Call for Papers

CSCL invites papers on the nature of collaborative learning in technologically supported environments from empirical, theoretical, conceptual and design based perspectives. The conference theme, inspired by William Blake’s poem “Auguries of Innocence,” reflects this unique aspect of CSCL in which interactions and learning need to be understood, supported, and analyzed across multiple levels.

All submitted papers will be considered for several prestigious awards: Best Paper Award, Best Student Paper Award, and Technology Design Award.

Publication Formats

CSCL 2013 will offer a variety of publication formats, including: Full and short papers, symposia, posters and demonstrations. To be considered for inclusion in the conference, all full papers, short papers and poster papers must be submitted by Friday November 2, 2012. Full papers are limited to 8 pages; short papers are limited to 4 pages; poster abstracts are limited to 2 pages. Submissions must follow the formatting instructions of their respective submission category. All papers will be subjected to peer review by an international program committee. The Program Committee reserves the right to determine whether a submitted paper is accepted for presentation as a long paper, short paper, or poster. All accepted papers, posters, symposia and demonstrations will be published in the proceedings.

Submissions must adhere to the formatting guidelines in the template CSCL 2013 Conference Publication Guidelines.

1. Full Papers (8 pages)
Full papers are for mature work, requiring lengthy explanations of the conceptual background, methodology and data and analysis. Full paper submissions should state: (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. Moreover, the relevance to the theme of the conference should be made clear. We also encourage papers that address conceptual issues in CSCL research, and papers that help to set the programmatic agenda for the future of CSCL research.

Review: All full papers will be reviewed blind. Please prepare your papers accordingly.
Deadline: Friday, November 2, 2012

2. Short 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.

Review: All short papers will be reviewed blind. Please prepare your papers accordingly.
Deadline: Friday, November 2, 2012

3. Posters (2 pages)
Posters are for work that is in early stages and for novel and promising ideas. The two-page abstract should identify the aspect of the work that will likely lead to productive discussions with conference participants in a poster session, including figures exemplifying the visual support to be provided for these discussions in the poster.

Review: All posters will be reviewed blind. Please prepare your papers accordingly.
Deadline: Friday, November 2, 2012

4. Symposia (8 pages)
Symposia are for conveying larger ideas or results about a specific issue. Discussion among members of the symposium and with the audience should be moderated to focus on certain positions or controversies. (It is not sufficient for a symposium to simply be a set of related papers, such as papers from a specific research group; authors who want to have a set of papers presented together should submit each paper for review as a paper, and after the review send an email to the Program Committee requesting that the accepted papers be grouped together in one or more sessions, along with a suggested chair and/or discussant for the session. We expect symposia to address a larger issue of interest to CSCL.) A clear description should be provided of: (a) the overall focus of the symposium, (b) the major issues addressed, or overarching or integrative points illustrated by the collective work, (c) how the collective presentations contribute towards the issues or points raised, and (d) the significance of the contributions. Separate brief descriptions of the content of each presentation should be included in the 8-page submission.

Review: Symposia or panels will NOT be blind reviewed.
Deadline: Friday, November 2, 2012

5. Panels (3 pages)
Panels are for coordinating multiple perspectives on a specific topic that is timely and relevant to the CSCL community. A clear description should be provided of: (a) the importance of the panel topic to CSCL research, (b) the major perspectives that will be presented and how they contribute to understanding of the topic, (c) how the panel members will engage the conference audience.

Review: This category will NOT be blind reviewed.
Deadline: Friday, November 2, 2012

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6. Demonstrations (4 pages for proceedings + 1 page appendix)
Demonstrations provide an opportunity to interactively present new tools and technologies for supporting and/or analyzing collaborative learning. A demonstration session takes place during the conference and is of similar duration to that of a paper session. (Those interested in providing an extended tutorial on the use of a tool should propose a pre-workshop tutorial session.) Submissions should describe: (a) the purpose of the tool or technology, (b) the novel contribution of this tool or technology and its significance for CSCL research or practice, and (c) how the demonstration experience will be structured, including interaction with audience members. Aspects of the experience that are necessary to support the submission but which would not be of interest to someone reading the proceedings after the conference (e.g., special equipment requirements, or logistics requirements) should be placed in the 1-page appendix to the submission, and will not be included in the published proceedings.

Review: This category will NOT be blind reviewed.
Deadline: Friday, November 2, 2012

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Presentation Formats

Presentation formats address the manner of presentation at the meeting, in contrast to the publication formats for peer review and the printed proceedings, described above. CSCL 2013 will offer interactive presentation formats, especially for full papers, short papers and posters. Sessions will promote interaction and collaborative learning through presentation, demonstration, and discussion. After all, this is a conference on collaborative learning!

The publication format and the presentation format will be decoupled. As in past CSCL conferences, authors will submit full papers, short papers and posters to be considered for publication (see details of the submission categories). At the time of submission, authors will also be asked to express their preference for a presentation format. The reviewers and the program committee can also make recommendations as to the format. Presentation format will be assigned in order to maximize the interactive conference experience, balanced by considerations of the nature of the work, author preferences, and the program committee’s review process.

The quality and acceptance rates of submission formats will be of the same high standard as previous CSCL conferences. Acceptance letters will indicate that submissions are accepted as full and short papers, symposia, panels, posters, and demonstrations for the conference, and each will be published in the proceedings; and have equal status for acquiring travel funding, and for contributing to authors’ scholarly records, such as dissertations and tenure packets. All full and short papers, symposia, panels, posters, and demonstrations will be published in the proceedings.