Panel Submission Guidelines

Important Dates for Panel Submissions

What is a Panel?

Panel sessions provide an opportunity for expert panel members to present their views on a specific topic and then to discuss these views among themselves and with the audience. Panel sessions run for 75 minutes. Usually a panel session starts with a brief introduction of the panel topic and the participants, followed by short presentations by the panelists giving their views. The session must allow sufficient opportunity (about 30 minutes) for an interactive question and answer period involving both the panelists and the audience.

A typical panel will consist of four participants, including the moderator. Limiting a panel to 4 participants allows sufficient time for audience questions. Proposals with more than four panelists must convincingly show that all panelists will be able to speak, and the audience able to respond, within the session time.

Panel proposal review is not blind. Criteria used in reviewing the proposals include the likely level of interest of the topic, the presence of panel members with multiple perspectives on the topic, and the likelihood that the panel will leave sufficient time for audience participation.

If the proposal is accepted, all presenters listed in the panel description will be required to register for the conference and to participate in the session.

How Should The Proposal Be Formatted?

The proposal is limited to two (2) pages that conform to the SIGCSE 2014 Format Instructions with the following modifications and exceptions:

• When providing author information, indicate which of the panelists is the moderator by placing the word "Moderator" in parentheses after her/his name.
• Do not include an abstract. Instead, the first section should be titled Summary and should provide a summary of the panel written by the moderator.
• Subsequent sections should contain the position statements of each panelist. Title each section by identifying the author.
• References where appropriate are encouraged, but not required. If they are included, they should be placed in a separate section titled References and should follow the formatting guidelines.

If accepted, the panel description will be allocated two (2) pages in the conference proceedings and must adhere to the formatting guidelines specified above. To facilitate the transition from proposal to camera-ready copy, it is critical that authors adhere closely to the formatting specifications and page limits.

How Do I Submit My Proposal?

Note that you will be required to submit your proposal electronically.

1. Write your proposal using the format specified above. Within the proposal, you must provide Category and Subject Descriptors, General Terms, and Keywords, just as paper authors must do. These requirements are described in more detail in the SIGCSE 2014 Format Instructions.
2. Convert your proposal into Adobe PDF format. Refer to our Creating Adobe PDF Documents page for assistance.
3. Submit the PDF version of your proposal using the online submission form. Note that there are several ways you must categorize your proposal submission in the online system. These categories are used to select the reviewers who will evaluate your proposal. Please select no more than 3 categories to ensure the best possible match with a reviewer of similar interests and expertise.
4. Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your documents because that is when everyone else will be connecting to our server!
5. Make note of the proposal ID number and password assigned to your submission. You will need them later. You will receive an e-mail message confirmation. Spam filters sometimes trap these automatically generated messages so you may need to check your spam trap for the confirmation and later, acceptance or rejection notification.
6. After receiving confirmation, go to the online submission form to review your submission for accuracy. Send e-mail to if there are any problems.

Deadline: All electronic submissions must be received by Friday, September 6, 2013 at 23:59 (11:59 p.m.) Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST).

Presentation Notes

• All presenters must register for the conference.
• Panel sessions are 75 minutes in length. The session must allow sufficient opportunity (about 30 minutes) for an interactive question and answer period involving both the panelists and the audience.
• Plan to attend the speakers' breakfast on the morning of your presentation. This will serve as a convenient time for any final coordination of the presenters.
• The conference supplies a projector but not a laptop. You will need to bring a laptop or arrange to use one from another attendee.
• Bring a backup copy of your presentation on a USB stick. This will make it possible for all presenters on a panel to make their presentations from a single laptop. We especially encourage you to consolidate your individual contributions into a single presentation. This will result in smoother transitions from one speaker to another.
• Wireless Internet access should be available during your presentation, but you should, of course, be aware that there is always potential for failure.
• Arrive at your room at least 10 minutes before the panel session is scheduled to begin.

Questions

Please contact the SIGCSE 2014 Panels and Special Sessions Chair with your questions:
Stephen Cooper
Stanford University