10. Relationship to Conference Programming (iLEAD Stream)

The Innovation Garden is closely linked to the annual iLRN conference, particularly the iLEAD practitioner stream. This connection creates a consistent pathway from early creative exploration to formal contribution, helping practitioners refine their work and present it to the global immersive learning community. This page outlines how Garden activities align with conference programming and how contributors can transition their work into conference-ready submissions.

10.1 The Garden as the Starting Point for Conference Contributions

Throughout the year, Garden activities generate early-stage ideas, prototypes, and applied insights that often mature into conference submissions. Typical starting points include:

Garden Pods showcasing initial prototypes
Guided Virtual Adventures supporting platform selection and design literacy
Toolshed Sessions demonstrating workflows and techniques
Maker Panels reflecting on design decisions and methods
Co-creation sessions supporting collaborative ideation

These activities help contributors identify promising ideas while gaining feedback from peers across the iLRN community.

10.2 Proposal Clinics: Preparing Submissions

As the conference submission window approaches, the Garden hosts a series of Proposal Clinics to help contributors refine and formalize their work. These sessions offer guidance on:

Choosing the right submission category (workshop, demo, practitioner paper, etc.)
Aligning contributions with the Knowledge Tree’s branches and trunk disciplines
Articulating purpose, methodology, and impact
Strengthening coherence and narrative structure
Addressing ethical, accessibility, and design considerations
Meeting the expectations of the iLEAD review process

These clinics significantly enhance the quality and clarity of conference proposals.

10.3 The iLEAD Practitioner Stream

The iLEAD stream focuses on educational and design applications of immersive technologies across:

K–12 and higher education
Workforce training
Community learning and GLAM contexts
Cultural and heritage education
Informal and lifelong learning

The Innovation Garden is the primary incubation space for iLEAD submissions. Garden contributors often present:

Hands-on workshops
Experience walkthroughs
Demos and prototypes
Case narratives
Mixed-media experiential sessions
Design patterns grounded in practice

This tight integration ensures the conference showcases a rich diversity of applied immersive learning work.

10.4 The Innovation Garden District (Virtual Campus Showcase)

During the conference, the Garden comes to life as the Innovation Garden District within the Virtual Campus. This space features:

Live and asynchronous Garden Pod showcases
Experience walkthroughs led by contributors
Toolshed Sessions and maker conversations
Interactions with global attendees
Opportunities to gather feedback for Repository and Knowledge Tree contributions

The District serves as a vibrant, hands-on environment that complements the scholarly sessions of the Knowledge Tree.

10.5 How the Conference Strengthens the Garden

The relationship is reciprocal. The conference provides:

Global visibility for contributor work
Peer feedback that deepens reflective practice
Opportunities to engage with international presenters and chapter leads
A milestone-oriented cadence that drives project development
A platform for ideas that will inform next year’s Garden cycle
Themes and priorities that shape upcoming areas of exploration

The conference serves as both a culminating event and a launching point for future cycles of practice-based innovation.

10.6 The Full Pathway: From Idea to Conference Contribution

Most contributors move through the following sequence:

Explore
Join Walkthroughs, GVAs, and community sessions.
Experiment
Build a Pod, lead a ToolShed Session, or join a Maker Panel.
Refine
Participate in Proposal Clinics to shape a coherent narrative.
Submit
Enter the iLEAD reviewer pipeline and prepare for presentation.
Showcase
Present in the Innovation Garden District or iLEAD stream.
Integrate
Document outputs in the Repository or Knowledge Tree.

This consistent pathway gives practitioners a clear roadmap from initial idea to formal contribution.

10.7 Why This Relationship Matters

The link between the Innovation Garden and the annual conference:

Ensures the iLEAD stream remains rich with practice-based innovation
Enables global participation through both virtual and hybrid modalities
Builds continuity between year-round activity and the conference experience
Strengthens the overall quality of practitioner contributions
Supports the network’s broader strategy of integrating practice, scholarship, and foresight

This alignment helps position iLRN as a uniquely hybrid, globally engaged community advancing immersive learning through both scholarship and practice.