Summary of program deadlines

Action	Deadline date
Workshops - proposers submit outlines (up to 1500 words).	9 July 2004
Papers - proposers submit papers - full and concise categories.	30 July 2004
Committee emails notification of acceptance to first authors - full and concise paper categories. Includes advice on paper presentation category offered - full, concise, poster.	11 September 2004
Proposers email the Committee to accept or decline the offer.	18 September 2004
Full and concise categories - Proceedings file due.	30 September 2004
Poster category submission deadline. Workshop category - optional submission of a one page summary for the printed Proceedings (and for the Conference website if an optional expanded version is not submitted).	15 October 2004
Poster and Workshop categories - optional submission of an expanded version for the Conference website.	12 November 2004
Conference Workshop presentations and formal opening ceremony.	5 December 2004

Conference theme: Beyond the comfort zone

The Comfort Zone debates and celebrates the cultural significance of architecture and design, landscape and gardens, and food.... ABC Radio National program, The Comfort Zone (ABC, 2003)

...this term I have stepped out of my comfort zone and allowed the children in my class to direct the theme and hopefully some of the activities that we will be doing in our room. They have gone for robots. Paul Carroll, primary school teacher (Carroll, 2003)

In order to grow and change, we must first be discontent with our current comfort zone. ... The old comfort zone, in time, will be unacceptable and we will find ways to acquire the new. Analyze Your Comfort Zone (Webb, 2001).

The Conference theme, Beyond the comfort zone, has several purposes. In addition to providing a title for the Proceedings, the theme expresses our intention that conference presentations will go beyond the 'comfort zone' of established techniques and familiar contexts. In calling for presentations, we will seek to recognise innovative exploration of the next wave of research topics and techniques, and imaginative anticipation of future contexts for computers and related technologies in teaching and learning.

Living in the comfort zone	So we've become comfortable with the technology. We're using a variety of ICTs - learning management systems, asynchronous discussion groups, online libraries, video conferencing, etc. Are we using them to make our teaching and the learning of our students more effective? How can we use them to make teaching and learning more effective?
Pushing the boundaries and questioning the comfort zone	We might be comfortable with the technology but are we free from pain and anxiety? Resources are scarce, e-learning doesn't seem to be a government priority, we are still being challenged to improve quality and reduce costs. How are we addressing the systemic issues both nationally and locally? How can staff development needs in teaching and learning topics be addressed in a workplace environment that is stressed for time and resources? How can online learning be delivered at lower costs with the same if not better quality as face to face teaching?
Beyond the comfort zone: Visions from the new frontier	What is the new comfort zone going to be like? Where are the visionaries with the radical ideas, views and schemes: the modern day Leonardo da Vinci with the new 'helicopters'? They might not be immediately practical but they can provide a vivid, imaginative conception of what we can anticipate the new comfort zone to be. What new technologies and applications of technology will support teaching and learning tomorrow? What are the new theories, interpretive frameworks, methodologies, investigative techniques, that we will be using in the future?

The conventional expectation with calls for conference papers is that authors will "address the conference theme". However, we want to use Beyond the comfort zone as an adoption of a critical perspective on current and future trends, rather than being necessarily a topic or set of topics for explicit discussion in every submission. In asking our review panel to consider 'Contribution to the theme Beyond the comfort zone' as a criterion in the scoring process, we are looking especially to reward each author's ability to include insightful, critical or visionary perspectives in their interpretations and ideas.

Program rationale

The ASCILITE 2004 Program Committee is responsible for the call for papers, conduct of the review process, selection of papers, allocation of publication and presentation formats, scheduling of presentations, producing the Proceedings in print and online formats, and all related editorial matters, under the general oversight of the Conference Committee. Adopting program planning principles similar to those used for ASCILITE's successful Conferences in 2001, 2002 and 2003, the 2004 Conference invites submissions for Program activities in three categories which we believe will provide a well balanced blend - full papers, concise papers and workshops.

All submissions will be refereed in order to obtain consistently high academic quality, with innovative, original contributions to research, development and practices in teaching and learning, ranging over all areas of interest to the Society and its members. A further purpose, in the cases of full and concise papers and with particular reference to authors working with Australian universities, is to obtain DEST recognition of the work, in DEST's category "Conference publication" (DEST, 2004a) [Advice to Reviewers] [Review Form].

The deadline dates in the Conference program development, summarised above, are determined by the need to allow reasonable time for the refereeing process, for authors to incorporate feedback from the referees, and for preparation of the printed and website versions of the Proceedings. The publication formats specified below address the need to provide for easy reference to articles during Conference presentations, and for economical and effective world wide distribution after the Conference, in accordance with open access principles (ARL, 2003) and ASCILITE precedents (ASCILITE, 2004). The restrictions on length and first authorships per person, similar to previous conferences, are intended to encourage diversity and variety in the conference program, whilst containing the program and Proceedings within reasonable sizes. In accordance with established practice at ASCILITE Conferences, we are not offering an Abstracts submission option or stage for papers. The two options for refereed paper submission are full and concise. The sole option for non-refereed paper submission is poster.

The Committee's acceptance of a submission for publication and presentation is subject to the author, or at least one author (normally the first) in the case of multi-author papers, lodging a registration for the full Conference (ie a one day registration will not satisfy this condition).

With assistance from referees and feedback during the conference and presentations, the Program Committee will identify up to five papers to receive an Outstanding Paper Award, and further recognition through publication of a similar or revised, expanded version in the Society's refereed research journal, the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology.

Publication formats

Allocations of publication format will be made by the Program Committee, taking into account the review process scores and recommendations made by Reviewers. The Program Committee will take note of the publication format sought by the authors, but a different format may be offered after the review process (for example, the Committee may offer an opportunity for a full paper to be resubmitted as a short paper).

Medium	Category	Brief specification (see content and format specifications below)
Printed Proceedings	Full papers	Maximum 10 pages. Persons are limited to one first authorship for a paper (either full or concise categories), though there is no limit on the number of times a person may appear as an author other than first.
	Concise papers accepted for full or concise presentation	Maximum 4 pages. Persons are limited to one first authorship for a paper (either full or concise categories), though there is no limit on the number of times a person may appear as an author other than first.
	Concise papers accepted for poster presentation	One page summary. Persons are limited to one first authorship for a poster, though a person may appear as an author other than first on other posters or as a first author on a full or concise paper.
	Posters and Workshops	One page summary.
Conference website	Full papers	Title, authors and content to be the same as in the printed Proceedings.
	Concise papers accepted for full or concise presentation	Title, authors and content to be the same as in the printed Proceedings.
	Concise papers accepted for poster presentation	A complete concise version as submitted for the refereeing process or as subsequently amended after reviewer feedback. Poster presenters may elect to use their summary version but a "summary only" publication will not be eligible for DEST recognition as a "Conference publication" for research data collection purposes.
	Posters and Workshops	Presenters may elect to use their one page summary as in the printed Proceedings or may submit an expanded version up to a maximum of four pages equivalent, or as otherwise agreed with the Program Committee.
The contents page URL for full papers and concise papers (including those accepted for poster presentation) will be http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/procs/ The contents page for workshops will be http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/workshops/

For guidance on the range of topics and kinds of papers likely to be of interest for ASCILITE 2004, authors are invited to browse in the Conference archives (ASCILITE, 2003), and in journals publishing similar content, for example the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET, 2004). The kinds of papers may include these, for example:

• theoretical and conceptual reviews, technical reviews
• educational technology product development and implementation
• organisational, management or policy initiatives supporting educational technology developments
• development of research and evaluation methodologies for investigating technologies in education
• case studies of local experiences in implementing educational technologies
• projects in developing technology based teaching materials, resources and techniques
• curriculum and teaching development initiatives impacting on or drawing on technologies

Detailed specifications of format will be provided later via an MS Word document that you may use as a template. In summary, the page limits refer to body text 10 point Times or Times New Roman, single spaced with 3.0 cm margins all round, and including full contact and affiliation details for all authors, all tables, diagrams, figures and screen shots in their desired positions, a 200 word abstract, and all references (in APA compliant format).

Presentation formats

Allocations of presentation format will be made by the Program Committee, taking into account the recommendations made by referees. Allocations of "traditional" and "short" presentation formats will not necessarily correspond to the category of acceptance for the conference proceedings (a full paper may be allocated a short session, and a concise paper may be allocated a traditional session).

Kind of presentation	Time allocation	Brief specification (see further specifications below)
Traditional	25 minutes	Presenters may select any conventional style of presentation, but are very strongly urged to allocate at least one third of the time to interactive discussion.
Short	15 minutes	Presenters may select any conventional style of presentation, but are very strongly urged to allocate at least one half of the time to interactive discussion.
Poster	Continuous, plus 1 program period exclusively for posters	Poster presenters are expected to be present at their posters for the whole of the program period that is reserved for posters. Please note that 'web presentation' is intended to be an integral part of 'poster presentation', being facilitated by later deadlines for submission of initial and final versions (see 'Publication formats' and 'Summary of program deadlines' above).
Workshop	Half day (3 hr) or full day (6 hr)	The time allocation does not include lunchtime (1 hr). We recommend that presenters adjourn for a 15-20 minute tea-coffee break at an appropriate stage.

A laptop or desktop personal computer will be available in all of the presentation venues, together with data projection and Internet access. Further advice on facilities and presentation style will be given when offers of presentation format are made on 11 September 2004.

Workshops

Continuing the pattern used in previous ASCILITE Conferences, workshops will be run on Sunday 5 December, preceding the formal opening of the Conference. The workshops constitute the Conference's most direct contribution towards staff development and professional development in educational technology and related topics. In many cases the workshops are derived from staff development activities conducted previously at the presenters' own institutions. Workshops enable participants to work with experts in specific areas to acquire knowledge, enhance skills and develop broader perspectives. These are not research presentations, although some workshops may include topics in research skills and techniques. Workshops are longer sessions, typically half day or full day, to enable detailed discussion and interactive consideration of substantial topics and issues.

Workshop presenters may choose from a variety of classroom facilities for their sessions. These facilities include small lecture rooms (with typical AV facilities), tutorial rooms (with OHP, DVD, VHS, TV), and computer labs (PC and Macintosh with one of the computers connected to a projector). If you require more detail for preparing your proposal, please contact Michael Fardon (Academic Director, Multimedia Centre, UWA - michael.fardon@uwa.edu.au) directly for any queries about workshop facilities or other specific requirements.

Workshop proposals should be no longer than three pages (or 1,500 words), using the same specifications of format as given for full and concise papers, but there is an earlier closing date, 9 July. Proposals will be considered by the full Committee upon recommendation from the Program Committee, and advice to proposers will be sent by 1 August. Proposals should include the following information:

• Length of workshop (specify half-day or full-day).
• Facilities required.
• Intended audience and degree of expertise required by workshop participants.
• Clear statement of the objectives of the workshop.
• A detailed description of the workshop format including activities workshop participants will be expected to engage in.
• A list of previous presentations (if any) of the workshop and website or publication references (if any). Optionally, the proposers may nominate one or two referees whom the Committee may contact.
• A summary of the workshop presenter's qualifications.

Refereeing process

All full and concise papers will be subjected to a double blind peer review process using an external panel of reviewers [Advice to Reviewers] [Review Form]. Having in mind the criteria outlined below, reviewers (two for each submission) will assign scores and make recommendations that will enable the Program Committee to prepare offers of acceptance or rejection to authors. The acceptance offers will specify a publication format and presentation format (options detailed above), and may include advice on mandatory revisions or desirable revisions. Owing to the tight timetable of only six weeks for the review and notification process, the Program Committee will not be able to provide specific, detailed formative feedback to authors who are not offered their first preference publication and presentation formats, or to authors of declined submissions.

Reviewers and the Program Committee will be guided by criteria summarised in three main categories:

1. Suitability for an ASCILITE Conference
   Contribution to the theme Beyond the comfort zone, importance and interest of the topic to Conference participants, potential to stimulate Conference discussion, impact and conciseness qualities.
2. Academic merit
   Creativity, originality, innovativeness. Quality of literature review and statement of research goals. Appropriately chosen and documented methods for research studies. Logical presentation and analysis of results, findings, inferences and conclusions. Research significance of the work and implications for practices, policies or further investigations.
3. Standard of writing
   Clear and logical presentation, appropriate style, freedom from errors, ease of reading, correct grammar and spelling, appropriate abstract, conformance with Conference specifications for referencing, length and format details.

• meet the definition of research in relation to creativity, originality, and increasing humanity's stock of knowledge
• be selected on the basis of a DEST compliant peer review process (independent, qualified expert review; double blind reviews conducted on the full articles, prior to publication)
• be published and presented at a conference having national and international significance as evidenced by registrations and participation
• be made available widely through a printed Proceedings and the Conference website (DEST, 2004b).

Submissions

Please take the greatest care to ensure that your submission conforms with the Conference specifications for content, format and deadline dates. Submit as an MS Word file by email attachment despatched as follows:

From: (the contact person, normally the first author)
To: ascilite04-program@ascilite.org.au
Cc: (your co-authors, if any, and if you wish to have our replies ccd to them)
Subject: (Category) proposal (first author full name)

The specification of category in the subject line allows you to indicate your preference for publication format, though a different format may be offered after the review process.

References

ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (2003). Radio National - The Comfort Zone - Home Page. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/czone/

AJET (2004). Australasian Journal of Educational Technology.
http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/

ASCILITE (2004). Conferences. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences.html

ARL (2003). Issues in scholarly communication: Open access. Association of Research Libraries, Washington, DC. http://www.arl.org/scomm/open_access/

Carroll, P. (2003). 'robots'. Posting to echalk list, 23 Jul 2003 18:22:56 +0800.
http://learnt.smec.curtin.edu.au/echalk/

DEST (2004a). Higher Education Research. http://www.dest.gov.au/highered/research/

DEST (2004b). Higher Education Research Data Collection: Final 2003 Data Specifications. Higher Education Division, Department of Education, Science and Training, Canberra. http://www.dest.gov.au/highered/research/documents/specs2004.pdf

Webb, R. L. (2001). Analyze Your Comfort Zone. In Motivation Tool Chest.
http://www.motivation-tools.com/elements/comfort_zone.htm