Hi, All,

OSU is hosting an unconference March 25-26 that might be of interest--no registration fee, conference theme focusing on building 21st-century literacy skills, may apply for travel stipend. Title of unconference "Compose, Read, and Research: Shared Responsibilities in a new Digital Economy."

CFP attached and pasted below.

--Heidi

Compose, Read, and Research: 
Shared Responsibilities in a new Digital Economy

SUMMARY: Please join us for a free unconference to be held at OSU on March 26-27, 2010 (an OSU campus site TBA). The Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing (CSTW) is sponsoring this event in order to address the timely and important issues below and in order to form a statewide, funded research consortium that will address the most pressing issues developed at the “unconference.” 

ISSUE STATEMENT: The Ohio the jobless rate has climbed to over 10 percent and is predicted to top 12 percent this year. This has already resulted in an intense search for retraining and re-education opportunities, a process that we can expect to continue for the next 5 to 10 years. In addition, workers across the board—white collar and blue collar, the employed, under employed, and unemployed—are struggling to keep up with the literacy skills (composing, reading, and researching) necessary to be productive 21st century citizens and workers. In response to these conditions, the CSTW’s research program, Ohio Writing and Composing in 21st Century Contexts, will hold an unconference (see details below) and, following the conference, develop a sponsored research program that addresses questions like the samples below:
•	How are professional & civic composing, reading, research, and communication skills changing?
•	What are the literacy skills necessary for new flextime and flex-place working conditions?
•	Is the teaching & learning—going on in schools, organizations, and corporations—mindful of these conditions? If so, how are they mindful; if not, how should they be?
•	How is 21st century composing entangled with the economic and technological conditions of Ohio?

Though we at the CSTW acknowledge and expect literacy educators and sponsors to prepare people for more than workplace competencies, in the current economic and technological contexts we feel a responsibility to better understand the changing nature of academic, workplace, and personal literacy work and to integrate that understanding into educational practices pre-K through retirement. Join us at our unconference and participate in this exploration.
 
A 1.5-Day Unconference 
What is an unconference? An unconference is a gathering around an area of concern: a meeting that is open and that invites participants to be heard. The attendees develop the agenda through proposed discussion topics that are submitted before the event (below) and through those submitted during the initial session of the unconference on March 26, 2010. Leaders of the breakout sessions that follow will act primarily as facilitators who capture (digitally or via notes) the discussion of participants at that session. They are not presenters in the usual sense, though we assume facilitators will initiate and contribute to the conversation. In addition to the breakout session notes, we will also have a culminating session that will address best ideas, action items, and, in this case, the most productive ways to develop a statewide research consortium. 

To recap, the goals of this event will be two-fold:
1.	to begin addressing the research questions above from many perspectives: literacy educators, academic researchers interested in the intersection of 21st century literacies, business and organizational communicators, and community literacy specialists. 
2.	to recruit a statewide research team that will apply for state and national funding in support of a systematic exploration of the resulting research questions.

Apply for a Travel Stipend or simply register:

TRAVEL STIPEND: The CSTW will provide travel stipends (up to $300) for 25 unconference participants. Those wishing to apply for travel stipends, should visit our registration site <http://creator.zoho.com/stcs/crr/ - Form:D_WACO> and submit an unconference discussion topic (or question) by Jan. 15, 2010. These submissions should consist of burning questions, important topics, or great ideas regarding the issue areas outlined above. Please also provide us with a financial “needs” statement.

REGISTERING: If you plan on attending but are not applying for a travel stipend, we hope you will register online at <http://creator.zoho.com/stcs/crr/ - Form:D_WACO> and submit a discussion topic or question. These should consist of burning questions, important topics or great ideas regarding the issue areas outlined above. 

Please note that an unconference is all about talking and brainstorming rather than presenting. Propose a discussion topic or question that is best answered through the combined wisdom of a diverse set of interested participants. Topic proposers will be primarily responsible for capturing the discussion (digitally or via notes) rather than presenting on the topic, although we assume you will initiate and contribute to the conversation. Our online registration system (found at <http://creator.zoho.com/stcs/crr/ - Form:D_WACO> will ask you to provide us with the following:
•	Name
•	Your contact information 
•	Corporate, organizational, or educational affiliation
•	A catchy title for your discussion topic or question
•	A 25-35 word description of your discussion topic or question
•	(Optional) A 250-word statement of need (estimates of travel, over-night accommodations etc.) if applying for a travel stipend
•	(Optional) Contact information for potential participants (businesses and organizations) who should be contacted.

Reviewing Unconference Proposals
The CSTW’s Research Review Board will award up to 25 travel stipends by Feb.15, 2010. 

Current and Future Statewide Commitments 
The CSTW has obtained tentative, statewide commitments to participate in a research agenda of this type. Those commitments currently include teachers and researchers from Columbus City Schools, Columbus civic groups, local libraries, several departments at The Ohio State University, eTech Ohio, Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, Ohio University, and Miami University. We are beginning the process of soliciting participants from corporations and organizations. There is a space on the registration form for you to provide the contact information of interested individuals from civic or business groups. 



 





********
Heidi McKee
Assistant Professor
Coordinator, Digital Writing Collaborative
English Department
Miami University
Bachelor 364
Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-2635 (office)
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