Digital Teaching Symposium 2026: Reach, Teach & Demonstrate
Thursday, November 19, 2026
Call for Papers is now open.
Closing date: Friday, September 18, 6:00 p.m. ET Inspiration for your submission
The Digital Teaching Symposium is a faculty-focused conference. We invite our community to share practical experiences, ideas, and approaches that are shaping the future of teaching and learning.
Our theme this year is Reach, Teach & Demonstrate — three questions at the heart of effective digital teaching.
Reach
How do we reach every learner?
How can we create learning experiences that engage, include, and support every student?
We welcome ideas and experiences around accessibility, inclusion, belonging, student engagement, diverse learner needs, course design, personalization, and student success. This might include innovative approaches to digital or blended learning, or practical examples of how technology has helped remove barriers and connect with learners.
Teach
How do we teach well in a changing world?
How are educators evolving their teaching practice to create meaningful, engaging learning experiences for today's students?
Share approaches to AI, pedagogy, assessment, feedback, active and authentic learning, digital teaching, emerging technologies, and innovative teaching practice. We are particularly interested in practical experiences — what you tried, what you learned, and what changed as a result.
Demonstrate
How do we demonstrate that it was worth it?
How do we understand and evidence the difference our teaching and learning approaches make?
This could include learning analytics, student outcomes, assessment data, educational research, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, quality enhancement, evaluation, or reflective practice. We also welcome honest reflections on initiatives that did not go as planned and the lessons that emerged.
What could you share?
We want to hear directly from faculty and educators about the teaching and learning experiences that matter to them and their students.
Your submission might be a research finding, a case study, a new approach to teaching, a student perspective, a course redesign, an innovative use of technology, an experiment with AI, or a reflection on what you have learned through practice.
We also welcome contributions from Catalyst Award winners and Exemplary Course winners, whose experiences can offer valuable insight and inspiration for colleagues across the sector.
Blackboard Products
We would love to hear how you are using Blackboard to support teaching and learning. Examples of your home pages, templates, courses, reports, and badges are always popular with our community and can provide practical inspiration for colleagues.
A final thought
These themes are intended to inspire, not prescribe. Your submission does not need to fit neatly into one of the examples above. If your work connects with the spirit of Reach, Teach & Demonstrate, we want to hear your story.
Submit today! 
