GLS 5.0 Program

Program

The program is now available:

A complete and gorgeous printed program will be handed to every conference participant during registration. If you would like, there is a PDF version available for download, too (5 MB).

Session Formats

Presentation: An individual 15–20 minute presentation. We’ll cluster two or three presentations into each session, and assign a session discussant to draw out common themes and to field audience questions. Standard format as most conferences. Let us know, though, if you have any special needs for your presentation.

Symposium: Like a presentation session, but crafted by you to tackle a specific theme or issue related to conference themes. Format can vary from a cluster of three or more presentations with a designated discussant to a debate-style moderated panel — it all depends on how creative you want to be. Every symposium ends with audience Q&A, but we especially welcome symposia that promote plenty of engagement and interaction throughout.

Worked Example: A worked example is part of an innovative session format this year based on the work of James Paul Gee. Gee has developed a new process of using “worked examples” as a public working through of a proposed exemplar. Worked examples are strategically selected instances of multimodal data or media of some form (e.g., videos, images, games, transcripts) that the presenter has interpreted from some specific point of view as a potential exemplar or best practice. Rather than presenting a final closed argument or solved problem, a worked example functions as an “invitation” into conversation with other scholars interested in the same category or class of phenomena the worked example represents. We can “work through” these proposed exemplars together. Think of it as a “provocative object” for calibrating like minds. Whoa.

Workshop: An interactive, hour-long (or longer) workshop in a single session, during which presenters engage the audience directly; they are highly participatory and include discussion and debriefing following the activity. If an hour is not enough time, tell us how much time you need.

Fireside Chats: A special hour-long session that fosters informal discussion among a smaller group on a specific topic of interest. Each chat is organized around a special guest (e.g., James Paul Gee) or theme (e.g., the low-down on “game addiction” theory and research). Looks like an official way to chat up colleagues? Precisely.

Chat ’n’ Frag: A 60–90 minute session focusing entirely on peer-led gaming — giving interested researchers, designers, aficionados, and fans a chance to engage other conference participants in a game of the host’s choice, be it an off-the-shelf title like World of Warcraft or something specifically designed for learning. Think of a Chat ’n’ Frag session as a kind of game walk-thru focused on both hands-on joint play and discussion topics selected in advance by the host. The structure and content of a Chat ’n’ Frag is up to you, although we encourage you to include thoughtful game analysis and hands-on play.

Poster Session: A highly-interactive poster session, ideal for those who wish to engage in informal, face-to-face discussions about their research, with colleagues and other conference attendees. Several roving discussants will be in attendance, who will chair brief discussions of themes across the posters in the session. We encourage the submission of ongoing and in-progress research for the poster session.

Micropresentation: Originally inspired by the wildly successful “Pecha Kucha” format from Japan, micropresentations are short talks designed to allow more people to present on a select theme while, at the same time, increasing the intensity and focus of the presentations themselves. Each speaker is allowed 20 slide images and given 20 seconds for each slide for a total of exactly 6 minutes 40 seconds for their entire presentation. (Oh yes — we will time you that closely.) The result is an action-packed ride through the core claims of each speaker followed by summative observations from the crack ninja discussant and direct conversation with the audience. It’s a new format and all the fashion. GO GO GO!

Confirmed Presenters

You know you want to hang out with these people… and they’re planning to come this year!