We're looking for...
The eLearning Consortium of Colorado conference is virtual on April 9 and April 10. April 11th is To Be Determined (TBD). We want to focus on discussions and explorations with our community of learning/instructional designers, educational technologists, online learning people and really any and all educators. If you have already, you can register with this link https://bit.ly/elcc2025reg
If you'd like to propose a session, please submit your proposal at https://bit.ly/elcc25cfp
We’re open to all topics, so please share what you are working on, pondering or what you’d like to explore with our community. However here’s some of the topics, we’d really like to have to have more discussion on:
Some suggested topics or questions may include:
All things online learning, technology and education
AI (of course)
Andragogy, badges, credentials to include online learning for adult students
Data and Data Justice
Neurodiverse learning
Language and linguistic to includes interpretation, translating, translanguaging
Questioning the paradigms such as LMS, UDL, CSS
Social presence and tools for technology (text, image and video based)
Games and Immersive environments (VR/AR, Virtual Worlds, MMOs)
Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and the Push-back against it in Teaching, Technology and Online Learning
Ungrading and student center learning
We also are doing a special call for anything teacher or student driven in the creative arts, social media, and pop culture.
We have a full list of possible tracks and topics on our Call for Proposals https://bit.ly/elcc25cfp
We’re going with a variety of formats, especially ones that will facilitate discussions and explorations. All formats allow for one presenter or for a collaborative panel or group of presenters. Please submit by March 3, 2025.
Discussions (50 minutes)
We really want this to be the cornerstone of our conference. This format is all about engaging the audience and having a high level of audience interaction. The presenter’s role is to facilitate open and honest conversations about common challenges, overcoming barriers, or opportunities for future collaborations.
Discord Event (50 minutes)
Discord, a VOIP, instant messaging and digital distribution platform created in 2015 now has over 140 active monthly users. This platform has been used for live streaming, discussions, playing games and even creating games inside Discord. Discord sessions will feature facilitators bringing in conference participants for one of these uses.
Flipped Session (50 minutes/85 minutes)
Facilitator will record a short introduction and/or have a reading available ahead of time for the participants. Facilitator will lead participants through an active learning scenario. Time will be scheduled at the end for a de-briefing.
Hands-on (60 minutes)
Hands-on sessions focus on a particular tool or platform and use of that tool (play along) as the focus of the session. This format focuses on the presenter allowing the audience to use the tool or platform to create content.
Immersive Environment Tour and Let’s Play (50 minutes/85 minutes)
Immersive environment tours provide participants with either an opportunity to play, go in-world or observe a facilitated tour using any livestream technology. Participants not in-world will engage with the presenter using the chat or VOIPfeature of the livestream technology. Presenters will need to provide information on how to access the immersive environment (free/fee based, download requirements, technology specifications) and what livestream platform the audience will need to use to access the communication channel the presenter has selected as well as a link to join the tour.
Livestream (50 minutes/85 minutes)
Livestream sessions include Zoom, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch or Periscope among others. These platforms allow presenters to livestream anything happening on the presenter’s screen as well as share their webcam. Sessions livestreamed could be from a F2F classroom or a mobile walking tour of a new technology lab, study space, or other spaces.
Presentations and Panels (50 minutes)
These are the concurrent sessions typically seen at most conferences. The presenters would provide slides, handouts, etc. for participants during the session. Please indicate in your submission if you want to use a platform other than Zoom.
reddit AMA (variable)
Reddit, the self-proclaimed (and ubiquitous) “front page of the internet” frequently hosts celebrities and other personalities to run an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) thread https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/ where participants can ask the host anything and generally get an answer. Threads generally start with “I Am A [bona fides], [optional host name], ask me anything!” Hosts come prepared to answer a wide swath of questions in a public forum with relative anonymity.
This format provides presenters with a synchronous/ asynchronous text engagement with participants answering questions about the presenter’s area(s) of expertise or unique experience(s).
Most of our presenters have an “IAmA” of a group of instructional designers and technologists here to talk about trends and issues in learning design and technology, effective course design, online learning, good (and bad) learning technology, and how our efforts aim to transform learning into meaningful experiences for students. So there are lots of potential topics for presenters and attendees to delve into during these sessions.
Research-in-action (50/85 minutes)
Have an idea for a pilot study or interested in helping study a virtual conference phenomena. This format provides the presenter and the audience with a platform to conduct a quick time boxing of research/ inquiry opportunities for virtual conferences. Research-in-action fosters a collaborative effort to identify questions and to engage fellow conference goers for feedback. The end result would be an outline of a research problem and initial data collection. Facilitator will be contacting presenters regarding IRB approval ahead of the conference.
Scholarly Discussion (50 minutes)
Presenters will choose a construct, theory, model or framework like … cognitive load theory or multimedia theory or theory of their choice and facilitate an academic discussion group on it.
Scholarly Read (50 minutes)
Presenters will choose a journal article and lead the group through a discussion of it. Choose something you and your colleagues are discussing. As an example, we’d love to have someone facilitate a discussion on Learning at Double Speed
https://digest.bps.org.uk/2021/12/21/watching-a-lecture-twice-at-double-speed-can-benefit-learning-better-than-watching-it-once-at-normal-speed/
Slow tweetchat or Bluesky chat (24 hours)
A slow tweetchat is a 24 hour chat over twitter where the presenter creates 3 - 4 questions on a topic which are released and participants can answer the questions and respond to other participants using a specific hashtag. Example of a slow twitter chat http://traveloteacher.blogspot.com/2017/08/slow-twitter-chat.html
Tweetchat or BlueSky Chat (60 minutes)
These usually take place over a one hour period of time where the presenter's created questions are released on twitter and people answer using a specific hashtag.
Watch Party/Viewing Event (variable)
Were you a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000? Have you ever wanted to watch the IT Crowd with a bunch of online educators? We’d love for presenters to hold a watch party as either an exploration of a concept or as a social event.