About the Conference

The 12th International Symposium on Open Collaboration (OpenSym 2014) is the premier conference on open collaboration research and practice, including open source, open data, open education, wikis and related social media, Wikipedia, and IT-driven open innovation research. OpenSym is the first conference series to bring together the different strands of open collaboration research and practice, seeking to create synergies and inspire new collaborations between computer scientists, social scientists, legal scholars, and everyone interested in understanding open collaboration and how it is changing the world. OpenSym 2016 will be held in Berlin, Germany, on August 17-19, 2016. OpenSym is held in-cooperation with ACM SIGWEB and ACM SIGSOFT and the conference proceedings will be archived in the ACM digital library like all prior editions.

Open Education Research Track

Open Education refers to a movement that promotes using, reusing, adapting and sharing learning materials. Open online learning environments such as MOOCs make educational material for learners available in and out of school. With Open Education, we can harness the power of open access to high-level education addressing learners worldwide. The availability of large sets of user data and new analysis methods allows us to take into account individual differences of teachers and learners. By addressing learners’ different needs and various levels of prior knowledge more timely and adaptively, we may overcome the “one size fits all” solution towards a more flexible approach to teaching and learning.

Open Education and the available technological tools enable mass collaboration. A large number of people mutually produce shared digital artefacts in formal learnings settings in schools or universities, but also in workplace related settings. Open Education connects the different “worlds” of formal and informal learning, enables lifelong development and provides new opportunities for the exchange of practical knowledge.

Connecting learners with rich and dynamic educational materials, thereby supporting self-paced learning and co-construction of knowledge, we may provoke critical thinking and ultimately enhance learning. This provides the possibility to jointly develop new knowledge or products (e.g. Maker Spaces), collect data (e.g. Citizen Science) or discuss political topics (e.g. e-participation).

This year, the Open Education Research Track, emphasizes the role of Open Education for workplace related learning, knowledge management or organizational learning. We will discuss how technology for Open Education and the availability of open educational resources changes the way we communicate, coordinate and collaborate within large groups. We seek contributions from researchers and practitioners investigating Open Education looking at various aspects that make Open Education distinct from other educational movements both in formal and informal settings, in schools and universities and at workplaces.

Research Topics include but are not limited to:

– Learning analytics and educational data mining
– Social network analysis
– MOOCs and other open online learning environments
– Metadata for Open Education
– Mass collaboration
– Organizational learning and knowledge management

– Peer assessment and peer feedback
– Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)
– Knowledge sharing and knowledge building
– Communities of practice
– Collaborative writing using wikis, blogs etc.
– Citizen Science

Track Chairs

Astrid Wichmann (Ruhr University Bochum)

Johannes Moskaliuk (Universität Tübingen)

Research Track Program Committee

Ulrich Hoppe (University of Duisburg-Essen)
Michele Notari (Pädagogische Hochschule Bern)
Leonard Dobusch (freie Universität Berlin)
Heisawn Jeong (Hallym University)
Barbara Kump (FH Wien)

Ulrike Cress (Tübingen University)
Thomas Herrmann (Ruhr University Bochum)
Jim Slotta (Oise University of Toronto)
Tobias Ley (Tallinn University)

Submission Information and Instructions

The following types of submissions are invited:

Long papers (5-10 pages)
Short papers (2-4 pages)
posters (1-2 pages)

Research papers (long and short) present integrative reviews or original reports of substantive new theoretical or empirical work. Research papers will be reviewed by the research track program committee to meet rigorous academic standards of publication. Papers will be reviewed for relevance, conceptual quality, innovation and clarity of presentation. They must be written in English. At least one author of accepted papers is required to attend the conference in order to present the paper.

Research posters enable researchers to present late-breaking research results, significant research work in progress, or research work that is best communicated in conversation. OpenSym’s lively poster sessions let conference attendees exchange ideas one-on-one with authors, and let authors discuss their work in detail with those attendees most deeply interested in the topic. Successful applicants will display their posters, up to 1x2m in size, at a special session during the event.

The OpenSym website provides more information about the available paper types.

Submissions for experience reports (long and short), tutorials, workshops, panels, non-research posters, and demos are also sought but are handled through the industry and community track, please see the industry and community track call for submissions.

Submissions to OpenSym’s Doctoral Symposium are sought but are handled separately; please see the doctoral symposium call for submissions.

Submissions should follow the standard ACM SIG proceedings format. All papers must conform at time of submission to the formatting instructions and must not exceed the page limits, including all text, references, appendices and figures. All submissions must in PDF format. All papers and posters should be submitted electronically through EasyChair using the following URL: https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=opensym2016

Submission and Notification Deadlines