***SUBMISSION PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED**
VIRTUAL EVENT: IF YOU WERE SELECTED TO PRESENT IN NASHVILLE YOU WILL BE CONTACTED TO PRESENT VIRTUALLY.
REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE HERE
The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) is pleased to announce the 2020 Annual Conference Call for Proposals. Proposals were previously accepted based on the conference theme, “Grooving Around the World with Digital & Distance Learning in Music City” which will now be taking place virtually July 21 – 24, 2020. We will however return next year to Music City: Nashville, Tennessee!
We welcome proposals from all: corporate, education (higher and K-12), telehealth, government, and military. In keeping with our theme and our new location in Nashville, the following themes are intended to guide the general areas for presentation proposals:
Top Hits: Industry Best Practices – a great opportunity to share your current experiences and expertise in distance learning teaching, course design and development, distribution among all constituencies.
In Tune with Cyber Security, Privacy, and Breaches – how do you protect your data throughout your institution? The amount of data present in this complex digital age is sometimes overwhelming and much of the time you don’t even know what is being captured. What is stored, where is data stored, what happens to it after I’m off the network, who has access to it are all questions to explore through real-life examples.
Perfect Harmony with Data Analytics – how do you analyze data for teaching, research and quality improvement? In this world of data abundance there is a great deal of information available for data mining to help us better understand the learning and teaching process.
New Hits: Training and Development for the Today’s Workforce – how does distance learning help to prepare the workforce of the future? What are companies doing to continue to train their employees? What partnerships are forming between workforce and educational institutions?
Strumming your way to Innovation & Trends – Both in teaching/training and technology. What unique applications are being used in creative and innovative ways? And what new technology is on the horizon for distance education applications? This can include different modalities or techniques. Some examples could be gamification, maker spaces, virtual reality/augmented reality, etc.
Making Beautiful Music Together: Administrative, Leadership & Policy – A look into the topics affecting Distance/Digital Learning today including accessibility, ADA compliance, closed captioning, credentialing, broadband disparity and topics related to legislative issues in distance learning.
Facing the Music on Workplace Competencies and Alternative Digital Credentials – As institutions of higher education begin to embrace competencies and alternate credentials, what role should distance education play in facilitating this transition?
The Sound of the Future with Emerging Technologies – What are the new technologies that are being developed and how will they transform distance education? How are emerging technologies helping shape the future of distance education?
The Heartbeat of Policy and Legislation Impacting Distance Education – How do policies and legislation impact distance education? How can distance educators not only comply with current regulations, but also help shape future legislation and policies.
Proposal Options Available
- Concurrent sessions provide an opportunity for you to give an interactive presentation in one or more of the conference topic areas. Conference attendees expect sessions to provide practical advice and the sharing of experiences. The committee seeks high quality, thought-provoking and interactive sessions, not lecture format. Co-presenters are encouraged. Also, the USDLA Program Committee may select your proposal to be featured in a panel along with other like presenters. (60 minutes)
- Poster sessions allow presenters to prepare a standing tabletop poster that describes a project, process, research or other activity. Presenting a poster session will give you an opportunity to meet and network with a majority of conference attendees and USDLA Award Winners as these posters are displayed during the Awards Dinner Reception. (60 minutes)
- Pre-conference workshops are offered as a vehicle to get the conference started, set the stage for the conference theme, and discuss relevant issues in the field of distance learning (3-hour sessions on Monday September 21 from 2-5pm (time subject to change.)
There will also be the potential to present your session in our virtual classroom setting, which means you will be viewed by face-to-face as well as remote attendees. You will be able to note your interest in doing this in the online proposal form and be advised if selected.
Preparing Your Proposal
The committee recommends that proposals be specific about what will make the presentation valuable to attendees. Any proposal that is perceived to be a “sales pitch” will not be considered. Your proposal should be focused on issues, innovative working solutions, and should address the conference theme. All presenters and co-presenters (regardless of session type) will be expected to register for the full conference.
For your information, the automated proposal system will ask you for the following, so please gather this information prior to the time of submission:
- Contact Information: the name and full contact information for the lead presenter and any co-presenters
- Session Title: a succinct, but descriptive title of no more than ten words
- Format: concurrent, poster, or pre-conference workshop
- Abstract: 50-words (or less) – Please note: the session abstract will be used in the printed program. Make sure it accurately reflects your session, as it will be what draws people to your presentation.
- Content: a clear summary of learning objectives and session content in no less than 300 words, not to exceed 500 words
- Conference Tracks(s): you will pick a track that you feel your session best supports
- Audience Focus by Constituency: K-12, higher education, corporate, government, military, and telehealth – USDLA serves multiple constituencies, from the local, state, national, and global perspectives. Please tell us who will benefit from your session (may be more than one group; strongly encouraged.)
- Internet: standard setup of projector and screen provided – If Internet access is needed, you must include that information in your proposal. We cannot accommodate a request made during the conference. If you need sound please bring your own speakers.
- Virtual Session/Live Feed: indicate desire to be considered or not considered as a virtual presenter for virtual conference attendees
Review Criteria
Conference participants will expect well-delivered presentations containing quality information that is of practical value to their day-to-day professional lives. Members of the USDLA 2020 Conference Program Committee will look for clear descriptions. Considerable weight will be given to proposals that specify session learning objectives and clearly describe why the content will be valuable to attendees.
Specifically, reviewers will look for the following:
- Topic relevance to distance learning and the conference theme, “In Tune with the Future of Digital & Distance Learning”.
- Quality of the presentation: substance, clarity and consistency between the title, abstract, and content within the proposal; proposal organization
- Measurable outcomes of the presentation
- Evidence of innovation and effective practice
- Audience breadth, engagement, and likelihood of future application
Equipment
The conference will provide a standard set up (LCD data/video projector and screen). You will need to provide your own laptop computer. If you require Internet access for your session, please indicate so in your proposal. Please note that we are unable to provide audio resources (house sound or speakers) for concurrent and/or poster sessions.
Status of Proposal and Notification
***SUBMISSION PERIOD CLOSED***Call for proposals was open until Sunday, February 16th, 2020. The 2020 Program Committee is now reviewing proposals and you will be contacted about the status of yours during the week of Monday, February 24, 2020. Presenters are eligible for the Early Bird registration rate even after the close of Early Bird registration.