Deadline Extended: April 15, 2025 (Final Call)

OTESSA-US: Research, Design, and Policy Colloquium 2025

Site Organizers: Stephanie Moore, University of New Mexico; Matthew Schmidt, University of Georgia, and Jason McDonald, Brigham Young University

We are hosting an OTESSA meeting in Santa Fe, NM, which will serve as a scholarly colloquium to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and idea development in educational technology and instructional design. The event emphasizes collaboration through small group discussions, allowing authors to refine their work with diverse perspectives. Guided by the World Café model, the two-day format will encourage idea sharing and collective problem-solving in a supportive, interactive environment.

We are currently accepting proposals for presentations addressing Grand Challenges in research, design, and policy rather than technologies. These Grand Challenges focus on addressing complex, global educational problems—such as learner stress, accessibility, and equity—through collaborative, problem-centered research and practice. Proposals should emphasize problem framing, the role of IDT in addressing these issues, strategic goals, and contributions to these challenges, aligning with international frameworks like UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals. Further details on the Grand Challenges are provided below.

The OTESSA-US Research and Design Colloquium will be held in Santa Fe, NM, at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture (June 5-6), with virtual participation available (May 30-June 6). Attendees can explore Santa Fe’s cultural and outdoor offerings, with time included in the agenda for exploration. Participation options include in person (limited to 40 attendees), at a co-located site, or virtually, with access to keynotes and community sessions.

Associated Publication: Papers from the colloquium will be published in a special issue of the open OTESSA Journal , with deadlines announced closer to the conference. Authors may also publish a proceedings paper, with the special issue paper as an elaboration.

Author Commitments:

• Follow colloquium presentation and discussion guidelines.
• Submit a 2,500-word draft by the deadline (late submissions may result in rescinded acceptance).
• Read and review ~10 draft papers (~2,500 words each) from other presenters (available by May 21, 2025).
• Fully attend and actively participate in the colloquium.
• Revise drafts, review others’ work, and submit the final draft by the deadline.
• Review proofs for publication in Spring/Summer 2026.

Deadlines for the Santa Fe site:

• April 15 – Proposals due (through OTESSA site)
• Late April – notifications of acceptance
• May 19 – 2,500-word drafts due (details to be communicated to accepted presenters)
• June 5-6 – on-site meeting

Colloquium Theme: Grand Challenges in IDT – Coordinating Research and Development on Significant Problems of Practice

Reeves and Reeves (2015) and Reeves and Lin (2020) have argued for some time and in various places that the research we have in instructional design and technology (IDT) is not the research we need. The core of Reeves’ argument is that for too long, IDT research has focused on things instead of problems. Reeves and Lin (2020) argued that educational technology research “does not have a distinguished record in dealing with local educational problems, much less global ones” (p.1998).

Making a shift towards problems proves difficult in part because researchers organize and frame the problem space more around better understanding a technology rather than better understanding a particular problem or need. Expertise is frequently communicated in a techno-centric manner: one has expertise in artificial intelligence or intelligent tutors or online education or games for learning or MOOCs, for example.

When the editors of the fifth edition of the Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology challenged authors to orient around problems instead, they reported that many authors struggled to situate their work in that reframing. However, for the authors who did contribute to that edition, interesting themes emerged. Chapters focused on significant social and learning needs and organized their summaries around what IDT professionals (researchers and practitioners alike) can do to help address these problems. Topics included issues such as the digital divide, learner diversity, cultural considerations, and accessibility. It is worth noting that many of these topics that colleagues identified as significant problems are also the same topics commonly identified by practitioners as ethical considerations in their work.

Although the work of re-orienting around problems rather than things may require some significant mental shifts in how we interpret the research we have and engage in future research, Reeves and colleagues argued – and we would concur – that this work is necessary if our research is going to be relevant and impactful. To facilitate a strategic direction for research and practice in the field, we are introducing the theme of “grand challenges” alongside what we hope will become a field-wide initiative spanning organizations and country contexts.

The concept of grand challenges is that a given field or discipline identifies major, complex problems that “can be plausibly addressed through coordinated and collaborative effort” (George et al., 2016, p.1880). Taking a step beyond reframing what we are working on into learning problems, a grand challenges initiative reflects more of a strategic, planful approach to tackling the problems that we know to be complex or seemingly intractable in nature. Inherent in the idea of grand challenges is the notion that no individual researcher or team can address the problem alone or even fully understand it from the position of their context alone. Rather, these problems are global in nature and therefore require that multiple perspectives and possible approaches be brought to bear and tested and also require that many researchers and developers put their shoulders to the plow.

Numerous fields – such as engineering, social work, and math education, to name but a few – have used this process to identify research priorities and organize their research activities around problems they wish to address that they then articulate as specific goals. This structure provides a field a strategic organization that can foster coordinated efforts and also inform research funding priorities from federal agencies, private foundations, and other funding sources. To date, however, the field of IDT has not engaged in such conversations or coordination.

As part of OTESSA-US, we will have a sub-strand and initiative focused on grand challenges in IDT. For this, we will host a working session during the OTESSA-US meeting for all participants to learn more about grand challenges, brainstorm possible challenges that may be adopted, and start to form networks for collaboration. It is our hope that these networks encompass collaborations between and with researchers and practitioners alike, as our sense is that traditional research, work in the field, and methods that helps us document design knowledge and precedent will all play key roles in making a difference. As an example, we are inviting colleagues working on learner stress and anxiety to attend and perhaps start to form a network for collaboration and cross-pollination.

We welcome proposals on work that colleagues believe may be representative of a grand challenge. These proposals should emphasize problem framing (what is the problem and how is it being framed), a clear need or gap, a rationale for what IDT researchers and practitioners can do, strategic goals for the field in this area, and how your research or practice is contributing to that particular problem space. We also encourage you to consider how your work maps to international or global frameworks, such as UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a way to scaffold the work of this convening with other international efforts.

Our plan is to continue this grand challenges initiative in years ahead and continue to convene meetings around this project organized around the specific problems and needs that colleagues identify as we conduct information gathering and community input sessions through multiple venues in the coming years. Thus, we encourage participants to view this not just as yet another conference but as an opportunity to start building some collaborative research and practice communities.

Venue: Santa Fe, New Mexico or Virtual

We will be hosting the in-person portion of OTESSA-US Research and Design Symposium in Santa Fe, NM for at least the first few years of this venture. Our current plan is to host our meetings at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture (MIAC). MIAC is within walking distance of other museums, art galleries, hotels and dining. Upon acceptance of your proposal, we encourage you to locate a hotel that appeals to your interests and budget. Santa Fe is home to many artists, museums, southwest dining, and great hiking and other outdoor activities. We plan to leave room in the agenda for you to enjoy Santa Fe either on your own or as part of semi-structured group excursions.

If travel is not an option, we certainly understand! OTESSA is happy to support our colleagues who, for whatever reason, cannot join us in person. Please check the OTESSA site for dates for virtual presentations and select virtual as your preferred modality when you submit your proposal.