Call for Papers

Research Papers, Posters and Symposia

Research Papers welcome three types of contributions:

1. Empirical contributions that present studies emphasizing the major issue(s) addressed, the theoretical and methodological approach(es) pursued, major findings, conclusions, and (conceptual, empirical, practical) implications.
2. Conceptual contributions presenting theoretical elaborations or reviews of the literature.
3. Methodological contributions that develop and/or validate a research method, preferably providing empirical illustrations.

Full Research Papers (8 pages): Full papers are for mature work, requiring lengthy explanations of the conceptual background, methodology and data analysis. Full paper submissions should include: (a) the major issue(s) addressed; (b) potential significance of the work; (c) the theoretical and methodological approach(es) pursued; (d) major findings, conclusions, implications; and (e) relevant scholarly references.

Short Research Papers (4 pages): Short papers are for work that makes significant contributions, but that is still in progress, of smaller scale, or that can be reported briefly. Otherwise, the same criteria apply as listed for full papers above.

Research Posters (2 pages): Research posters present work in early stages and for novel and promising ideas. The two-page paper should also identify the aspect of the work that will likely lead to productive discussions with annual meeting participants in a poster session, including figures exemplifying the visual support to be provided for these discussions in the actual poster.

Symposia – Traditional (8 pages): Symposia comprise a set of completed research papers that are grouped together to convey larger ideas or results about a specific theme or issue. It is not sufficient for a symposium to simply be a set of related papers, such as papers from a specific research group. Rather, symposium proposals will be evaluated on their capacity to address large issues of interest to the ICLS or CSCL community and align with the theme of the annual meeting.

Symposia in this annual meeting will last 60 minutes. It could include between 4-5 papers, grouped together under a theme and including a discussant and a chair (or/and an organizer). A common format consists of individual presentations, one commentary by a discussant, and a moderated discussion among members of the symposium and the audience. A structured poster format is also welcome, wherein the presenters are coordinated in sharing more deeply at break-out poster stations.

Symposia – Hybrid (8 pages): ISLS 2024 solicits a brand new submission track for hybrid symposia. These “born hybrid” sessions will be placed in a room with good Internet, two-way sound, and a room equipped with a camera or cameras. They will also take place in designated time slots that are conducive for online participants from multiple time zones around the globe (mornings US Eastern time).

In addition to the requirements for the traditional symposia (see above), submitters need to describe their aims and strategies for hybrid engagement in their proposals in one additional page (this format page will not be included in the published proceedings). The submissions will be reviewed holistically for both content and format. Excellent proposals with a clear value-add from online hybridity will be prioritized over proposals in which the online component does not intrinsically add value. Intentionally engaging targeted online audiences with the onsite participants might be one such value-add; another might be novel technology-mediated collaboration approaches to the conference symposium format. It is also critical for hybrid submitters to clearly specify technology needs for their sessions. While technology support in the room will be provided by the LOC to the best of their capabilities, engagement facilitation should be described in the proposal, and staffed by submitters.

Submitters who need to participate online due to a need for online accommodations should NOT submit to the hybrid symposium track for that purpose alone. Online accommodations will be available to those who need them in ALL tracks through the accommodations process.

Pre-conference Workshops and Tutorials, and Interactive Tools and Demos

Workshops, tutorials and demonstrations should focus on themes within the scope of either CSCL or ICLS. For instance, these events can allow for trying out a technology and/or scenarios, elaborating on conceptual frameworks or discussing research designs.

Pre-conference Workshops (4 pages): Pre-conference workshops should be designed as active sessions on a focused issue. Substantial time should be allocated for interaction between participants.

Following the practice launched at ISLS 2023, workshops can be self-contained in the half-day or full-day format, or can be designed to extend over a period of time. Extended workshops are reviewed by the same criteria as pre-conference workshops but might include: (a) a sustained thread of multiple meetings scheduled prior to the conference (i.e., beginning after proposal acceptance that lead up to the conference workshop session), (b) activities following the workshop in the conference (e.g., joint data analysis sessions, continued discussions of research designs) and (c) curation or development of workshop products for publication on the ISLS website. The planned format of the workshop should be described in the proposal.

Pre-conference Tutorials (4 pages): Pre-conference tutorials should be designed as collaborative learning experiences on a topic, technology, design or methodology within CSCL or LS. Tutorials should stimulate active participation and interaction between participants as well. Innovative format submissions are encouraged, provided they are within the scope of a tutorial.

Interactive Tools and Demos (2 pages): Interactive tools and demos present new interactive tools, software or environments that may be potentially interesting for teaching and learning. Submissions should indicate possible applications for learning of your submitted tools or demo.