ISLS 2025 Annual Meeting online participation plan
We recognize that in today’s world, technology is changing conferences, and that many people have come to depend on virtual or hybrid forms of exchange to be able to participate in professional events, especially international events.
Our philosophy as it was in 2024 is to treat this year’s online strategy as another step forward towards hybrid engagement in the future. We recognize that a fully hyflex format (one in which all participation is supported in either face-to-face or online modalities with the freedom to switch between them seamlessly) is beyond our grasp and might not even achieve our goals of having the most productive, meaningful, and inclusive professional meeting. Indeed, attempts to use technology to include some audiences may unintentionally exclude others. In addition, a well executed but modest strategy is likely to produce more progress than something more ambitious and more untried. Therefore, ISLS 2025 will have a core emphasis on the in-person meeting experience, but will also undertake a multi-pronged approach of setting up systems for using online participation to support equitable inclusion, and modest experimentation with hybrid formats. Special attention will be paid to learning from our experiences, in conjunction with the Hybrid Engagement Committee of ISLS.
Online formats
Hybrid symposium format
We invite proposals for hybrid sessions which take up an entire program timeslot (i.e., symposia or other similar formats, rather than individual papers). These sessions will be “born hybrid” with proposers selecting the hybrid track and describing their aims and strategies for hybrid engagement. The sessions would be reviewed holistically for both content and format. Excellent proposals with a clear value-added from online hybridity will be prioritized over proposals in which the online component does not intrinsically add value. Inclusion of targeted audiences might be one such value-add; another might be novel CSCL approaches to conference formats. Technology needs must be specified during submission (we anticipate providing a baseline of computer projection, two-way sound, and a room camera or cameras); human facilitation should be specified and staffed by submitters. In addition to the requirements for the traditional symposia, submitters need to describe their aims and strategies for hybrid engagement in their proposals in one additional page (this format page will not be included in the published proceedings).
Please include in the format page what time zones the presenters will be joining from as we will do our best to find a time in the program that can accommodate all presenters. This information is also included in the ICLS and CSCL Call For Papers.
Keynote recordings
Keynotes will be recorded for time-limited asynchronous streaming. The ISLS Hybrid Engagement Committee will be announcing opportunities for shared engagement with these recordings.
Online participation via individual accommodations
The annual meeting aims to be inclusive through the use of technology where warranted by people with particular needs, whether related to disability, visa eligibility, or other specific and individual challenges that prevent participation. Online participation, of course, will be only one way to provide accommodations for inclusion; other ways might include assistive technology, funds from the ISLS Equity Assistance Committee, or non-technological accommodations. This approach to accommodations is intended to be responsive and tailored, rather than attempting to be monolithic and all-encompassing. In the absence of participation in the hybrid track or requesting and receiving online accommodation, presenters are required to attend in person to have their presentation included in the proceedings.
It is important to note that those with online accommodations will have the opportunity to present in requested sessions, but may not have the opportunity to engage fluidly in sessions they are observing. Virtual viewing will be expanded this year, but is still a practice that is in development. Virtual viewing, unlike hybrid engagement, will only promise that online participants can view a session. They may not be able to chat or otherwise engage with people in-room. While we hope to expand the possibilities for virtual viewing in the future, we are pleased to offer this limited expansion from previous years for ISLS 2025.
Presenters who can not attend the annual meeting in person for one of the listed reasons below can submit to ANY track (except the pre-conference track) of the annual meeting and request individual accommodations to allow online participation.
Reasons for accommodation
Accommodations will be available due to:
- illness/disability
- caregiving responsibilities
- travel restrictions (e.g., inability to get a US visa)
- last minute emergencies (e.g., flights canceled due to weather, family emergencies)
- Financial Hardship
- other similar unavoidable hardships or restrictions
Accommodations may be available where they would enhance inclusion at the meeting for other reasons, subject to timeline, resources, and facilities. Personal preference or convenience is not sufficient justification for presenting online in lieu of in-person. Financial limitations preventing participation will be referred to the ISLS Equity Assistance Committee.
Types of accommodation
As stated above, accommodation through online participation is only one approach at our disposal. The local organizers are committed to doing the best possible to mitigate barriers to participation within the limits of time, resources, and facilities. Which options are possible will depend on how much advance notice is provided. For example, a last-minute request for accommodation due to illness preventing travel may not allow sufficient time to ensure the scheduled presentation room is set up for live online interaction, and might require showing a prerecorded video of the presenter, where advance notice might have allowed for interactive online webconferencing.
The inclusion of a presenter with online participation as an accommodation does not mean the session is now hybrid for all participants. An accommodation for online participation merely assures that the presenter will be able to share their presentation, but should be considered under the “virtual viewing” category not the hybrid category. Where presenters and session chairs wish, such sessions may invite broader online participation as part of the ad-hoc online experimentation process, but this is not required.
Requesting accommodation
Individuals who know they need accommodation (whether remote participation or in-person supports) are encouraged to identify that need at the time of submission as this will allow the best possible response. Requesting accommodation will not influence the review process. While the local organizing committee will avoid requesting intrusive documentation, participants requesting accommodation will have to share enough information to help the organizers negotiate a reasonable accommodation including the broad category of their reason for the request.
To request accommodation at the time of proposal submission follow the link provided in the easychair submission system. If the need for accommodation arises after proposal submission, a separate request form will be set up for requesting accommodation post-submission. If you need accommodation to utilize the submission system (e.g., if you have an accessibility issue with easychair), please email [email protected].
Submitters who request accommodation will be contacted when the final acceptance decisions are being made to discuss the plan to accommodate their needs. If you need to discuss your request for accommodation with the organizers prior to that time, please email [email protected].
Online participation for non-presenting attendees
Further details on online participation options for non-presenting attendees, including the process for requesting accommodations for online attendance, will be posted closer to registration opening in February/March. We will attempt to expand this mode of participation this year by supporting virtual viewing of more sessions. Virtual viewing will support online attendees to listen to the in-room conversation. It will not guarantee support for any interaction with those in-room, nor will it include hybrid facilitation except by adhoc experimentation. However, supporting virtual viewing of more sessions will ensure that those needed online accommodations have listening access to more sessions than in previous years. We are excited about this modest extension of virtual opportunities.