DLAC Session
DLAC includes a variety of session types—more than many conferences! Knowing what to expect will help you get the most out of the conference.

Breakout sessions are scheduled for 75-minute blocks. The concurrent sessions, however, are quite different from each other.

  • Contributed Talk (20 minutes/1 segment) – These talks are made up of 15 minutes of presentation and 5 minutes of questions and discussion. The Program Committee will organize these short talks together under broad themes. 

  • Explore and Engage (45 minutes/2 segments) – This session is intended for a presenter to share information about a topic for 20 minutes (similar to a Contributed Talk) and then lead a discussion about the topic directly following the presentation for the next 20 minute segment (similar to a Table Talk).

  • Organized Session of Talks (75 minutes/3 segments) - The presenter proposes the theme for all three speakers. These sessions are considered a group of three Contributed Talks. They are based on 20-minute segments and allow conference attendees to move between sessions throughout the day. A session moderator may choose to have two speakers plus a 20-minute discussion for the third segment. 

  • Table Talks (35 minutes/1.5 segments) – Table talks are facilitated small group (10-15 people) discussions of 35 minutes. Discussion topics are chosen by the moderator of the session and can focus on any aspect of digital learning. The moderator does not need to be an expert on the topic, but should have questions planned prior to the Table Talk to guide the conversation. 

  • Book Study (35 minutes/1.5 segments) – Book Studies are facilitated small group (10-15 people) discussions of 35 minutes. Sessions are focused around a book that will be highlighted before the conference so attendees have the opportunity to read the book prior to the session. The book is chosen by the moderator of the session and can focus on any aspect of digital learning. The moderator does not have to be the author of the book but should have questions planned prior to the Book Study to guide the conversation.

  • PechaKucha (0.5 segments) – This is a very specific type of presentation that is exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds long, where you must have exactly 20 images in a Powerpoint with slides auto-advancing after 20 seconds. See www.pechakucha.org for more information.

  • Poster Sessions (90 minutes) – Posters are presented during one of the two early evening receptions in the exhibit hall. We would like you to think of your poster as an “infographic” to stress that the graphics must convey a problem and solution, or research question and findings.  

    Blocks may also be used for the following types of activities, using the entire 75 minutes or a portion of the 75 minutes:

    • Debate (2 to 3 segments) – This session is intended for a moderator to lead a debate-style discussion on an online, blended, or digital learning topic in which differing opinions exist. Structurally, a debate and a panel discussion may appear similar, but we are encouraging the free exchange of ideas and, as such, debates that feature differing views will be given priority. 

    • Panel Discussion (2 to 3 segments) – After short introductory statements on the panel topic, a moderator will lead a discussion with the panelists on the topic, encouraging the attendees to pose questions. Panel discussions must be interactive between panel members and the audience and not a set of individual presentations. The preferred panel discussion provides panelists with a variety of perspectives on a topic from multiple schools/organizations. (The Program Committee can assist in finding other panelists as needed.) 

    • Workshops (3 segments) – This session provides an opportunity to explore a topic in depth. It is expected that the workshop will have various interactive components. While, generally speaking, sessions are limited to 75 minutes in length, workshops may propose a longer time period that would span more than one break-out session. The workshop session type is not meant to be a traditional conference break-out sessions. These must be interactive sessions, engaging all participants in activities and discussions to take a deeper experiential dive into a topic.

    • Community-Based Set of Sessions (4 sessions) - The goal of these sessions is to propose a specific track of multiple sessions that build upon one another that attendees would join throughout DLAC. These are comprised of: 1) A Contributed Talk (pre-recorded and shared prior to the main conference to introduce the topic), 2) a Panel Discussion (to provide multiple perspectives from experts on the topic, 3) a Workshop (to take a deeper, hands-on dive into the topic), and 4) a Table Talk discussion (to give the participants a chance to ask questions and engage at a higher level with other members of the community). One to two people will plan, lead, moderate, and engage the participants as a community during DLAC around this topic. If there is further interest in participants continuing to engage after DLAC, they can do so through the DLC membership organization. To submit these sessions, select Community-Based Set of Sessions in the proposal form and provide an overview along with the titles of each of the four specific sessions in your session description. You will then need to submit each of the four sessions separately, each with a different title and description and in each of those submissions mark "Yes", that it is a part of a Community-Based Set of Sessions in the proposal form when asked. Please reach out to dlac@evergreenedgroup.com with questions about this session type.

    • We will have two plenary sessions—our opening on Monday from 1:00 - 1:30pm and closing on Wednesday from 3:00 - 3:45pm.