For full conference information, visit the home page at http://www.unisa.edu.au/odlaaconference

Papers

Papers and Publications

Papers for the 17^th ODLAA conference Breaking the boundaries: The international experience in open, distance and flexible education held in Adelaide 9th -11^th November 2005, were initially accepted through a process of blind refereeing of abstracts. Abstracts were selected by the Conference Papers and Publications Committee on the basis of their relevance to the conference themes, their interest to delegates, and their potential to enhance research, policy or practice in Open, Distance and Flexible Education. Delegates who wished their papers to be assessed as refereed papers were invited to submit full papers for review by members of a panel of international referees.

All papers in the Refereed Papers category were submitted as full papers and processed following Department of Education, Science & Training (DEST) guidelines. In addition to the criteria listed above, papers were assessed for their originality, theoretical and methodological adequacy and their implications for policy, practice or further research. All refereed papers were sent for blind review to two (in some cases three) referees from a panel including international and Australian experts in Open, Distance and Flexible Education. Feedback was provided to authors. Many papers were significantly revised in the light of comments and were accepted only if requirements were met. Papers that in the opinion of referees and editors did not meet criteria were not accepted for the Refereed Papers category.

Papers in the Other Papers category include work in progress, industry and short papers that do not meet DEST requirements for refereed papers or papers that were not submitted for the refereeing process.

Prior to the Conference, papers have been made available on the Conference website. Following the Conference, papers will continue to be available on the ODLAA website.

Selected papers will be chosen for a post-conference publication Breaking the boundaries: The international experience in open, distance and flexible education which will be provided to contributors and will be available for purchase by conference delegates, libraries and other interested parties.

Associate Professor Marian Tulloch

Charles Sturt University

List of Reviewers (doc 35KB)

Call for Papers

Call for refereed papers has now closed. Abstracts for non-refereed papers are still being accepted.

The conference will address the following themes:

Transnational and development

international education
emerging markets
globalisation
the millennium goals from the Open and Distance Learning perspective

Excellence in teaching and learning

innovation in Open and Distance Learning
improving quality

Information and communication technologies in Open and Distance Learning

tools
infrastructure and industry
pedagogical integration in Open and Distance Learning contexts

Professional development in Open and Distance learning

institutional activities
accredited programs
theoretical context of Open and Distance Learning as a field of practice

Types of Papers

All proposals will initially be considered as abstracts. Abstracts will be refereed by the Forum Publications Committee and authors will be advised of acceptance by the 13^th May. At the time of abstract submission, authors will nominate whether they wish their full paper to be considered for blind refereeing. Papers will fall into two categories:

1) Refereed paper

Call for refereed papers has now closed.

Closing date for submission of full papers (3 - 4,000 words) – 8 July 2005

Papers submitted for refereeing will be selected through a blind refereeing peer review process that will conform to the criteria laid down by DEST (Department of Education Science & Training). This will enable authors working within Australian universities to qualify for DEST recognition of their work under the category ‘Conference Publications’. Once authors are advised that their abstract has been accepted they will be given until 30^th June to submit their complete paper for blind refereeing.

2) Short papers and work in progress

Closing date for submission of complete papers (2,000 - 2,500 words) – 30 September 2005

Short papers or work in progress will be accepted on the basis of an abstract.

Publication of papers

All papers accepted for the Forum will be published on the web in the Forum Proceedings prior to the Forum. All papers that meet criteria as refereed papers will be published in the refereed section of the Forum Proceedings.

After the Forum a selection of keynote addresses and refereed conference papers will also be published in a printed copy of ODLAA 2005 Breaking the boundaries: The international experience in open, distance and flexible education. Selection will be undertaken by the Forum Publications Committee on the basis of referees’ feedback.

Submission Process

Abstracts submissions must include the following information:

Author(s)’ contact information for each author (Name, Title, Organisation, Address, email, Phone number, Fax Number)
Nominated contact if other than first author and an indication whether communications should be copied to all authors
Title
Nominated Forum theme(s)
Proposed category: Refereed Paper/ Non-Refereed Paper

Papers should be emailed to celt@csu.edu.au with subject line ‘ODLAA 2005’.

Details for submission of refereed papers will be sent out with the notification to authors on acceptance of the abstract.

Summary of Program deadlines

Date	Deadline
13^th May 2005	Advice to authors
8^th July 2005	Closing date for submission of full papers for blind refereeing
30^th September 2005	Finalisation of advice to authors on refereed papers
30^th September 2005	Closing date for submission of work-in-progress and short papers for conference website
17^th October 2005	Forum papers available on forum website

Selection Criteria

Abstract selection criteria

Abstracts must summarise the proposed paper in no more than 250 words. The Publications Committee will evaluate abstracts on the following criteria:

Relevance to Forum themes
Interest and relevance to conference participants from various countries and parts of the education industry
Clarity and coherence
Contribution to research, policy and/or innovative practice in open and distance and flexible education

Refereed Papers Additional Selection Criteria

Refereed papers must be no more than 3,000-4,000 words in length and will be refereed in accordance with following criteria:

Clarity of expression, organisation and goals
Appropriateness of methodological and theoretical framework
Awareness of current literature and positioning within debates in the field
Originality and significance
Implications for policy, practice and/or for further research in open and distance and flexible education

Conference Program

All participants whose proposal, whether abstract or refereed paper, is accepted for the conference will be given a role in the conference but this will not always involve the formal presentation of the full paper. The Program Committee will liaise with the participants about the form of their contribution.