Call for Proposals:
Global Society of Online Literacy Educators
Sixth Annual Conference
Visions and Sites of Online Literacy Education
An Online Interactive Global Conference
Proposals Due: Monday, Oct. 23, 2023
Proposal Decisions By: Monday, Nov. 27, 2023
The Global Society of Online Literacy Educators (GSOLE) invites proposals for its sixth annual online international conference. This event will be hosted online with asynchronous presentations and synchronous elements. Synchronous presentations will be Thursday, February 1, and Friday, February 2, 2024. As an international organization, we will do our best to accommodate reasonable presentation times for participant presenters from around the world.
Online literacy education is an enduring and emerging field of practice and research. Our theme of “visions and sites of online learning” creates space for us to take stock of what we know, what we’ve learned, what has changed, and what remains the same.
We know literacy is the core of teaching and learning
No matter the delivery method—online, hybrid, or face-to-face—high quality teaching starts with strong content and informed pedagogy. Our conference highlights contextualized approaches to literacy education, helping identify more sustainable, equitable, and effective approaches to online literacy education. As a community, we can gather to discuss and respond to the everchanging online learning landscapes and technologies, including generative AI tools.
We know online literacy education must be accessible and inclusive for all stakeholders
To serve students, online literacy instruction must be overtly anti-racist, including practices that respect and affirm cultural and communal values of linguistic and social diversity. To serve faculty and staff, accessible and inclusive professional development and leadership opportunities must be promoted, especially in light of political attacks on inclusive education.
GSOLE welcomes proposals from all online educators regardless of department or disciplinary affiliation, including students and writing center staff
Whether an undergraduate student, graduate student, contingent faculty, administrator, non-tenure-line full-time faculty, staff member, or tenure-line faculty, we welcome your contributions to these important discussions. Conference presenters and participants represent diverse educational contexts (e.g., K-12 schools, two-year colleges, graduate and professional programs, and tutoring and writing centers). We especially encourage presentations that help teachers, tutors, and administrators better understand how to incorporate instruction about inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility into online literacy curricula and programming at all levels.
GSOLE fosters discussions across cultures, environments, time zones, and disciplines
This international conference supports discussions on race, identity, accessibility, and inclusion in online literacy instruction. We welcome proposals from anyone with an interest in and experience with online teaching, tutoring, and learning and list a variety of topics of interest below.
Topics of Interest
| Area | Topics of Interest |
| Course & Assignment Design: |
Accessibility (A)Synchronous Class Discussions Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Courses and Assignments *New* Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) *NEW* Cultivating Teacher Presence Developing Community In The LMS Digital Composition Feedback Practices Forging Relationships With Students *New* Global Teaching Practices and Instructional Design *New* Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) in Practice *New* Information Literacy Integrating Reading and Writing Open Educational Resources Research Writing Teaching Presence *New* Visual Literacy |
| Course, Learning, & Learning Management Systems (LMS): |
First-Year Writing Four-Year College Contexts HBCU Contexts HSI Contexts International Online Classes/Programs Learning Modalities (Hyflex, Hybrid, Synchronous, Asynchronous) Learning Analytics *New* PWI Contexts Technical and Professional Writing Tribal Contexts *New* Two-Year College Contexts Writing Across the Curriculum Writing Centers or Studios Writing in the Disciplines |
| Programmatic Considerations: |
Anti-Racist/Socially Just Pedagogies Course Migration (Onsite To Online, Across Lmss) Covid-19 Impact On Learning Curricular Considerations Ethical Considerations *New* Labor Issues, Including Graduate Students Learning Management Systems (LMS) Program Assessments Program Sustainability Responding To Pushback On Online Learning *New* Teacher and Tutor Training Valuing Diverse Voices and Perspectives In Online Programs and Professional Communities *New* |
| Broader Socio-Political Issues Related To Online Literacy: |
Critical Digital Literacy Equity In Online Professional Environments Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) In Online Environments *New* International Regulations and Issues Impacting Online Learning *New* Mindfulness, Wellness, and Wellbeing *New* Responding To Political Movements Impacting Education *New* Technological Inequity and Online Learning *New* |
Questions that might guide proposals in these topics include (but are not limited to)…
- How can administrators and teachers incorporate inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) principles into online literacy curricula, tutoring, and pedagogy?
- What do we know about effective OLI and what has changed about our understanding of OLI?
- As Artificial Intelligence tools gain popularity, what do online administrators, instructors, and students need to know about using these tools in their writing and teaching?
- How does our understanding of effective OLI practices change depending on our local context, student population, educator population, or institutional identity?
- In what ways do we need to reinvent writing instruction when we shift learning modalities and in what ways can we translate or adapt writing instruction across modalities?
- What initial and ongoing professional development and institutional support systems do educators need as they teach and tutor online?
- What innovative research and theories support online instructional and administrative practices?
- What changes need to be made to online instructional labor to create more equitable OLI environments?
View the call and all sections below as a single, printable document in Google Docs.
Presentation Format Options
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All presenters are required to confirm GSOLE membership as part of accepting an invitation to present. A limited number of scholarships are available for participants and attendees. If interested in applying for a scholarship, please email conferences@gsole.org for additional information.
Synchronous Presentation Options: Present Live During the Conference
- Panel Proposals: We welcome 40-minute panel presentations (3–5 presenters).
- Individual Paper Proposals: We welcome 15-minute individual presentations (placed on panels clustered by topic).
Asynchronous: Prepare Your Presentation in Advance
- On-Demand Interactive Presentation: We welcome 10-minute pre-recorded interactive presentations using digital tools like PlayPosit , Nearpod , and VoiceThread , to engage the audience in active learning as they watch your session.
- Praxis Post(er)s: A Praxis Post(er) is a 5-minute pre-recorded presentation demonstrating a particular teaching practice or assignment in the virtual classroom or during online tutoring sessions. For more information, you can also visit GSOLE’s Praxis Poster Guidelines or watch a previous asynchronous online workshop.
- ePortfolio Gallery Submissions: With attempts to spotlight voices and stories in OLI, this submission type invites educators with professional electronic websites to share 5-minute recorded tours of their sites with the GSOLE community. Individuals who completed ePortfolio sites as part of the GSOLE certification program are especially encouraged to apply. For more information, you can also watch a previous ePortfolio tour.
Depending on interest, GSOLE will host synchronous workshops and distribute resources assisting presenters in building these asynchronous presentations. A workshop will cover design, development, and recording in popular visual presentation platforms. Consultations are also available upon request. Please note the length requirement on these formats, which is an important feature of presentation accessibility.
Submission Guidelines
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Proposals should be prepared for anonymous review without authors' names and institutional affiliations in the abstract. Where applicable, use anonymous descriptors to discuss institutional contexts and presenters (e.g., “large two-year college”; “English department at state university”; “WPA”; “adjunct faculty member”; etc.).
NOTE: Please submit no more than two proposals total. If submitting two proposals, they should be of different presentation formats.
The proposal form asks prospective presenters for the following information:
- The type of presentation: (Choose one)
- Synchronous Presentation Options: Present Live During the Conference
- Panel Proposals: We welcome 40-minute panel presentations (3–5 presenters). For panel proposals, prepare one panel title; individual presenters may have their own titles, which may appear in the abstract.
- Individual Paper Proposals: We welcome 15-minute individual presentations (placed on panels clustered by topic).
- Asynchronous: Prepare Your Presentation in Advance
- On-Demand Interactive Presentation: We welcome 10-minute pre-recorded interactive presentations using digital tools like PlayPosit, Nearpod, and VoiceThread, to engage the audience in active learning as they watch your session.
- Praxis Post(er)s: A Praxis Post(er) is a 5-minute pre-recorded presentation demonstrating a particular teaching practice or assignment in the virtual classroom or during online tutoring sessions. For more information, you can also visit GSOLE’s Praxis Poster Guidelines or watch a previous asynchronous online workshop.
- ePortfolio Gallery Submissions: With attempts to spotlight voices and stories in OLI, this submission type invites educators with professional electronic websites to share 5-minute recorded tours of their sites with the GSOLE community. Individuals who completed ePortfolio sites as part of the GSOLE certification program are especially encouraged to apply. For more information, you can also watch a previous ePortfolio tour.
- Synchronous Presentation Options: Present Live During the Conference
- Presenter(s) name and affiliation: For panel proposals, list all presenters.
- The context of literacy education: (Choose one)
- K-12
- General Education
- Two-Year College
- University
- Technical/Professional Online Education
- OLI in the Disciplines
- Graduate Education
- Educator Professional Development
- Tutoring Center
- Other
- An abstract for the presentation: The abstract is limited to 2800 characters (approximately 400 words). As noted above, omit identifying information in this section.
- Those submitting an ePortfolio proposal should focus the abstract on what attendees will learn or gain from viewing your ePortfolio. This might include the types of artifacts you include, insight into OLI practice in your context, insight into your identity and experiences as an OLI practitioner, the specific ways your ePortfolio bridges theory and practice, etc. Please keep in mind your ePortfolio is being published in a public space, so you’ll want to ensure you are not violating copyright law or sharing student work without permission.
- Identify which topics your presentation/panel discusses: (Select no more than four from the topic list above)