Call for Papers and Proposals

Call for Proposals: 11th Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN2025) Conference
Theme: "Reading the World: Immersive Learning & Multimodal Literacies"

In-person (Chicago - Illinois Institute of Technology) Conference Dates: June 15-19, 2025
Online Conference Dates: June 16-18, 2025 (hosted by iLRN geographic chapters’ respective time-zones)

Conference website: https://immersivelrn.org/ilrn2025/ 

Submission Types   Topic Areas    Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion    Publication Index    Program Tracks   Important Dates  Submission & Templates  Sponsors   Contact

The Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN) is pleased to announce the Call for Proposals for its 2025 conference, centered around the theme "Reading the World: Immersive Learning & Multimodal Literacies." This conference will bring together researchers, educators, developers, and practitioners to explore how immersive technologies can transform learning experiences, building multiple literacies and expanding equitable access. We invite submissions that engage with the innovative use of immersive learning environments, tools, and methods that support diverse literacies in various educational contexts. As the professional association advancing the quality of immersive learning to benefit humanity and our world, iLRN is especially interested in works that amplify and extend this mission.

In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, the ways we engage with and understand the world are increasingly mediated through multiple modes of communication. Immersive learning environments—encompassing virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and other interactive technologies—offer unprecedented opportunities to enhance and diversify literacies-building practices. The 2025 iLRN conference aims to delve into these opportunities, fostering discussions and sharing insights on how immersive technologies can support and expand the concept of literacy to include visual, digital, and interactive elements, among others.

SUBMISSION TYPES

Submissions for publication and presentation can be made in two streams:

• Academic Stream (Refereed Scientific Papers)
• iLEAD (immersive Learning Education And Design) Stream

Accepted submissions from both streams will be presented at the iLRN2025 conference, either online or in person.

Academic Stream: Refereed Scientific Papers (more details)

We welcome a variety of submission types to accommodate the diverse interests and expertise within our community. All Academic Stream submissions require the submission of a scientific paper that will be published in the respective proceedings upon acceptance, including only original and unpublished work:

Published in Scopus-Indexed Springer CCIS Conference Proceedings pending Springer confirmation:

• Full Papers (12-15 pages) for oral presentation: Comprehensive reports of research, development, and application of immersive learning/technologies and multi-modal literacies. Oral presentations include live recording and global distribution.

Included in iLRN Conference Proceedings with individual DOIs (not indexed):

• Short Papers (8-11 pages) for oral presentation: Concise reports or preliminary findings of ongoing research. Based on reviews and quality, selected short papers have the chance to be published in the indexed Proceedings. Oral presentations include video recording and global distribution.
• Extended Abstracts (4-7 pages) for poster presentation: This includes submissions of work that is still in progress, describing early-stage research with theoretical background, methodology, and, if applicable, first data collections and a description of next steps, or completed work, condensed research concepts that may be read and understood within an hour. All poster presentations will also include the publication and distribution of a pre-recorded video through the iLRN YouTube channel.
• Doctoral Colloquium papers (4-7 pages) for oral presentation in the doctoral colloquium. Both doctoral level as well as master’s by research students/candidates are eligible to submit to the DC. The DC will be held as a session in addition to the regular paper sessions, with students presenting their research to each other (in English).

Immersive Learning Education And Design (iLEAD) stream (more details)

iLRN's Innovation Garden is home for iLEAD! Proposals in the iLEAD stream include the submission of an extended abstract for various presentation formats. Potential iLEAD presentation formats are:

• Oral presentation
• Poster presentation
• Workshop proposal
• Special session proposal
• Panel session proposal
• Guided Virtual Adventures
• Product Demonstrations

For all iLEAD presentation formats, please submit an Extended Abstract (2-5 pages) with a summary of your contribution to immersive learning education and design. Publication of this Extended Abstract in the iLEAD 2025 Conference Proceedings (not indexed) is optional but encouraged.

TOPIC AREAS

iLRN welcomes all submissions on the topic of learning and instruction with an immersion perspective. This includes but is not limited to immersive technology like VR, AR, XR, games or 360° videos. We encourage submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Innovative approaches with immersive environments for enhancing literacies (including reading, writing, digital, civic, health, cultural, workplace/soft-skill, etc.)
• Multi-modal literacies and immersive storytelling
• Cognitive and affective impacts of immersive learning environments
• Design and implementation of tools for immersive learning
• Case studies and best practices in immersive learning
• Theoretical perspectives on literacy in immersive contexts
• Assessment and evaluation methods for multi-modal literacies
• Cross-cultural and inclusive approaches to immersive learning

EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

iLRN prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental values for our community. Therefore, for iLRN 2025, we encourage authors to:

• Use inclusive language throughout (please refer to the guidelines provided at https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines).
• Provide detailed descriptions of sample characteristics, including demographic data, methods for inclusive and representative sampling, and ethical considerations in your research methodology.
• Explore connections between theoretical frameworks and findings with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Discuss implications and offer appropriate interpretations of findings in relation to these principles.

PUBLICATION INDEX

All accepted, registered, and presented Full Papers and selected Short Papers in the Academic Stream at iLRN 2025 will be published in the Scopus-indexed Springer CCIS Conference Proceedings pending Springer confirmation. All other accepted, registered, and presented papers in the Academic Stream will appear in the iLRN Conference Proceedings with individual DOIs (not indexed). Additionally, authors of selected papers will be invited to submit expanded versions of their work for consideration in various Scopus and Web of Science-indexed journals.

Submitting Extended Abstracts in the iLEAD 2025 is optional but encouraged. Accepted abstracts will appear in the iLEAD Conference Proceedings with individual DOIs (not indexed).

PROGRAM TRACKS

Papers and proposals may be submitted to one of 10 program tracks:

Track 1. Foundations of Immersive Learning Research and Theory (not linked to any particular application area)
Track 2. Assessment and Evaluation (A&E)
Track 3. Galleries, Libraries, Archives, & Museums (GLAM)
Track 4. Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, & Social Justice (IDEAS)
Track 5. STEM Education
Track 6. Language, Culture, & Heritage (LCH)
Track 7. Medical & Healthcare Education (MHE)
Track 8. Nature & Environmental Sciences (NES)
Track 9. Workforce Development & Industry Training (WDIT)
Track 10. Self and Co-Regulated Learning with Immersive Learning Environments (SCILE)

Academic communities wishing to cater for other topics are welcome to propose a special track by submitting the form at https://www.immersivelrn.org/ilrn2025/special-track-proposals no later than August 7, 2024, with a short description, rationale for immersive learning, and its program committee.

Special Tracks

In addition to the general iLRN program tracks, three Special Tracks have been accepted for iLRN2025. All three special tracks accept all types of papers and proposals:

Special Track 1. Immersive learning across Latin America: state of research, use cases and projects (Immersive-Latam)
Special Track 2. Navigating Grand Challenges: Immersive Learning & Global Solutions (iLRNGrandChallenges)
Special Track 3. Immersive Technologies, XR and AI for Education (XRAI4Edu)

IMPORTANT DATES

Special Tracks Proposal Submission Deadline: August 7, 2024

Academic submissions
Submission Deadline: October 1, 2024 Deadline Extended October 25, 2024
Notification of Acceptance: December 15, 2024
Camera-Ready Submissions: February 1, 2025

iLEAD submissions
Submission Deadline: January 8, 2025
Camera-Ready Submission: February 1, 2025

Material submission
Digital Poster Upload Deadline: tba
Online Presenter Video Submission Deadline: tba

Conference Dates
Early Bird Registration Deadline: March 1, 2025
Online Conference Dates: June 16 - 18, 2025
In-person (Chicago) Conference Dates: June 15 - 19, 2025

* All deadlines are 23:59 AoE (https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe)

** All online presenters except Keynote and Featured Speakers and invited panels will be required to submit a 3 - 5 minute video depending on the submission type.

We look forward to receiving your proposals and to the rich discussions and collaborations that will emerge at iLRN 2025. Join us in exploring how immersive technologies can revolutionize the ways we read and interact with the world.

SUBMISSION & TEMPLATES

All contributions will be accepted only via the online submission system Easy Chair. A double blind peer-review process will be used to evaluate all submissions, including independent 2 - 3 reviews per submission. For this, all submissions must be anonymized.

ACADEMIC STREAM: indexed proceedings (details on review criteria)

1) Full Papers (12 - 15 pages)

Academic Full Papers must be prepared in the Springer LNCS format (template and author instructions). These papers can be submitted until the Academic submission deadline. Note: The copyright document will be made available in the camera-ready phase. 

ACADEMIC STREAM: non-indexed proceedings (details on review criteria)

2) Short Papers (8 - 11 pages)
3) Extended Abstracts (4 - 7 pages)
4) Doctoral Colloquium Papers (4 - 7 pages)

Short Papers, Extended Abstracts and DC papers and proposals must be prepared in the iLRN Proceedings paper format (iLRN2025 Proceedings Template). These papers can be submitted until the Academic submission deadline.

iLEAD STREAM: non-indexed proceedings (details on review criteria)

1) Oral presentation
2) Poster presentation
3) Workshop proposal
4) Special session proposal
5) Panel session proposal
6) Guided Virtual Adventures
7) Product Demonstrations

All types of iLEAD proposals must be prepared in the iLRN Proceedings format (iLRN2025 Proceedings Template) on 2 to 5 pages (incl. references). In EasyChair, please first choose the iLEAD stream and then indicate the intended type of presentation in the submission form. Publication in the iLEAD proceedings (iLRN published with DOIs, not indexed) is optional, but not required.  In the submission process, make sure to indicate if you want your proposal to be published or if you just want to present it at the conference. These proposals can be submitted until the iLEAD submission deadline.

Before preparing and submitting your paper in EasyChair, please check all points in this list:

• Please have a look at the Topic Areas listed above and confirm that your paper is in accordance with the iLRN conferences' general theme of learning with immersive technologies. During the submission, you will be asked to write a short statement about how your submission fits the iLRN conference theme.
• Please have a look at the list of iLRN tracks to decide which track your submission fits best. Special Tracks will be announced soon, when the submission and review has finished! Indicate the iLRN track or special track for which the submission is intended in the EasyChair submission process for peer review distribution and topical clustering in the program.
• To allow the immersive learning community to grow on a solid, common basis, authors should read, refer to, and build upon existing immersive learning research, theoretical models, and frameworks. This is also an important criterion of the peer reviews. Link to previous iLRN proceedings
• Please have a look at the different submission types and their description to decide which one best fits your submission based on the status of your work If you submit an Academic Stream Extended Abstract, please clearly state in the abstract and the main text if it describes a Work-in-Progress for an informed peer review process.
• Based on the chosen submission type, use the correct template and keep within the page number boundaries for that submission type. In EasyChair, select the correct submission type.
• Please have a look at and follow the iLRN plagiarism policy and the iLRN proceedings copyright FAQ.
• For the preparation of your manuscript, use the correct template and follow the page number boundaries for that submission type. Papers that do not use the correct template cannot be accepted for the peer review process.
• Confirm that all information identifying the authors has been removed from the manuscript for double-blind peer review. Papers that are not anonymize cannot be accepted for the peer review process.

Start your submission process in EasyChair:

EasyChair Submission Link

SPONSORS

The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy has been the nation’s leading advocate for family literacy for more than three decades. Established by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1989, today the Foundation is a public charity providing high-quality programs, resources, education initiatives, and research to help families and communities nationwide build brighter futures through literacy.

CONTACT

For more information, please visit our conference website at https://www.immersivelrn.org/ilrn2025/

Feel free to reach out to us at ilrn2025@immersivelrn.org for any inquiries.