Call for Proposals

Conference Purpose

The Annual Rockcliffe University Consortium Conference (RUCC) takes traditional conferencing methods and converts them into experiential ones. Attendees can expect a dynamic mixture of sessions, excursions, and critical discussion, all around the topic of innovative technology and its application to education, and how the two can impact our students’ preparedness for the digital world and a continually disrupted job market. RUCC participants attending the conference will expect to:

Differentiate between new technologies in education and how they will impact their own students’ future learning and career training, regardless of age;
Discriminate between the different types of digital literacy skills necessary for students at all ages to become critical and creative thinkers that nurture future innovation; and
Transform how knowledge is transferred to students so that they embrace rather than fear innovation, and which challenges both the instructor and the learner.

This is the Future Present.

To this end, if you wish to submit proposals to the conference, consider how the work and/or research you do aligns to the conference purpose, and be among a few privileged individuals who will earn a place in our program.

Why Submit a Proposal?

Submitting to RUCC will distinguish your contribution in a number of ways. Your submission will:

Be peer reviewed by a panel of experts in education and innovative technologies
Be published in the conference proceedings if you opt to submit a paper, as well
Contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the increased necessity for education practices that acknowledge and leverage digital skills
Help you earn the Learning Innovator conference badge

Details for Your Proposal

Preparing Your Proposal

When preparing to submit a proposal, you will need to consider the aspects of the conference given here.

See our criteria for acceptance to increase your chances of being included on our program.

Prepare all information you will need to complete the proposal submission; you will not be able to save the form and finish it later.

This conference has been designated BYOD for presenters and attendees. Therefore, submitting a proposal should consider ways in which you may leverage BYOD and integrate it into your proposal.

Rockcliffe University Consortium does not promote one operating system or platform over another, so all presenters are encouraged to try to submit with a cross-platform mentality. However, all proposals, regardless of platform, will be reviewed equally, using the same standard set of criteria. See our criteria for acceptance to increase your chances of being included on our program.

Our audience is diverse but joined by one common factor: education in any form, level or discipline. This common bond can bring K-12 teachers, higher education professors, instructional developers, educational technologists, and corporate trainers under the same roof to share how we can make learning more dynamic and more relevant to our digital world.

We encourage this diverse audience, because multiple perspectives provide a catalyst for fresh ideas and innovation outside our typical “classroom”.

Sessions may target educators, instructional developers, and educational technologist in K-12, higher education, or professional and continuing education but the primary intent is to offer something that can potentially be applied across any level of education that uses technology to mediate learning and further strengthen the digital skills necessary to be successful in the present and future workforce.

There are three proposal types, which are explained in further detail in the next section. They are:

Workshop
Lecture Presentation
Research or Project Infographic / Networking

A paper can be submitted with a lecture or workshop proposal type, but not with the infographic type. If you are also submitting a paper, you must have it ready at time of submission of proposal. Please review and follow the paper guidelines.

Proposals submitted without a paper cannot be changed to include a paper submission later, due to the strict schedule the peer review committee needs to maintain.

You will choose from ten topic tracks correlated to Rockcliffe University Consortium’s ten standards that target education for the 21st century. They are described in further detail on this page.

Acceptance notifications for proposals submitted before April 13, 2018 will be sent via email by April 22, 2018.
Call for Proposals Extended to April 27, 2018.
Extended CFP Submitters will be notified by May 6, 2018.

All those who submit a proposal to the conference must agree to the speaker release form found at the end of the proposal submission form.

Proposal Types

The three proposal types are differentiated by how the audience will be engaged, how much time will be allocated, and how rooms will be assigned.

You may submit proposals for content that will only be presented, or, in the case of Lecture Presentations or Workshops (but not with Infographic/Networking), you may also submit a paper, which will be peer reviewed, and published in our special proceedings.

These sessions are highly interactive and hands on a device, intended to engage the participants in an activity that illustrates any of the conference tracks in action. These may include the use of a particular mobile app or computer application, or strategies that utilize technology for education, collaboration, service or advocacy.

Submitting a workshop proposal should include:

observable outcomes of the workshop;
a description of the tech being used; and
a description of the resources participants will take home with them in handouts or downloadable online.

If you are also submitting a paper, you must have it ready at time of submission of proposal, using the following paper guidelines. Proposals submitted without a paper cannot be changed to a paper submission later, due to the strict schedule the peer review committee needs to maintain.

RUCC turns the traditional lecture presentation into 30 minutes of talk, followed up immediately with a 30 minute “Move and Mingle” activity that uses the stated outcomes and key terms of the presentation, as submitted in the proposal. While the conference planners will provide the facilitator and structure of this session, the presenter will provide the content in the proposal submission.

The 30 minute lecture presentation is an opportunity to present summaries of research, literature reviews, or projects in any of the tracks for the conference. Though traditional, presenters are encouraged to engage the audience with demos or brief discussion within the allotted 30 minutes.

Although the presenter will only be “on podium” for 30 minutes, staying for the Move and Mingle portion that follows will provide additional networking with your audience, potential partnerships, and further extension of ideas to further your work.

Submitting a lecture presentation proposal should include:

learning outcomes;
a list of references or bibliography;
3-4 key terms; and
a description of how participants may access resources.

If you are also submitting a paper, you must have it ready at time of submission of proposal, using the following paper guidelines. Proposals submitted without a paper cannot be changed to a paper submission later, due to the strict schedule the peer review committee needs to maintain.

Rockcliffe has re-envisioned the traditional poster presentation into a Research or Project Infographic, to leverage your information in a graphic that more dynamically features your content.

The infographic submissions have both online and live networking components. Those who submit to this proposal type may opt for regular or online virtual registration.

Online Components and File Parameters

Presentation of the infographic will be done online only, so that no poster printing will be necessary, nor will there be physical space allocated for setup at the conference. The infographic should visually summarize or encapsulate projects, programs, or ongoing research graphically, capitalizing on design to present compelling information. All posters will be available to conference participants for viewing through the conference app. They will also be published in the proceedings.

The infographic image needs to be saved as a .png or. jpeg, using a 1×4 aspect ratio (400×1600, 500×2000, 600×2400) which is legible on a mobile device or tablet.

Live Networking Program Components

During the conference, a special 60 minute networking session will be scheduled so that those that submitted infographics may have an opportunity to engage in an activity that allows them to discuss their work with other conference participants. This networking session will be structured similarly to the Move and Mingle activity after lectures, so expect to have multiple conversations, that starts with a 90 second elevator speech from you.

Those who purchase a virtual registration will also be able to view the infographics and participate in an online version of this networking session.

For a full description and resources for putting together an infographic, please visit the Infographics page.

Topic Tracks

Rockcliffe University Consortium has ten education standards that target education for the 21st century, and which specify a diverse set of skills and innovative thinking for approaching learning and teaching. In submitting a proposal for RUCC, you will select one of the education standards.

Change is difficult and requires a certain type of resilience and open-mindedness to accept and embrace it. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research about strategies utilized to help learners adapt to technology and innovation.

Technology is now ubiquitous, and in some ways, essential to learning and teaching. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research about how the pervasiveness of technology has changed teaching practices.

Digital learning requires a critical level of thinking that allows for being the discerning consumer and curator of information. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research that build upon the learner’s ability to be reflective and evaluative when making decisions regarding innovative technology and instruction.

The broader context of technology use involves understanding how it impacts society, and how this may establish trends or cultural shifts. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research that examine the implications of certain innovations in teaching and learning on society and larger cultural contexts.

Often, adopting innovative or disruptive technologies requires paradigm shifts from what we’ve always believed is good pedagogy, to what may be a new one. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research that consider new paradigms that embrace innovation and disruptive technology in education.

Just because something is new does not mean it is innovative or even necessary. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research about how to be discerning about new technologies, how to evaluate their potential, and how it may potentially affect the direction that instruction and learning may take.

The main onus of learning in a digital age is the ability to problem solve in, not just critical, but creative ways. Problems, both in learning and societal, have become increasingly more complex as disruptive technologies also become more disruptive to our lives. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research about how to apply critical and creative thinking to solving problems.

Innovative and disruptive technology may sometimes be feared for real or imagined implications to society and learning. Some may feel threatened in their profession by it, even as it offers value added. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research which views the potential changes to education in an optimistic and more self-confident manner.

As virtual and augmented reality become more accessible in education, educators must also become thoughtful about their potential use. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research regarding the best ways to be selective and be creative in the way virtual immersive environments and tools are used for learning and instruction.

A big concern of educators who use digital technologies is assessment of learning, whether the same principles apply from traditional settings and keep the integrity and validity of the evaluation. Proposals to this track may share projects, ideas, or research about how to create assessments and activities for authentic uses of technology, which support formative and summative purposes.