The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) is a community of higher education institutions and organizations committed to advancing learning through IT 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. Find more information about the ELI mission and philosophy here.
Transforming Higher Education: Exploring New Learning Horizons
The horizon of teaching and learning today is characterized by ever greater degrees of agency for learners, instructors, instructional designers, and technologists. From active learning classrooms to integrated student advising and from rapidly improving XR technologies to learning analytics, we all have more options for invention, innovation, and new designs in support of our teaching and learning mission. Join your colleagues as we collectively explore this ever-changing landscape of the new possibilities for learning, addressing these and many other questions:
- What new kinds of leadership are required for this new teaching and learning landscape?
- What are the best methods and techniques that promote innovation and creative thinking to support student learning?
- What new educational technologies seem most promising?
- What role should data and analytics play, and what are the trade-offs between analytics and privacy?
- How can we best determine the efficacy of our learning innovations and technologies?
- What learning spaces and environments best promote active learning?
2019 Annual Meeting Tracks
The strategic use of information technology has the ability to transform teaching and learning, helping institutions realize EDUCAUSE’s mission to advance higher education through the use of information technology. The following tracks include the best ways to navigate the learning horizons. Proposals that clearly describe innovative and creative work will receive the highest priority in the selection process.
- Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
- Analytics: Privacy, Learning Data, Student Advising, and Interventions
- Digital and Information Literacy
- Faculty Development and Engagement
- Innovation in Instructional Design and Course Models
- Leadership and Academic Transformation
- Learning Efficacy: Impact Evaluation, Learning Research and Science
- Learning Environments and Spaces
- Learning Horizons: Emerging Technology, Ground-Breaking Practices, and Educational Futures
- Open Education
- Student Success
- Other
Learning Objectives and Participant Engagement Strategies
The ELI proposal reviewers will closely examine and rate each proposed session’s learning objectives, which should clearly describe what participants will know or be able to do as a result of participating in the session. A successful proposal must also include the specific and creative ways in which the presenter(s) will engage with participants through active learning strategies. ELI encourages innovative and participatory session design, the creative use of technology, and active engagement by all participants.
Session Types
All ELI Annual Meeting sessions will be conducted face-to-face in the meeting venue.
Preconference Workshops
Preconference workshops will be held Tuesday, February 19, from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. (PT), face-to-face, in Anaheim, California. Up to two presenters from each seminar will be provided with a full complimentary registration to the annual meeting. Preconference workshops are intended to provide attendees with significant assistance in addressing their needs and opportunities to navigate the learning horizons. If you have questions, please contact the speaker liaison.
Present and Engage Sessions
Please note that your presentation session proposal will be carefully evaluated and may be accepted for any of the following formats below, depending on the scope of content and engagement strategies proposed. If you have questions, please contact the speaker liaison.
- Interactive Presentation: Interactive presentations are opportunities to present in detail on a project, idea, or experience while enabling audience participation. These sessions require continuous engagement tactics, interspersed activity tactics, or intensive Q&A tactics. They are scheduled for 45 minutes, and at least 15 minutes of this time should be interactive.
- Short Presentation Pairs: Presentation pairings include two 15-minute presentations (by different presenters) followed by a 15-minute question/discussion period, for a total of 45 minutes. This is a great way to organize closely related content with two unique perspectives. When you submit your proposal, you can suggest that your solo presentation be paired by the ELI Annual Meeting Program Team or you can coordinate with colleagues to suggest your paired team. Final pairings will be determined by ELI, based on proposal content. These highly visible sessions highlight pioneering practices by giving institutions a spotlighted venue with condensed presentation time. Please note these are not poster sessions.
- Hands-On Workshop: Workshops are 45-minute sessions where participants experience technology or pedagogical practices firsthand. Note that these are not presentation sessions—they are activity sessions. Session descriptions should clearly indicate how presenters will guide a hands-on, tutorial-like experience using applications and resources. Participants are asked to bring a mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, laptop) to the session in order to fully participate and to experience an emerging, innovative technology or practice. Hands-on workshops, by virtue of their robust interactive learning design, will have priority consideration for the active learning space (designed by Steelcase Education). Presenters are responsible for providing any additional technologies needed to ensure an engaging hands-on experience.
Discuss and Connect Sessions
- Discussion Circle: This is ELI’s version of an unstructured, topic-driven discussion, somewhat like a conceptual jam session. The Discussion Circle is a way to engage with colleagues seeking common solutions to today’s greatest challenges on the learning horizon. Eschewing any presentation, discussion circle hosts facilitate conversations in small, intimate settings, allowing participants to take a deep dive into a pressing issue the community is tackling and for which the resolution is not obvious. These 45-minute sessions are highly interactive and provide a unique learning and bonding opportunity.
- Posters: Posters give participants and presenters the opportunity to share and examine problems, issues, and solutions in a more casual, personal environment through informal, interactive, brief presentations focused on effective practices, research findings, or technical solutions. The standard setup for a poster includes a 6′-foot skirted table, wireless internet access, and boards. Posters are allocated 45 minutes of action, with ample time for setup and breakdown.
Please take a moment to view this 5-minute video on how to write an effective proposal. Following the tips in this video will increase the likelihood of your proposal being selected.