EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Annual Meeting Call for Proposals

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) announces its call for proposals for its 2012 annual meeting. The ELI is a community of higher education institutions and organizations committed to advancing learning through information technology innovation. The ELI Annual Meeting provides an opportunity for those interested in learning, learning principles and practices, and learning technologies to explore, network, and share.

Deadline for Submission

Proposals must be submitted by September 7, 2011

What's New in the 2012 Call for Proposals

Annual Meeting Focus Areas

Nearly 250 members of the teaching and learning higher education community voted to identify the top challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning to serve as the program's focus areas for the annual meeting. More information can be found in the "Focus Areas" section below.

Venue Options: Online and Face-to-Face

Last year the ELI offered an online version of the annual meeting and will do so again in 2012. Those submitting session proposals will be asked about their presentation preferences: face-to-face venue, online venue, or both.

Learning Objectives and Active Learning Strategies

For 2012, the ELI will be instructing its proposal reviewers to closely examine proposed session learning objectives and active learning strategies. Proposed learning objectives must clearly articulate what attendees will know or be able to do as a result of participating in the session. A successful proposal must also include a short description of specific ways in which the presenters will engage with session participants (active learning strategies).

ELI Mission and Focus Areas for 2012

The mission of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative is to advance learning through information technology innovation. ELI accomplishes this by focusing on learners and successful learning experiences. ELI strives to encourage, promote, and enable

• learner success;
• the creative application of learning principles; and
• the innovative use of information technology.

The ELI values the innovative intersection and interplay of learners, learning principles, and learning technology. The ELI encourages these values at all its events, as well as

• innovative and participatory session design;
• the creative use of technology; and
• active engagement by all attendees.

Based on its mission, the ELI explores three primary areas.

Learners. Effective teaching and learning is, first and foremost, about the learner. The ELI's efforts begin with a consideration of the learner, whether he or she is a millennial student, an adult learner, a faculty member, a staff member, or an administrator seeking to learn how to use technology to improve student success.

Learning principles and practices. The ELI advocates learning principles as a foundation to support successful learning, but goes a step further by linking them to practices that work. ELI bridges the gap between research and practice by providing the tools and techniques institutions need to advance learning.

Learning technologies. The ELI advocates the creative and innovative use of technology to enable effective teaching and learning practices. The ELI strongly encourages experimentation with leading and emerging technologies that have the potential to improve current instructional practices and to promote student success.

Focus Areas: Challenges and Opportunities

In May 2011 the ELI consulted the teaching and learning community to identify the top challenges and opportunities currently facing the profession today:

• Digital and information literacy (e.g., effective use of digital devices and apps, information management, effective partnerships for developing literacy, faculty development, evaluation of impact)
• Learning analytics (e.g., faculty-facing, student-facing, and institutional-facing models; best practices for follow-up interventions; privacy issues; faculty development; evaluation of impact)
• Methods for evaluating technology-based instructional innovations (tools and methods to gather data, qualitative versus quantitative evaluation project design)
• Mobile learning (e.g., innovative uses of mobile devices like readers, smartphones, and tablets; innovative uses of software; faculty development; evaluation of impact)
• Social media (e.g., social networking, video sharing, social bookmarking and annotation, faculty development, evaluation of impact, integration into LMS)

These five form the thematic focus for the ELI 2012 Annual Meeting and, while not exclusive, represent areas of keen interest across the teaching and learning community. Proposals that reflect the ELI values, mission, and these focus areas will receive the highest priority.

Session Formats

Face-to-Face vs. Online Presentation

ELI is committed to providing an online annual meeting. Our goal is to ensure that presentations are tailored and optimized for face-to-face or online audiences. When submitting a proposal, please indicate your preference to present online, face-to-face, or both. Please note that each session format below indicates whether it is available as an online or face-to-face presentation option.

Preconference Seminars (face-to-face, online, or both)

ELI is accepting proposals for preconference seminars to be held on Monday, February 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon CT, face-to-face in Austin, or 10:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. CT, online.

Attendees pay an additional fee to attend preconference seminars. An honorarium of $750 is awarded on presentation of the seminar (honorarium is PER SEMINAR, not per speaker) and each seminar speaker (maximum of two) will be provided with a full complimentary registration to the annual meeting.

Interactive Presentations (face-to-face, online, or both)

These sessions are 60 minutes long; presenters are asked to allocate at least 10 to 15 minutes to engage the audience. Interactive presentations are opportunities to present in detail on a project. Proposals will be evaluated against the selection criteria listed below.

Innovation Showcase Presentations (face-to-face, online, or both)

Showcase presentations are 15 minutes in length. Three presentations are grouped into a single showcase session followed by a 15-minute question/discussion period. These sessions, held in the model learning space, are highly visible and highlight pioneering practices by giving institutions a spotlighted venue with a shorter presentation time. Please note that these are NOT poster sessions. Proposals will be evaluated against the selection criteria listed below.

Poster Sessions (face-to-face only)

A poster session demonstrates the use of an emerging technology for teaching and learning, typically in the early stages of development. Presenters may use a laptop, a poster, or both to demonstrate the unique features and functionality of the tool or program and to assist in providing a visual overview of the project. As attendees visit, presenters have the opportunity to discuss the poster topic with them; therefore, presenters should prepare a few introductory remarks (one to two minutes) to engage listeners in the subject. The standard setup for a poster session is:

• 6-foot skirted table and a high cabaret table
• Electricity
• Wireless Internet access
• 2 easels and 2 poster boards (30 x 40 inches, white foam core)

Selection Criteria

Researchers with corporate affiliation are welcome to submit proposals, either on their own or in collaboration with campus partners. These proposals must demonstrate very clearly that the presentation will report on objective, product-independent research. The presentation's subject must be of wide and general interest to the teaching and learning community, independent of any local vendor relationships. The presentation must demonstrate thought leadership, addressing key challenges and themes universal to innovation in teaching and learning.

All submitted proposals are reviewed by the ELI Annual Meeting Program Committee and invited readers. The following criteria are used in evaluating proposals:

• The session will report on successful practices supporting teaching and learning in higher education.
• The session reflects the ELI's mission and values.
• The relevance of the proposed session to this year's focus areas.
• Demonstrated impact of innovation, strategy, or practice on student learning and teaching practice.
• Effectiveness and appropriateness of active learning and audience engagement strategies proposed for the session.
• Clarity and appropriateness of the learning objectives for the session.
• Quality and clarity of the written proposal.
• Evidence of supporting research or assessment.
• Student involvement (e.g., direct student project participation or student co-presenters).
• Relevance of the ideas, innovations, and methods for other institutions.
• Team involvement, from one or more institutions.

Annual Meeting Terms and Conditions

Important Dates

• Proposals due: September 7
• Notifications: mid-October

Publishing Agreement

By accepting the offer to present at the ELI Annual Meeting, presenters agree to the ELI Publishing Permission Agreement, which applies an Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) Creative Commons license to any work produced. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Veronica Diaz.

Uploading Session Materials Prior to the Meeting

Prior to the annual meeting, please upload session materials, handouts, or other resources to the ELI website so they are accessible to meeting participants. If you are not able to post your materials in advance, please post them immediately after the annual meeting.

Annual Meeting Fees

Presenters are responsible for annual meeting fees, with the exception of student presenters. ELI will provide complimentary registration for up to two full-time undergraduate or graduate student presenters per session. ELI strives to draw the best possible presentations for the annual meeting, regardless of source. To support this goal, presenters selected from non-ELI member institutions register at the member rate for the annual meeting.

Further Assistance

If you have any questions or would like additional assistance submitting a session proposal to the ELI Annual Meeting, please contact Malcolm Brown or Veronica Diaz.