Conference Theme

International Collaboration toward Educational Innovation for All: Overarching Research, Development, and Practices

The ISLS Annual Meeting started as a new forum for the society members to exchange their ideas and insights through two conference programs, the Learning Sciences (ICLS) and Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). The annual meeting composed of the two conference programs in Bochum was successful with productive discourse. In 2022, we will explore international collaboration to empower educational innovation for all in this challenging time by discussing meaningful connections among research, development, and practices.

Diversity is a critical nature for communities to sustain and develop their values. ISLS has grown as such a diverse community. Equity and justice in the educational context have emerged in this pandemic period and made hidden discriminations in our life visible. ISLS is one of the first academic organizations to discuss the issue and exchange insights based on research. The 2022 Annual Meeting will further pursue the global perspectives on equity and justice that promote the empowerment of educational innovation for all.

The coronavirus outbreak made us think of remote education not as a complementary program to face-to-face education but as a new, normal format. In addition, the pandemic also has forced us to consider the necessity of innovations for learning in person. The following research is further needed for making the new normal design of education more productive:

  1. the development of innovative technologies and learning environments that help learners engage in more effective learning experiences with others; and
  2. the empowerment of the instructional design for implementing the technologies into the new normal learning environment.

We are honored to take the baton over from Bochum and host the ISLS Annual Meeting in Hiroshima in 2022. Hiroshima is located in the west part of Japan’s main island and has been well known as a place where Japanese people developed the city from scratch after World War II. While memorizing history as an essential lesson for human beings to think of peace, the city is continuing to change its face as a diverse city to welcome people from everywhere on the globe. We hope the conference participants would enjoy their stay with a deep discussion of new ideas among international colleagues to foster their collaborations in the learning sciences.

The Annual Meeting in 2022 will be online, with local events taking place as well.