Call for Pre-Conference Events

The CSCL 2011 PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS AND TUTORIALS Committee invites submissions of proposals for Pre-Conference Events.

The 2011 Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning conference is being hosted by The University of Hong Kong. The main conference runs from July 6, 2011, to July 8, 2011.

Individuals and groups are invited to offer Pre-Conference events, which will take place on July 4th and 5th. We invite a range of events varying in content, aim and structure. The general goal is to offer participants an opportunity to engage in professional exchange in interactive and personal settings.

Events should cohere with the conference theme relating to the ways in which technology supports individual and group learning, and how the collaborative interactions are affected by the larger societal context. In addition, preference will be given to those proposals that relate specifically to the ways in which CSCL can inform or be informed by policy and/or practice.

Proposed events can include sessions devoted to learning about specific concepts methods or techniques, or to furthering our knowledge and understanding through group discussion and problem solving.

Pre-conference events include workshops or tutorials:

• Workshops should be designed as collaborative knowledge-building sessions on a focused issue, where participants work together—e.g., analyzing data, discussing design criteria, collaborating on a research project. Substantial time should be allocated for interaction between participants.
• Tutorials should be designed as collaborative learning experiences for novices on a topic, technology, or methodology within CSCL, presented by experts.

Innovative format submissions are encouraged, provided they are within the scope of a workshop or tutorial. For example, a set of related papers is not considered a workshop or tutorial.

We may request proposals that are very similar to each other to merge, or at least coordinate in a manner that ensures that interested researchers do not feel there is a conflict between them. In order to detect potential conflicts or overlap in advance, the chairs request that workshop or tutorial organizers email us in advance of the submission deadline with a brief abstract of your plans.

Preconference event proposals are comprised of two pieces: (1) a 5-page description that would eventually appear in the conference proceedings (and should adhere to the proceedings format guidelines); and (2) a 5-page description for the preconference events committee to evaluate not only the content of the event, but also the process through which it will be put together.

Submission Instructions (both pieces):

• Proposals for “full” or “half-day” events should be written in English.
• Brief abstracts should be emailed by December 5th to the three events chairs: Chee Kit Looi (cheekit.looi at nie.edu.sg, Iris Tabak (itabak at bgumail.bgu.ac.il), and Dan Suthers
  (suthers at hawaii.edu), or as soon as possible
• Final proposals should be submitted via the online submission system at https://precisionconference.com/~cscl/
• Proposals are due no later than December 15, 2010.

5-Page Description for Proceedings

Proposals should not exceed 5 pages. These should be written with the reader of the conference proceedings in mind, who may be reading the description after the event has taken place. The format can be flexible, but it is suggested that the proceedings description include:

• Title of event
• Organizers' names and backgrounds
• Theme and goals
• Theoretical background and relevance to field and conference
• Expected outcomes and contributions

Formatting instructions are downloadable at: http://www.isls.org/cscl2011/home.htm

5-Page Proposal

Proposals should be written with the Events Chairs as the intended audience, telling us about practical issues we need to know to evaluate the proposal. Proposals should not exceed 5 pages, and should include:

• Title of event
• Organizers' names and backgrounds, including prior experience in conducting such events
• Intended audience
• Duration of event (half day or full day)
• Description of format and schedule of activities planned
• Participation requirements (how tutorial or workshop participants will be chosen)
• Relationship to similar events conducted in the past (e.g. at CSCL or ICLS), if any
• Facilities and equipment required
• Minimal and maximal number of participants expected
• Draft call for participation that will be posted by organizers if the event is accepted

Proposal Selection Process

• Proposals will be reviewed by members of the tutorial and workshop committee.
• Proposals may also be reviewed by additional judges at the discretion of the committee.
• If two proposals are found to be very similar, organizers will be asked to consider whether to merge the proposals, to coordinate by morning and afternoon sessions, or to justify the viability of running the events in conflict with each other.
• We expect to send out acceptance notifications during January 2011.
• Proposals must follow the format instructions and adhere to the word count limit.
• Organizers of accepted tutorial and workshop proposals will be expected to prepare descriptions of the event suitable for posting on the conference website and for publication in the conference proceedings.
• Organizers will be responsible for soliciting and selecting participants.