) 

Dates and Schedule

• Keynotes and Schedule
  
• November 1st 2006 - International Workshop on Community Based E-Learning Systems (Educational/Community Web Applications Focus - e.g. .LRN) (Auditorium in the morning, 6 breakout sessions in the afternoon)
  
• November_2nd_2006_(General_Web_Applications_Focus_-_OpenACS)
  
• November 3rd and November 4th (Training and Hacking Days): Location Boston Museum of Science
  

Registration and Fees

• Registration is open. Please let us know if you need any documents beforehand for visa applications or reimbursement
  
• Fees: Main conference fee is $95 (if you can not afford the cost of the conference please let us know - we will have a discounted rate and financial assistance may be available). Please see the registration page for additional details.

Travel

Weather

Average from Weather Underground

Local Airports

Logan International Airport is the airport in Boston. It is the closest airport to the conference center. Logan's airport code is BOS. International flights can land at Logan.

The Manchester Airport in Manchester, New Hampshire, and T.F. Green in Providence, Rhode Island, are airports within about an hour's drive of Boston and Cambridge. Many inexpensive airlines serve Providence and Manchester. It is possible to get from downtown Providence to Boston via commuter rail or bus. Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts, about 25 minutes away from Boston, has flights to and from Trenton, New Jersey.

Local Train Stations

Amtrak, the major American rail company, serves several stations in the Boston area. South Station is one of the area's major transit hubs. It is also on the Red Line (subway line). Amtrak also arrives at North Station, which is on the Green Line, and Back Bay station on the Orange Line.

Bus Lines and Subway

See: Directions to the Conference Center

Lodging

Hotels

Best Western Inn at Longwood (SOLDOUT)
342 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
(617) 731-4700 or 1-(800)-GOT BEST
$159/night - "PARTNERS HEALTHCARE" rate
(try to reserve before October 16th to ensure availability)
0.5 miles from conference center

Longwood Guest Suites
63 Parker Hill Avenue, Boston, MA 02120
1-800-246-8357
$132/night - 1 person occupancy
1 mile from conference center

Longwood Inn
123 Longwood Ave, Brookline, MA 02446
1-800-754-6835
$119/night standard rate
0.8 miles from conference center

Looking for Roommates

(please add your name here if you are looking for someone to share a hotel room with) 

Crash Space

 (please add to these lists with a link to your user profile)

Crash Space Available:

• 4 spots (all taken) Carl Blesius

Crash Space Needed:

• Malte Sussdorff - cognovís - Germany
  

Who needs a visa to enter the US?

If you are not a resident of the United States, you may need a visa to enter. If you already have a visa and need to enter the US, make sure it will not expire before you use it to apply for admission (entry) at the port. Citizens of the following 27 countries do not need a visa to enter the US for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less [1]:

Andorra	Iceland	Norway
Australia	Ireland	Portugal
Austria	Italy	San Marino
Belgium	Japan	Singapore
Brunei	Liechtenstein	Slovenia
Denmark	Luxembourg	Spain
Finland	Monaco	Sweden
France	the Netherlands	Switzerland
Germany	New Zealand	United Kingdom

[1] Providing you meet the visa waiver criteria:

a) You must have a machine-readable passport (this means it should have a line of chevrons (e.g., <<< ) valid for six months past your expected stay in the U.S.

b) Any passport issued after October 26, 2005 must include a digital photo.

c) You must have a ticket going out of the US. I.e. only a one-way ticket into the US is not sufficient.

Information for Canadians

Canadian citizens generally do not need either visa or passport to enter the US. All travelers should bring evidence of their identity (e.g., a government photo-id) and citizenship (e.g., a passport; or a birth or citizenship certificate). Fiancees of US citizens, or spouses of US permanent residents, may need a visa even if they are Canadian citizens — especially if they are coming to the US to await final immigration status. For details, see usembassycanada.gov.

Getting a visa

To get a visa, contact the nearest US Embassy, Consulate, or other authorized institute to find out how long the process will take (generally anywhere from 3 to 45 days). A list of U.S. Embassies can be found at travel.state.gov. Approximate wait times can be found here. More information can also be found at http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov.

Some guidelines for painless visa processing:

• Ask us for a letter of invitation.
• Start applying for a visa early. The basic visa process will not take this long, but you will want time to resubmit the application if necessary, and to buy your tickets after the visa has been granted.
• Prepare for your visa interview/application. You should have
  1. Your entire travel itinerary, from when you leave your country to when you return

     Note that your travel plans depend upon early approval of the visa application

  2. Your invitation, and printed information about the conference

     If you are getting financial support to attend the conference, make sure you have printed documentation of this as well.

  3. Proof of association with OpenACS and/or .LRN (information about you as a researcher, developer, .LRN user, etc.)
  4. Evidence that you will return home -- that is, of "binding or sufficient" ties to your home country (normally your country of residence). Useful examples include:
     • evidence of family ties in your home country
     • evidence of property ownership
     • evidence/statements of bank accounts
     • an employment contract or letter from an employer demonstrating you have employment beyond the end of your trip
     • evidence of attending school, or a letter from a school official demonstrating you will be a student there beyond the end of your trip

Getting visa help

A letter of invitation alone does not guarantee you will be issued a visa. If you have followed the above steps, and your visa application is rejected, let us know immediately. Immigration officials in Massachusetts will contact your embassy to try to overturn the rejection.

If you cannot afford the cost of visas or related fees, let us know. Financial assistance may be available.

Interest in Attending

Enter your name, and any topics you are interested in here Fall_Conference_2006_Interest_in_Attending

Social Program

Dinner  on November 1st will take place at

Jasper White's Summer Shack
Starts at 8:00PM
50 Dalton Street in the Back Bay, Boston, MA
across from the Sheraton Hotel entrance and the Hynes Auditorium. Upstairs from Kings Bowling Alley.
Closest Subway T Station: Green Line - Hynes Auditorium.

The social program on subsequent days will be informal and will be announced at the event

Sponsors

MGH LCS	ACSPropel	Solution Grove