How can you encourage your students to adopt a growth mindset?

We chose to homeschool our then six-year-old son, Ezra, during the pandemic. One day during gym class, Casey asked him to touch his toes. Ezra complained: “My arms are too short.”

I laugh whenever I think of that response. To Ezra, the problem was not that he lacked flexibility. That didn’t even occur to him. He just needed longer arms or perhaps shorter legs.

We could read Ezra’s declaration as evidence of a fixed mindset. He gave up, thinking this was an obstacle he could not overcome, and following the logic of his argument, he would be right. It’s not as though he can extend his body parts like some sort of adolescent Mister Fantastic.

But what Ezra experienced was more than just a fixed mindset. It was a misunderstanding of the world that ultimately produced, or at least reinforced, a fixed mindset. Without knowing that muscles stretch, he used his prior (albeit limited) life experience to make sense of the situation.

Similarly, students come to our classes with all sorts of misconceptions about our disciplinary fields. They are novices who have limited knowledge about what we’re teaching and what they’re learning. In fact, one of our challenges is that students often need to do a significant amount of unlearning to be successful.

Take writing, for example. Many students perceive writing as a simple matter of transcribing thoughts to the page using a predetermined number of paragraphs. They often fail to see that writing—as a process—produces new ideas and connections, that writing conventions are fluid and contestable. It takes some time and effort to help them see writing differently.

Casey explained to Ezra that he could touch his toes through practice and effort. She helped him see his situation differently, and it worked. His genetic blueprint probably prevents him from becoming a professional contortionist, but at least he can reach his feet at this point.

Some of our students will come to us thinking that their arms are too short when, in fact, they are not flexible enough. Our job is to reveal to them how muscles work and then to teach them how to stretch.

The post My Arms Are Too Short: A Life Lesson in Adopting a Growth Mindset appeared first on OLC.

In recent years, the HyFlex modality has grown in popularity largely due to enrollment disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally conceived at San Francisco State University in the mid-2000s, the format provided the flexibility students and faculty needed due to the disruptions in everyday life. However, because many universities were forced to implement Hyflex rapidly during the pandemic, their focus was on getting the materials into the hands of students quickly. Unfortunately, this sometimes came at the sacrifice of the overall educational experience, resulting in mixed opinions about the format.

This is unfortunate because the potential of HyFlex is immense. Even in our post-pandemic world, society craves flexibility. The ability to choose how to attend class week-in and week-out without negatively impacting your grade or learning outcomes is a powerful tool. Whether life circumstances require you to attend class in the traditional classroom, synchronously online, or complete your work asynchronously online, a student having the option to adjust to what works best for them based on crazy and chaotic schedules can remove burdens and stress on students which may otherwise push them towards dropping the course. Hyflex offers the solution to many of the challenges students face, but it can only be effective with proper planning and implementation of HyFlex.

At Athens State University, in Fall 2020, like many other institutions, we piloted a HyFlex project. As was the case with other institutions, we had a mix of successes and challenges. However, we adjusted and pivoted and continued to grow our HyFlex program. These adjustments consisted of attempting to gain the benefits of HyFlex without sacrificing the elements shown to keep students actively engaged and enrolled in a course. This is where ActiveFlex was born – a strategy consisting of purposefully embedding active learning principles and student-to-student collaboration using the HyFlex modality.

Today, we have successfully implemented 13 unique ActiveFlex courses at our university. Additionally, our unique student demographics have given us insights on how to better achieve a successful HyFlex / ActiveFlex implementation in the future. Below, we share 7 tips we have learned – three from a faculty perspective and three from an institutional perspective – that will greatly benefit anyone looking at implementing ActiveFlex.

Tip 1: Start with Strong Asynchronous Classes Rather Than Traditional Classes

Faculty Members and Institution

Too many times in ActiveFlex conversations, the primary focus is on the technology to make everything work. Rooms are built, cameras are purchased, and microphones are installed. However, no thought has been given to how to actually teach the concepts to an online audience. This usually leads to a faculty member teaching in a traditional classroom, recording themselves for 90 minutes, and placing that recording online to give access to the students who couldn’t make it live. The problem with this is that it is boring. Watching a 90-minute recording online is not the same as watching it in a live class. In our courses that attempted this method during their ActiveFlex rollouts, the results were negative experiences for both faculty and students.

Fortunately, our institution has primarily online students that are working adults with young families. This allowed our ActiveFlex pilot programs to use courses that were already built for an online audience as well as those taught traditionally in the classroom. What we found is that the classes that were built for an asynchronous online audience were easier to convert to ActiveFlex than those that had only been taught in person. The asynchronous online courses had already been designed with solid instructional materials, activities were appropriate, and guidance and instructions were available so that the immediate need for intervention by a faculty member was minimized. Once these structures were in place, conceptualizing what to talk about in a live session was easy. This was a massive shift from trying to figure out how to get that live classroom activity working on the fly and many times forgetting that the asynchronous students for the week would have to figure it out on their own without direct access to the instructor.

Start with a solidly built online course and then add in the live class materials and interactions rather than the other way around.

Tip 2: Set Adoption Goals and Strategies

Institution 

If an ActiveFlex initiative is being conducted from the institutional level rather than individual faculty members just testing the waters, a clear adoption and growth strategy must be set. In our case, we were lucky enough to be awarded a federal grant to expand our course offerings using the modality. Doing so forced us to determine how many courses needed to be converted and in what timeframe. This allowed us to begin laying out a semester-by-semester plan for adoption and rollout. Most importantly, it allowed us to accurately plan and allocate resources to ensure the plan could be met. As with many projects, first impressions will determine the overall success of the project. If people have a bad taste in their mouths early, the chances of success drastically decrease. However, successes early on can be contagious. Proper planning and allocation of resources early in the project are essential to making sure it has the best chance of success.

Tip 3: Ensure Proper Support Mechanisms for Faculty

Institution

As online education has grown at many institutions, the use of instructional designers in the development of online materials has also grown. Students benefit from online environments created by instructional designers and faculty members who work together to convert course materials into an effective online class. This will also be the case with ActiveFlex instruction. As mentioned in Tip 1, the baseline for course development should be the asynchronous portion of the ActiveFlex course. This means designers and faculty members will need to continue working together to develop a good student experience in this modality. In addition to the normal online course conversion, the instructional designer must also consider and develop methods conducting active learning with peer collaboration during the live sessions. All of this demonstrates a continued need for instructional design support when developing ActiveFlex courses.

Additionally, ActiveFlex requires greater technical capabilities while teaching the live class. Faculty members no longer just turn on a projector and start teaching. With students able to attend synchronously through web conferencing software, multiple pieces of technology are now interacting together simultaneously. This can be overwhelming for even the most seasoned instructor. Thus, we found that in our experience, having a dedicated technical support person for the first few class sessions of each ActiveFlex course was essential. After about three course sessions, most faculty were able to run the ActiveFlex course on their own, but those first three weeks were essential. Having the extra technical person in the room managing the working pieces led to better experiences for our instructors. As mentioned earlier, setting up successes early in the experience were pivotal for continued growth and having the technical person in the class was crucial in creating a positive experience for faculty and students early on.

Tip 4: Follow the Rule of Thirds

Faculty Members

Attention spans are shorter these days. This is especially true for individuals attending or watching things online. This is where the “recording a 90-minute class session” philosophy starts to break down. Students, especially online students attending synchronously, tend to get bored. There are many factors that can play into how long a student will pay attention, but one tactic to better ensure they stay engaged with the lesson is to break up the lecture with activities. In many cases, direct instruction is needed to transmit content to students, but rather than talk for 90 minutes, try going for 30 minutes. Then, have an activity that emphasizes and builds off of what the students just learned. Have them work together on a mini- project to apply the information. Then, bring them back together to briefly discuss it. At that point, move into the next portion of direct instruction and repeat it.

When we have developed our lessons using this rule of thirds – direct instruction, reinforcement activity, group discussion, our students have reported higher engagement and enjoyment. Combining this tip with Tip 3 where the instructional designers can help develop some of those reinforcement activities creates the sweet spot of ActiveFlex.

Tip 5: Use the LMS to Automate Class Processes

Faculty Members

ActiveFlex takes extra work on the part of the faculty member. Each week, items such as taking attendance, releasing materials to students, and ensuring everyone is on the same page can quickly eat up time. As a solution, we started figuring out ways to automate many of the managerial-style processes in the LMS so that we could focus more on teaching and learning. The use of adaptive release triggers in Blackboard and mastery paths in Canvas can allow this automation. For example, a student can tell us at the beginning of a lesson whether or not they intend to go to a live session that week. If they say no, the system knows to drop them all of the materials needed to complete their work for the week. If they say yes, the system knows to hold back the materials we will use in the live class until they show up. If they end up not showing up for a live class, the system sees that and releases them all of the materials for the week. Rather than the faculty member having to go in and hide and release stuff or have complicated instructions on what to use and when, the LMS automates who sees what based on their actions.

Admittedly, adaptive release and mastery paths can be tricky to set up, so be sure to work with an instructional designer the first couple of times you use them. However, automating portions of your course will be well worth the time it took to learn how to use these tools.

Tip 6: Remain Flexible and Open-Minded

Faculty Members

Although the tips above can reduce some problems with an ActiveFlex implementation, always remember that the modality is rapidly expanding and we are learning new things about it daily. Thus, be prepared to make needed improvements. We have found that keeping an open mind about using the tool and communicating well with your students goes a long way into making any problems that arise have a minimal impact overall. In our experience, our students have appreciated that we are trying to give them a class experience that allows them flexibility and have cared more about that than whether or not we set up breakout groups right or forgot to share the screen. Go into this experience with the right heart and mindset and you’ll be an ActiveFlex champion in no time.

To Flex or Not to Flex

When taking on a HyFlex / ActiveFlex initiative, there are a number of factors that play into the success or failure of the project. Although there is no guarantee of success, following best practices of successful implementations increases your chances of creating an ActiveFlex format that keeps students engaged, increases their learnings, and helps instructors make meaningful connections with their students. The tips found in this article have worked well thus far for the ActiveFlex implementation at our university. If you are interested in implementing ActiveFlex or find yourself in the middle of an implementation, using these six tips could be equally beneficial in your instance. The benefits of flexible delivery are immense, so pursue it with an open mind and an adventurous spirit. Good luck on your ActiveFlex journey!

The post Seven Tips for Successfully Implementing a HyFlex / ActiveFlex Project appeared first on OLC.

Technology is embedded in almost every aspect of our lives – from travel, finances, cooking, fitness, and learning. Many educators would also likely note that just because technology is available and used doesn’t necessarily mean it is an effective or intentional part of learning experiences. Without a roadmap for integrating and using technology, making informed decisions and measuring its effectiveness can be challenging. For innovations in teaching and learning to be most productive, they often benefit from frameworks that help guide exploration and innovation activities.

One practice that has seen a remarkably important advancement over the last decade is blended learning. As technology tools and infrastructure have matured, using digital and in-person spaces to support learning and teaching has grown. Blended learning is not just combining in-person and online teaching. Blended learning is an intentional and strategic approach to using multiple learning spaces and places that are focused on achieving a defined learning purpose and goals. In a well-developed blended learning strategy, each learning space is designed to support an optimal feature or need of a learning experience. You might think of blended learning as the Gestalt principle applied to learning environments where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

One important feature for innovation in teaching and learning is having frameworks to guide and talk about data and implications. The work related to blended teaching in K12 environments has already started; however, blended teaching in higher education often relies on a collection of related yet separate knowledge domains. This creates a type of cottage industry for blended teaching in higher education where educators are mostly on their own to recognize and see the connections in the outcomes, practices, policies, ecosystem, and enabling technologies.

This article offers a starting point for identifying and organizing blended teaching competencies in higher education which will be further developed during the OLC Blended Learning Symposium 2023. 

Teaching competencies: the foundation of innovation in blended teaching

What makes an excellent teacher? This is the question at the heart of work in competency modeling for blended teaching. Without a foundational framework for understanding what it means to be excellent at something, supporting and investing in experiences that help develop capabilities aligned to a reliable framework and appropriate ways to recognize excellence based on this foundation is difficult. 

Competencies, also sometimes called capabilities, describe the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes it takes to do a job or be part of a professional guild or community of practice. Competencies are often organized in competency models to represent the inclusion and connection of competencies as part of a larger framework. The competency/capability models for Association for Talent Development and the Society for Human Resource Management are widely used examples of professional competencies models. 

Competencies for blended teaching have been developed for the K-12 environment; however, higher education blended teaching remains important work in front of us. Among other essential questions, examining if the blended teaching competencies for K-12 environments of 1) online integration, 2) data practices, 3) personalization, and 4) online interaction remain essential to higher education environments or if additional competencies or contextualization may be needed. This takes integrating data and design to examine and propose an initial model for blended teaching in higher education. 

Why the need for blended teaching competencies in higher education?

The practical reality of teaching in higher education environments is that the vast majority of educators are already operating in learning environments that combine multiple spaces such as in-person and digital. What separates, and often limits, teaching practices is the intentionality of planning, design, and facilitation that integrates multiple spaces around a unified learning purpose. 

If we think of blended teaching as a designed network of nodes (learning spaces) and connections (how those spaces connect), a considerable about of effort is placed on the nodes, but less attention is given to the connections (how they all relate in a unified way). For the most part, educators rely on a combination of highly specific literature about teaching practices and professional experiences to guide decisions about designing and facilitating blended learning experiences. 

A competency model specialized for blended teaching in higher education environments would provide a much-needed framework for research and practice and a guide for professional development and institutional innovation. 

Uses for Blended Teaching Competencies

How would a competency model focused on blended teaching add value to higher education? A competency model focused on blended teaching in higher education establishes a foundation for future innovation and collaboration. At the most basic level, a competency model offers a common framework and language for collaboration in research, teaching, and innovation. Additional opportunities for leveraging a blended teaching competency model include: 

• Establishing institutional policies and practices
• Describing what quality is in blended teaching and learning
• Guiding investments and efforts in professional development and technology
• Measuring and assessing teaching and learning outcomes
• Framing and connecting research and practice
• Recognizing and rewarding excellence in blended teaching

A blended teaching competency model is a foundational step in the professionalization of this important practice in higher education. To achieve this aim, deep collaboration, engagement, and contributions will be needed across higher education. To help support this initial work, we will facilitate a collaborative design workshop at the OLC Blended Learning Symposium 2023. 

The work begins now.

This unique, interactive workshop involves participants in co-creating a competency framework for blended teaching in higher education. Building on Charles Graham’s work in K-12 education settings, the goal of this workshop is to collaboratively create a competency model prototype for guiding leadership and faculty development for blended learning in higher education. We will use design thinking methods for supporting ideation, concept development, and collaboration. This workshop is a learning-through-doing experience, meaning you will be an active co-creator and contributor to the workshop outcomes. 

The workshop will use the following principles for guiding collaboration:

• Through facilitated collaboration processes, create a prototype competency model for blended teaching in higher education
• Develop foundational and specialized competencies for blended teaching in higher education
• Create user stories that illustrate the application of each competency in practice
• Anticipate how change, innovation, and disruption may influence the competency model over time
• Identify practical opportunities for using the competency model to advance blended teaching in higher education 

Each workshop participant will have access to the portfolio of collaboration artifacts developed during the workshop.

Resources:

Description of Blended Learning

The Gestalt Principles

ATD Capability Model

SHRM Competency Model

SHRM Competency Model FAQs

K-12 Blended Teaching Competencies

The post Guiding Innovation and Excellence in Blended Teaching and Learning appeared first on OLC.

Education professionals from around the world gathered together virtually and in-person for the 2023 OLC Innovate conference presented by OLC and MERLOT. This year’s conference provided a path for innovators of all experience levels and backgrounds to share their best practices, new ideas, and collaborate on advancing online, digital, and blended learning. There was a ton of learning going on amongst this year’s attendees, but there was also a lot of fun! 

Meet the OLC Innovate 2023 Booth Raffle Winners

Sponsor: Simple Syllabus 

$50 Amazon Gift Card

• Ruru Rusmin, City University of New York – School of Professional Studies

Sponsor: Carolina Distance Learning

$100 Amazon Gift Card

• Adam Samhouri, Regis University

Sponsor: Science Interactive

$150 Donation to Higher-Ed Charity of Choice

• Carlos Morales, Tarrant County College

Sponsor: Cidi Labs

$100 Amazon Gift Card

• Mohja Jerbi, Hamad Bin Khalifa University QF

Sponsor: PowerNotes

$100 Amazon Gift Card

• Roslyn Miller, Ph.D. – University of Central Florida

Sponsor: Verbit Inc.

Airpods

• Steven Bradford, City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College

Sponsor: Verbit Inc.

Kindle

• Sara Stolberg Berkowicz, College for Financial Planning

Sponsor: Inspera USA, Inc.

$250 Opentable Gift Card

• Kenjil Ikemoto, Stanford University

We want to thank all of the OLC Community members who joined us virtually, or in person in Nashville, TN, this year’s Innovate presenters, our partners, exhibitors, and sponsors, technical support, the 2023 OLC Award of Excellence and Scholarship Recipients, and Inscribe for their monitor donation. 

Curious about who walked away with this year’s awards and scholarship? Click here!

View all photos from OLC Innovate 2023, courtesy of Sean Nufer

The post OLC Innovate 2023 Booth Raffle Winners & Thank You appeared first on OLC.

Transformative learning experiences are made possible through the tireless dedication of practitioners. Untold hours of development, design, testing, and expertise must come together to create meaningful learning opportunities.

The digital learning community can collectively advance by discovering the impactful work of their peers. That’s why the OLC recognizes outstanding contributions to the field through annual awards, presented in conjunction with our Innovate conference. It is our hope that these honors will spread awareness about effective practices and serve as a springboard for innovation.

“We congratulate this year’s award winners on their extraordinary achievements in online and blended learning,” said OLC CEO Dr. Jennifer Mathes. “We are grateful for the tangible results of their passion and commitment to our evolving field.”

These game changing individuals could be your future collaborators. Learn more about their work below, and don’t miss the opportunity to join them at Innovate 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee as they are honored at our awards ceremony.

2023 Award of Excellence Winners

OLC’s membership is a community of tremendous talent. Our annual awards program enables us to spotlight meaningful innovation and leadership in online, blended, and digital learning. The winners in each category are recognized for their alignment with OLC’s Five Pillars of Quality Online Education – learning effectiveness, access, scale, and faculty and student satisfaction – as well as contributions to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Please join us in congratulating the selected winners:

Excellence in Design Practice

Dr. Enas Alwafi, Umm Al-Qura University – “Deanship in Online Learning”

Dr. Awalfi is recognized for the Deanship of E-Learning and Distance Education, tasked with transforming traditional courses into interactive online offerings through an intricate design and development process. The award recognizes the success of the online course “General Chemistry 1,” which has increased access and equity while maintaining high satisfaction from both students and faculty.

“Winning the OLC award is considered an indicator for the hard work and dedication towards the achievement of quality and excellence in the field of digital learning,” said Dr. Alwafi. “Winning this award is not a limited achievement that belongs to Umm Al-Qura University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also represents evidence for the Kingdom’s excellence and leadership in online learning development.”

 Alex Frizzell, Blair Stamper, Chris Mullenbach, Enoch Park, Jeremy Bailey, Kory Trosclair, Lynn Wahl, Melanie Lewis, Pariss Coleman, Sam Gist, and Tre’ Neal – Course Production Team, University of North Carolina Charlotte – “UNC Charlotte Course Development Process”

The Course Production Team in the Center for Teaching and Learning is honored for their work, which engages in strategic course development by fostering collaboration among faculty, leadership, and instructional designers. This cohort-based model ensures instructional quality through rigorous standards for learning effectiveness and by compensating faculty for participation as subject matter experts.

“The Course Production Team in the School of Professional Studies at UNC Charlotte is honored to receive the Excellence in Design Practice Award,” said Lynn Wahl, Director of Course Production. “We’ve worked very hard these past couple of years to improve our processes, relationships, and courses and are excited to see that work honored by the Online Learning Consortium.”

Excellence in Online and Blended Learning Support

Jeffrey Orridge, Jennifer Hinshelwood, and Jane Silva, TVO – “TVO Independent Learning Centre (TVO ILC)”

Orridge, Hinshelwood, and Silva are recognized for the achievements of TVO ILC, the largest online secondary school in Canada. Reaching students in over 95 countries, its offerings combine scalability with high quality, interactive multimedia design that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of its learner communities. TVO ILC is committed to student satisfaction as a vehicle for learner persistence and achievement.

“TVO is honored to receive this award, particularly as it aligns so closely with our guiding purpose to inspire learning that changes lives and enriches communities,” said Jennifer Hinshelwood, COO of TVO. “We’re proud to put our expertise to work in supporting the Ministry of Education’s strategy to provide quality online learning for students across the province.”

Excellence in Online and Blended Learning Innovation

Dr. Kristy Buccieri, Trent University – “Understanding Homelessness in Canada”

Dr. Buccieri is honored as a faculty lead in the development of “Understanding Homelessness in Canada: From the Street to the Classroom,” an open-access multimedia resource that combines field expert knowledge with contributions from people with lived homelessness experience. The adaptable set of assets includes videos, interactive text boxes, and visual art, and has been curated for deployment in a variety of educational settings as an online course, e-textbook, YouTube video series, podcast series, or professional development module.

“Our team’s primary goal in creating this resource was to engage people in meaningful conversation about the diversity and complexity of homelessness, using a range of open education tools,” shared Dr. Buccieri. “We are utterly humbled by the public uptake, support we have received, and this significant recognition from the OLC, which we hope will bring even more people into this important conversation.”

Dr. John R. Watret, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Worldwide Campus – “International Certificate in Aviation Management”

Dr. Watret is recognized for work on the International Certificate in Aviation Management, a 15-month blended program that combines facilitated and asynchronous online learning with in-person residencies, culminating in an on-campus project presentation and graduation ceremony. The multimodal course is designed to fit the schedule demands of professionals working in the aviation industry, while providing learners with the benefits of face-to-face interaction with colleagues and expert faculty. The program is in high demand and its benefits are recognized by Brazilian airlines that employ its graduates.

“We are extremely honored to receive this recognition by the Online Learning Consortium,” said Dr. Watret. “We take great pride in the development and delivery of our programs, and we are exceptionally proud of the Aviation Management Program and our collaboration with the several Brazilian organizations involved with it. We have seen the positive impact of this program, and we look forward to its continued success.”

Excellence in Data and Learning Analytics Design

Dr. Abdel Yosef, Dr. Jamie Holcomb, David McMurtry, Beth Bruner, and Dr. Louis Cabuhat from Unitek Learning – “Data Infrastructure Project”

Unitek Learning is honored for their work on an institutional data infrastructure transformation, which was deployed to remove silos and centralize key departments and services while improving student success and faculty experience. Custom data dashboards use predictive analytics and automated processes, enabling timely interventions to assist at-risk learners while decreasing attrition rates. These innovations have fostered greater efficiencies, seamless communication, and improved learning outcomes.

“Unitek Learning is extremely honored to receive this award, which reflects a deep commitment of our team and organization to use data to support our students, faculty, and staff, while strengthening outcomes at all levels,” said Dr. Holcomb.

Karen Swan OLJ Outstanding Research Achievement Award in Online Education

This award recognizes excellence in including scholarly research and writing, leadership and service in research, and contributions to advancing the field. It is a highly selective honor that is not selected through OLC’s awards submission process; rather, individuals are chosen by the OLJ Editorial Board.

Charles Graham, Brigham Young University

“I am honored to receive this OLC award for online learning research named in memory of Karen Swan,” Graham shared. “Karen was a respected researcher and beloved colleague to many of us doing online learning research.”

Innovate 2023 Scholarship Winner

OLC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Scholarship

This scholarship was established to honor digital learning leaders who are part of a historically excluded community. Awardees are recognized for their thought leadership and contributions to advancing equity, inclusion, diversity, and advocacy in the online learning field. This organizational support is intended to bolster access to professional development opportunities and strengthen communities of practice.

Dr. Hong Wang, Northern Virginia Community College

“I’m truly honored to receive the OLC DEI Scholarship,” shared Dr. Wang. “I’m very grateful to OLC and its Nominations, Awards, and Recognition Committee for this incredible recognition for the advocacy and work I love to do each day.”

We look forward to celebrating these achievements and more at Innovate 2023!

The post Meet the 2023 OLC Award of Excellence and Scholarship Recipients appeared first on OLC.

Over the summer of 2022, as I was redesigning a fully online research methods course for the Instructional Design and Learning Technology (IDLT) Master of Science Program that I was assigned to teach in the fall of 2022, I focused on creating a scaffolded project for students to gain experience with the process of conducting research. Oftentimes, our research journey starts with reading something in a journal or popular media and wanting to know more. The OLC paper, Instructional Design in Higher Education: Defining an Evolving Field (Beirne & Romanoski, 2018), helped the class to think about how to initially design the IDLT program itself, but it still left me with a number of questions: What does instructional design look like outside of higher education? What do employers across sectors need from their employees? What has happened in the field since 2018 when this was published?). I figured that students who are looking for IDLT jobs in the near future might also be interested in investigating this topic!

As a part of our course, student groups worked together to explore the evolving role of instructional design and learning technology across sectors through scaffolded assignments that guided them in reviewing literature, designing research questions, selecting appropriate methods and approaches, collecting data, analyzing data, and writing up their results. Unfortunately, semesters are short, and the project was not able to dig deep enough to produce systematic and generalizable research. However, as students gained valuable research skills for their future IDLT work, they found valuable information and reflected together on future areas of research around this important topic for the field, which I asked them to share as a part of this blog post.

Group Member Names

Mindi Ryan, Lisa Anderson, Kourtnie Hunter

What sector did you study?

Higher education

During the semester, as you worked on your project, what did you learn about the evolving field of instructional design?

The literature read revolved around the flipped learning classroom model in higher education. Language acquisition courses and varying strategies for instruction were revealed as themes. Flipped learning includes both in-person and online components, and students learn the material on their own and then apply their knowledge in class, mainly through discussions and group projects. The use of technology can be a barrier in Flipped learning classrooms as accessibility can become an issue for students and the instructors. Flipped learning classrooms allow for more flexibility and opportunities for students to expand their knowledge. 

Where should research go next?

Our research moving forward would take a look at types of  learning conducted in the flipped learning classroom and the strategies used in both in-person and online learning. It would be valuable to research more into what subjects are being used the most for flipped learning and how these courses are instructed using this model. Next, seeing what kind of training both students and instructors receive for flipped learning would be valuable. It would be interesting to determine whether or not the training received impacts the results of the flipped model of learning, perhaps creating more effective learning opportunities.

Group Member Names

Amber Williams, Kyla McHenry, Hannah Bauer, and Maryssa Boeldt

What sector did you study?

K-12

During the semester, as you worked on your project, what did you learn about the evolving field of instructional design?

The gaps present in the education field that simultaneously affect the field of instructional design. We learned that there needs to be huge strides made in order to allow for online learning to be accessible to all learners. One area of accessibility that still needs to be addressed is internet speeds, particularly in rural areas, to allow for use of the best tools and training available. It is so important that these needs be met to allow for the best learning experience for as many learners as possible. Only then will we have met our goals of true equitable learning.

Where should research go next?

Based on findings from reviewing field research and conducting our own, we feel that moving forward research should focus on ways to increase the accessibility of online learning in schools. We have learned a great deal from our COVID experiences and are better prepared if we were to move into distance based learning. A solid focus on establishing best practices and creating norms for the use of learning platforms would be ideal as well. We discovered that so many learning tools have been used; we would love to gain more insights combining the best tools with the best possible accessibility.

Group Member Names

Nicole Augustin, Melissa Droessler, Ryan Germain, Megan Schullo

What sector did you study?

K-12

During the semester, as you worked on your project, what did you learn about the evolving field of instructional design?

While exploring the role that technology has on developing students’ executive functioning skills, three major themes emerged from our literature review: technology usage relates to increased student anxiety (FOMO), executive functioning is correlated to student success, and there are differences in student-controlled media versus teacher-directed instructional technology. We saw a gap in literature on the K-12 sector which caused us to shift our initial research direction from being cause and effect research to being more qualitative. We developed and administered a qualitative survey designed to measure K-12 teachers’ current technology usage and observations of students’ executive functioning skills.

Where should research go next?

Possible Further Research Opportunities:

• Gather data on specific apps and programs that teachers have used in their own classrooms that have been beneficial to students’ executive functioning skills
• Conduct one-on-one interviews with respondents that found technology to benefit their students in the classroom

Group Member Names

Kelley Wasmund & Diane Stewart

What sector did you study?

Corporate 

During the semester, as you worked on your project, what did you learn about the evolving field of instructional design?

The literature read was focused on the needs of learners to stay engaged with online learning content. In a corporate setting some sectors are suspicious of the online training implementation. If introduced properly, online training can improve access to knowledge and can lower costs. Online learning should have choices, be flexible, and have active learning incorporated in. There is a lot to balance when it comes to learner engagement.

Where should research go next?

The research should really start to focus on finding that balance when it comes to learner engagement. Some businesses are thinking that this is still a temporary work situation, but remote work is most likely here to stay. Putting in the time to find what truly engages the ever evolving needs of learning is a moving target and will continuously need to be researched.

Group Member Names

Andrea Chang, Amanda Curren, Brittany Cantwell, Jenny Farrar

What sector did you study?

Corporate

During the semester, as you worked on your project, what did you learn about the evolving field of instructional design?

In our literature analysis we found that:

• Regardless of sector, instructional designers are expected to motivate and satisfy the needs of diverse learners
• Instructional design is a largely problem-solving career with many paths into the profession
• Technical, analytical, communication skills, and continued education are valued when hiring for most of these roles; an idea we had is that technology skills are also important, but the ability to analyze and leverage it to enhance learning is key

Our group thinks the skills and experience needed to be effective and hired may vary between roles in corporate and higher education sectors.

Where should research go next?

There was a gap in the literature regarding whether certain skills and experience aligning with one particular sector would limit mobility to instructional design positions in other sectors. Based on what we learned, our recommendation would be to conduct a study to compare the rate of mobility between corporate and higher education sectors.

We would need to determine the difference between skills, experiences, and credentials valued in hiring for each sector, and analyze how these overlap and contrast. Further, we could evaluate the effectiveness of instructional designers and compare how their skills and experience align with those valued in hiring.

Group Member Names

Erin Applegate, Ben Johnson, Andrea Lythgoe, EJ Saldana

What sector did you study?

Entry level job requirements for Instructional Designers in all sectors, primarily corporate

During the semester, as you worked on your project, what did you learn about the evolving field of instructional design?

Prior studies analyzed job descriptions while others focused on which skills instructional designers used more frequently in an attempt to determine what newly minted instructional designers needed to know to get their first job. No one had yet looked at which credentials most often lead to employment as an instructional designer.

Studies that looked at job descriptions showed that many of them stated a requirement of a bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design, yet a Google search found fewer than 5 such programs in the US. Graduate certificates and salaries were not addressed in the studies we evaluated.

Where should research go next?

We propose that this study be repeated at a larger scale, focusing on a few things:

We recommend future researchers compare the entry level hiring success of those who:

• Have a masters degree 
• Complete a post-baccalaureate ID certificate 
• Complete one of the academies that are also training instructional designers, particularly those transitioning from other fields.

A deeper exploration of educational background and salary in their first job could yield some interesting results.

A comparison of those who have a degree specific to instructional design and those who are “accidental instructional designers” with education in other areas.

As the field of instructional design and learning technology continues to evolve, there are many places research can go to further our collective understanding of the skills needed to design and support effective and engaging learning experience across education sectors (e.g., K12, higher education, corporate). Through student group work this semester, our class uncovered the importance of instructional design and learning technology professionals being problem-solvers who are dedicated to meeting the needs of diverse learners. To do this, it is important that individuals in these roles have effective analytical, pedagogical, technological, and communication skills in addition to having an understanding that ongoing, continuous professional learning is crucial to support our ability to evolve with the field. However, as noted from the groups themselves, there is also much we still need to know (e.g., How can we leverage tools to support important skills like executive functioning? How can we increase accessibility for all learners? How can we reduce technology barriers to support good practices–like flipped learning?) in order to create meaningful learning experiences for our learners, as well as understand the field (e.g., What credentials are needed for instructional design and learning technology positions across sectors?) to prepare for our future work in it.

The post Students Explore the Evolving Field of Instructional Design appeared first on OLC.

Shifting us into warp drive, distorting the time-space continuum, recent technologies like machine learning (such as GPT-3), analytics, cloud computing, blockchain, and connected devices have challenged many established higher education systems. This combined with the rapid entry of mega-corporations (e.g., online program management providers, course and learning program competitors, private-public mergers, and big-name textbook publishers) into learning and development spaces should propel you into action, to gain a competitive edge.

Alternatively, no action could slow down innovation or, worse yet, lead to the dissolution of our higher education organizations. Pressures are mounting with declines in funding, rising external political divisiveness, scrutiny about the value of academic degrees, rising demands for non-traditional or skills-based learning, growing need for sustainability to protect the environment, expectations for flexible work arrangements coinciding the Great Resignation, emerging modalities of learning, and cybersecurity concerns (Pelletier et al., 2022). Leaders, regardless of roles or titles or places in the organization, must respond.

As an assistant program director in digital learning, my head spins just thinking about the multitude of challenges; nevertheless, I realize the importance of quickly delivering solutions. Traditional methods would likely take too long to readily address the challenges of this distorted time-space continuum.

Digital learning efforts, in the past, were often characterized by extensive planning proffered by a select few, perhaps fueled by rigid processes or systems requiring that budgets be set well in advance. The expectation was that those who do the work should interpret and sequentially carry out the plans, without advanced testing of tenable components, and without ease of modifying the scope for efficiencies or to meet changing stakeholders’ needs. This top-down flow of plans would work quite well in a stable, less competitive world, within a static organization, for an effort with well-defined, tangible goals, and predictable, one-size-fits-all student needs.

That stable scenario, however, does not reflect our current contexts. We must engage in newer systems and better methods for leading in higher education, utilizing agile leadership.

Call for Agility in Higher Education

Even in stable times, the type of work we do in higher education is less concrete than other types of work. We perform knowledge work (as technology experts, engineers, teachers, scientists, lawyers, doctors, writers), not industrial work. This knowledge work is invisible, changing, autonomous, focused on changing things or minds, as well as involving constant decision making, questioning, and making progress on understanding tasks or learning (Griffiths, 2018). People are our most valuable assets in higher education.

As a facilitative member of a cross-functional team of programming in learning technologies, instructional design, multimedia specialists, LMS administrators, I have faith that we can create a thriving emerging technology ecosystem across one of the largest and most innovative universities in the United States. I am confident in the experience and expertise of our team, and I aim to bring out the best in people.

Agile leadership facilitates to the forefront a variety of expertise. This people-centric leadership involves:

• Encouraging self-organized teams,
• Aligning efforts,
• Facilitating continuous improvements,
• Fostering collaboration and transparency,
• Failing fast to reduce risk,
• Minimizing overproduction to create efficiencies, as well as
• Focusing on the value of people (e.g., staff, faculty, students, administration).

For example, effective leaders in disruptive environments or times used an agile strategy to deliver results and retain their productive employees, through enhancing job and life satisfaction (Aftab et al., 2020). Many higher education institutions drew upon agile practices to face challenges brought about by the onset of the pandemic, by collaborating, self-organizing, responding to students’ learning needs, transparently communicating, and reflecting on progress for enhanced decision making (Varga-Atkins et al., 2021). More recently, an array of leaders, from emerging to established, congregated at the Institute for Emerging Leaders in Online Learning (IELOL) to contemplate their approaches in their current context, often described as uncertain and complex. They realized that practicing agility by virtue leads to incremental or iterative successes for their organizations and their learners.

Agile Values

Agile values guide collaboration on new digital learning efforts (e.g., rolling out an online academic program, creating faculty development opportunities, scaling digital technologies), bit by bit. I hope you are as humbled as I am by these simple yet powerful set of prioritized values from the Agile Manifesto (Beck et al., 2001):

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working deliverables over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

I refer to these frequently for guidance about how best to move efforts forward. These principles inform leadership practices aimed at facilitating changes more efficiently and focused on client satisfaction.

Useful Tips for Putting Agile into Action

Facilitate Trust

Transparency in roles, work efforts, communication, and constructive feedback fosters trust, as roles and responsibilities are apparent to everyone on the team. Team members who trust each other can more readily resolve problems and overcome miscommunications when these arise.

To facilitate trust, I intentionally created spaces for team members to have informal conversations and exchange information outside of structured meetings, especially needed in hybrid work environments. Among teams that do not have this type of space, I have, unfortunately, witnessed frustration and distrust, followed by resignations. Time for personal exchanges, watercooler conversations, and bonding is essential for team members to develop trust for one another, creating the glue necessary for effective collaboration.

Take a Collaborative Approach

Take a collaboration approach with teams and partners. This empowers them to focus on more valuable activities, rather than time-consuming back and forth negotiations. It also enables quick response to needed changes, going to the right person for answers, and prioritizing the most valuable aspects of the scope to deliver.

The tradition of shared governance is an excellent example of taking a collaborative approach. I appreciate this tradition. As someone who holds faculty status, I can get behind the principle that a university operates at its zenith when it is transparent about its processes and taps into the expertise across all faculty disciplines. 

Limit the Work in Progress

Consider strategically prioritizing initiatives. The time to complete tasks slows down more and more in direct proportion to the work in progress, according to Little’s Law (Griffiths, 2018). With too much to do at once, team members multitask or haphazardly complete activities causing rework. By creating a backlog of prioritized activities, limiting work started, team members can progress on only those most highly prioritized items in spurts to create quality deliverables. I have found that this method does wonders for time management.

Failing Fast

Prioritized activities that entail some risk can be attempted earlier rather than later, giving teams the opportunity to fail fast and learn from their efforts together. By attempting and failing, the scope of the effort can be re-adjusted with more realistic accuracy, priorities, and estimations. By piloting new technologies, for instance, our digital learning team can collect meaningful feedback to determine if the tool should be scaled across the university. Knowing sooner rather than later saves us time and effort.

Foster a Learning Organization

Many higher education institutions often employ agility in their quality course or program review process. Teams and organizations can additionally learn through daily collaborations, team accountability, piloting or demoing, collecting feedback, reflecting, and creating feedback loops to improve on many levels, such as personal development, team development, as well as organizational processes and structures. At an organizational or program level, consider benchmarking the quality assurance and quality effort against other institutions and sharing and integrating knowledge from the quality effort for organizational change (Adair and Shattuck, 2019). I have witnessed the effectiveness of systemic feedback for all these purposes throughout my career in higher education, K-12 education, as well as staffing and training in the private sector.

Agile Leadership Change

Facilitating transparency, collaboration, strategically prioritizing activities, and fostering a learning organization encompasses the leadership necessary to quickly deliver results in response to uncertainties in complex contexts. Higher education operates in a dynamic, competitive environment, and some of us leading the charge feel compelled to deliver meaningful results quickly, iteratively as solutions or innovations to help higher education navigate the current warp in the time-space continuum.

With agile leadership, digital learning leaders can not only act with agility but with a greater sense of purpose. We all have a responsibility to guide our organizations through quality digital learning transformations in these times.

Online Learning Consortium announces the window for applying to the career boosting, network amplifying unique blended learning leadership development experience, IELOL. Participating in the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL) means that you have joined a growing network of online leaders in higher education focused on improving and advancing the impact of digital learning on all aspects and formats of education.

References

Adair, D., & Shattuck, K. (2019). Ensuring quality while creating and innovating. In K. E. Linder (Ed.), The business of innovating online: Practical tips and advice from industry leaders (pp. 97-112). Stylus Publishing, LLC. 

Aftab, S., Khalid, K., Waheed, A., Aftab, A., & Adnan, A. (2022, October 18). Role of agile leadership in managing inter-role conflicts for a satisfying job and life during COVID-19 in a VUCA world. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(2022). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.979792. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9623304/

Beck, K., et al. (2001). The agile manifesto. Agile Alliance. http://agilemanifesto.org/

Griffiths, M. (2018). PMI-ACP Exam Prep: A course in a book for passing the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) exam (2nd ed.). RMC Publications.

Pelletier, K., McCormack, M., Reeves, J., Robert, J., & Arbino, N. with Al-Freih, M., Dickson-Deane, C., Guevara, C., Koster, L., Sánchez-Mendiola, M., Bessette, L. S., & Stine, J. (2022.) EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, Teaching and Learning Edition. EDUCAUSE. https://library.educause.edu/resources/2022/4/2022-educause-horizon-report-teaching-and-learning-edition

Varga-Atkins, T, Sharpe, R, Bennett, S, Alexander, S and Littlejohn, A. (2021). The choices that connect uncertainty and sustainability: Student-centered agile decision-making approaches used by universities in Australia and the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2021(1): 16, pp. 1–16. DOI: https://doi. org/10.5334/jime.649 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1314119.pdf

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It takes seeds of creativity and collaboration to craft meaningful, engaging online experiences. The inaugural book from OLC Press, From Grassroots to the Highly-Orchestrated: Online Leaders Share Their Stories of the Evolving Online Organizational Landscape in Higher Ed presents a collection of candid, inspiring stories of Chief Online Officers as they nurture virtual learning from inception to maturity. See inside their struggles, successes, and lessons learned throughout their personal and professional journeys.

ORDER THE BOOK NOW

“The authors of Grassroots to the Highly-Orchestrated generously shared with us their challenges and triumphs,” says Dr. Shelley Kurland, Inaugural Dean of the County College of Morris’ Virtual Campus. “I hope our readers find the stories and lessons as compelling as I did.”

OLC Press, the Online Learning Consortium’s new publishing imprint, aims to produce valuable titles that lead the conversation in online learning. Its forthcoming digital and print publications will contribute to online education research for leaders, learners, and those in between.

“We are pleased to launch the OLC Press in order to provide an outlet for valuable scholarship of importance to researchers and practitioners alike,” said Jennifer Mathes, Ph.D., OLC Chief Executive Officer. “Through Grassroots and future publications, OLC Press gives a voice to the online learning community and aims to stimulate crucial conversations that accelerate our collective mission.”

Indeed, From Grassroots to the Highly-Orchestrated features a spectrum of voices of higher education pioneers who learned to take root in shifting sands.

Here is a preview of the top five takeaways:

1. We better plan our future when we intentionally pause, reflect, and share.
2. Online learning programs cannot be designed in a vacuum. Stakeholder inclusion and community representation are key.
3. Be comfortable with the unconventional – growth doesn’t follow a straight line.
4. Center technology strategy around people. 
5. As a higher education leader, you are never alone with the challenges you face. Community is essential to leadership development.

“Through OLC Press and Grassroots, we look forward to sharing the stories of leaders in the online learning community,” says Jennifer Mathes. “The establishment of OLC Press is a momentous occasion and we are eager to witness its impact on higher education.”

Ready to be inspired by authentic, relatable stories from dozens of Chief Online Officers? 

ORDER THE BOOK NOW

The post OLC Releases First Book from OLC Press – Featuring First-hand Stories from Chief Online Officers appeared first on OLC.

The OLC Board of Directors is ringing in 2023 with two new board officers – President Patsy Moskal and Vice President Paige McDonald – and two new board members – Vincent Del Casino Jr. and Vickie Cook. The newly elected members and officers will guide the OLC’s strategic mission in advancing digital learning leadership worldwide. 

Board Officers and Members, who serve a one-year term and three-year term, respectively, are chosen by the current OLC Board for their in-depth knowledge and leadership in higher education. 

“The OLC community benefits from the visionary direction of our distinguished Board of Directors,” says Jennifer Mathes, OLC CEO. “Their leadership is foundational to our mission of engaging digital learners across the globe.”

New Officers

Board President: Patsy Moskal

University of Central Florida

Dr. Patsy Moskal, previously the OLC Board Vice President, is Interim Executive Director of the Center for Distributed Learning and Director of the Digital Learning Impact Evaluation at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Since 1996, she has served as the liaison for faculty research involving digital learning technologies, supporting the scholarship of teaching and learning at UCF. Patsy specializes in statistics, graphics, program evaluation, and applied data analysis. She has served as a co-principal investigator on grants from several government and industrial agencies including the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Gates Foundation-funded Next Generation Learning Challenges.

“It is my privilege to serve as the President of the OLC Board of Directors and work alongside such a distinguished group of experts in higher education,” Moskal says. “The colleagues that I have met and worked with through the Online Learning Consortium over the past 25 years have become cherished mentors, professional collaborators, and personal friends. It is an honor to help continue to advance the mission of OLC in creating community and knowledge around quality online, blended, and digital learning.

Board Vice President: Paige McDonald

George Washington University 

Dr. Paige McDonald is an Associate Professor at George Washington University (GW) in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Vice Chair of the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership. Paige is an educational researcher who has focused on integrating technology into health professions education to achieve pedagogical goals, with an emphasis on blended learning design. At GW, Paige teaches complexity science, knowledge translation, implementation science and innovation leadership courses in an interdisciplinary, blended Ph.D. program on Translational Health Sciences. Within OLC, she has previously served as a conference program chair, track chair, reviewer, and guest editor for Online Learning.

“It has been an honor to serve as a member of the board of directors, particularly as we emerge from COVID lockdown and think toward engaging our community once again in face to face forums,” McDonald says. “Working with my fellow board members, many of whom have served as my mentors and guides in online and blended learning and the staff of OLC to ensure that we continue to set the global standard in online and blended learning is a career achievement for me.”

New Members

Board Member: Vincent Del Casino Jr. 

San Jose State University

As San Jose State University’s provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, Vincent J. Del Casino Jr. serves as a key member of the university president’s leadership team with primary responsibility for ensuring academic excellence in undergraduate and graduate studies as well as a continual commitment to research, scholarship, and creative activities that benefit all students and society at large.  With more than 18 years of academic and administrative experience in higher education, he has also provided leadership at the University of Arizona and California State University, Long Beach.

“I am excited to be joining the Board at this important time when online education and digital learning have become top of mind nationally,” Del Casino says. “I look forward to engaging with all members of the Board as the OLC positions itself as a critical organization in the larger higher education conversation.”

Board Member: Vickie Cook

University of Illinois Springfield

Vickie S. Cook is the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment & Retention Management at the University of Illinois Springfield. For the past 10 years, she has overseen Online Learning through the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service, Continuing and Professional Education, Office of Engaged Learning, and Center for Faculty Excellence and served as a member of the Provost leadership team. As a Research Faculty member, she has authored several works discussing the intersection of capacity building through leadership. Her research interests focus on generational learning, multi-generational teaching in the online space, and comparisons of Generation Z and Generation Alpha expectations for learning.  

“I am humbled and honored to be joining the OLC Board of Directors,” Cook says. “The OLC board consists of a collaborative group of innovative leaders who are focused on excellence in the digital learning experience.  I am thrilled to be a part of the good work of OLC in advancing high quality teaching and learning experiences through digital learning.” 

The post The Online Learning Consortium Elects Two New Board Officers and Two New Members appeared first on OLC.

At OLC conferences, we like to think everyone is a winner because of the learning experiences. That said, sometimes there are actual winners. At OLC Accelerate 2022, there were several friendly competitions taking place, including trivia, an escape room, and a goosechase to collect all exhibitor stamps. Now we’re pleased to announce the comprehensive list of prize winners, extending a special thanks to our sponsors and engagement team.

VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Playlist of Travel Songs – Name That Tune! (11/1) | $10 Amazon Gift Cards

• Nicole Zmuda
• Jason Reed

Closing Reception (11/3) | $10 Amazon Gift Cards

• Chris Pilgrim
• Trey Leech

Goosechase Days 1-3 | $10 Amazon Gift Cards

• Nicole Zmuda
• Stephen Grusendor
• Rachel Stern Lockerman

Session Evaluations (Attendees) | $25 Amazon Gift Cards

• Dennis Dahlquist
• Megan Hunt
• John Zinn
• Melisa Tanger-Brown
• Tina Davis

Session Evaluations (Presenter) | $25 Amazon Gift Cards

• Anne Jewett

Post-Conference Survey | $50 Amazon Gift Card

• Terri Ann Guingab

ONSITE PROGRAM (ORLANDO, FL)

Escape Room | $25 Amazon Gift Cards

• Enoch Hunsaker 
• Eric Orton 
• Michael Young
• Lisa Hassler   
• Karen Brown   
• Kellen Sines    
• Joan Beckner    
• Derek Hardaway    
• Alaysha Suggs

Exhibitor Stamp Contest

• Jackie Klatt – Bose Sleep Buds II Winner
• Renee L.A. Renegar – Amazon Fire 7 with cover

$25 Amazon Gift Cards

• Ashley Smith
• Rebecca Red Wolf
• Chery Lucarelli
• Elizabeth Bradley
• Osmara Salas
• Michael Jensen
• Dr. Deborah Brabham
• Trey Leech
• Tim Walker
• Melissa Tamger Brown

Community Breakfast Trivia Contest

• 2023 BLS registration – Matthew Pittman
• $25 Amazon gift card – Matt Vick  
• $10 Amazon gift card – S. Raj Chaudhury

Goosechase Experience

• Day 1 Winner – Sharon Titus
• Day 2 Winner – Michelle Dukhovny 
• Day 3 Winner – Julie Jacobs

National Sponsor Complimentary 2023 Conference Registration

• Sponsored by HP – Taryn Nance
• Sponsored by Instructure – Kristin Hagan 
• Sponsored by Proctorio – Mayra Collins
• Sponsored by Science Interactive – Greg Wilson
• Sponsored by InSpace Proximity – Stephanie Jennings
• Sponsored by Nearpod – Mason Ingle 
• Sponsored by Amazon – Melissa Youngman
• Sponsored by Anthology – Shannon Lane
• Sponsored by PlayPosit – Yingjie Liu
• Sponsored by NameCoach – Scott Collins
• Sponsored by Archer Education – Samantha Ronsick
• Sponsored by Coursetune – Jennifer McCann

Session Evaluations (attendees) | $25 Amazon Gift Cards

• Mark Hodgins
• Scott Hardwick
• Gayle Rhineberger
• Kendra Voris
• Jonathan Gutierrez

Session Evaluations (presenters) | $25 Amazon Gift Cards

• Rebecca Mendoza

Post-Conference Survey | $50 Amazon Gift Card

• Melanie Hibbert

View all photos from OLC Accelerate, courtesy of Sean Nufer

The post It’s a Goosechase Out There! Announcing the OLC Accelerate 2022 Prize Winners appeared first on OLC.

OLC Accelerate 2022 brought together 1,500+ learning professionals in November at the virtual and onsite programs in Orlando, Florida. The theme, “Reflecting Onward: Evidence for a Changed World” surfaced projects, research, and exemplars of best practices in digital learning across 500+ sessions. The pandemic prompted many institutions to rethink their online and blended learning strategies and it showed.

The OLC Insights team had a chance to connect with OLC Accelerate 2022 Conference Co-Chairs Tawnya Means (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Torie Wynn (Academic Partnerships) to get a sense of their favorite aspects of the conference:

1. Enhancing blended learning is a priority for the community – and requires a behavioral shift.

The Blended Learning Symposium spotlighted experts in blended learning, who shared resources and ideas on dimensions of blended learning and readiness for successful implementation. Presenters discussed experiences with the implementation of blended learning around the globe and provided a look back at the past 25 years of research with an eye to the future, incentives for continuous improvement in practices, and bolstering inclusion.

New ways of teaching and learning require intentional leadership around organizational and professional development. Blended learning was a major topic in conference breakouts as well, with the Collect the CHANGE model illuminated to showcase the ways in which institutional leadership can impart responsible change management. 

2. Higher Education events must continue to find ways to amplify student voices.

Hearing directly from students at both the virtual and onsite conference was an inspiring and important reminder of the importance of embracing the student voice and opinion when it comes to online teaching and learning. 

The virtual panels, “In Their Words: Student Perspectives on Support, Learning and Faculty Relationships” and “Charting A Learner-Driven Future for Online Learning: A Student Panel on Centering Humanization and Care” provided attendees with interesting student perspectives and feedback. 

The plenary lightning talks during Thursday’s breakfast at the on-site conference also featured Every Learner Everywhere student fellow Kiara Williams, who reminded the audience that we should never make assumptions about who students are and what they want. Instead, Kiara advocated for inviting students to the table and engaging them in decision making, curriculum design, and educational technology ventures.

3. In-person gatherings of like-minded people were invigorating, and are enhanced by online programming and connections. 

The global pandemic massively impacted the conference industry, and as in-person events are making a comeback, organizations are still evaluating and testing out their strategies. Blended learning is part of the OLC’s DNA, as we strive to make it possible for people to participate, regardless of their location. 

OLC Accelerate provided attendees with so many ways to stay active, connected, and engaged together outside of sessions. The inclusion of Goosechase encouraged attendees at both the virtual and onsite conference to try out new offerings and get involved. The brand-new Engagement Boulevard and Engagement Block Party brought attendees together to network and celebrate each other’s creativity. It was so exciting to see people connecting in-person after many years apart.

View all photos from OLC Accelerate, courtesy of Sean Nufer

The post Blended Learning, Student Voice, and Inclusive Experiences: Highlights from OLC Accelerate 2022 appeared first on OLC.

For as long as I have been involved with the OLC, a big part of my conference experience has been getting to enjoy the Disney parks after hours with colleagues and friends. Late nights closing down the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT served as an extended community engagement experience, and the time I’ve spent laughing and chatting in between rides and fireworks is permanently stored in my treasured memory back. As if these experiences weren’t vibrant enough, one of my former co-workers and dear friend, Adam Davi, introduced me to a way to create space for new memories to be made through an activity called Disneybounding. Adam, who serves as the Senior Instructional Designer for Digital Learning at The University of Arizona and is the 2022 OLC Accelerate Conference Program Co-Chair, sat down with me to tell me a little more about this fun practice that allows people to literally “get into character” during their park experience. He also shared some ways that the onsite participants of this year’s conference can join in on the fun themselves.

Angela Gunder: What is Disneybounding? How did this get started as a practice in the parks?

Adam Davi: Disneybounding is a way to represent the essence of your favorite Disney character without having to dress in a costume.  Since adults are not allowed to wear costumes in the Disney Parks, Disneybounding is a way to add a little bit of extra magic to your visit by channeling the look of your favorite characters.  But whereas costumes are a replica of a character, Disneybounding gives you freedom to add your own flair and style to a character’s look.  I actually first heard about it when reading a story about John Stamos Disneybounding at Disneyland.  That got me hooked and now my wife and I try to come up with new outfits for every trip to the parks.

AG: What are some of your favorite examples of Disneybounding that others have done? What are some of your favorite Disneybounding looks that you and your family have put together?

AD: I like when entire families get in on the Disneybounding action.  I’ve seen some clever Toy Story inspired looks, the Winnie the Pooh crew, and Star Wars as well.  Some of my favorites that I’ve done with my wife were Ariel and Flounder and Belle and Beast.  In fact, when my wife was Ariel, a little girl saw her and asked her mom if she was a mermaid.  It was a really cute moment.  And we managed to snag a reservation at the Be Our Guest restaurant as Belle and Beast, which made that look extra special.  When our son came into the mix, we went classic Disney for his first Disneybound experience with him as Mickey and me and my wife as Goofy and Pluto.

AG: If someone wants to Disneybound when they visit one of the parks, how should they get started?

AD: We started by making a list of characters that we thought would be fun to Disneybound as.  Then from there we looked up inspiration online to see what it would take to put the look together and what we already had in our closet that would work.  I would suggest people think about who their favorite characters are and then check their closet to see what they already have to put that look together.  Once you get the basic look and colors put together, you can think about what details will really pull it all together.  For example, when my wife went as Jasmine, she found a tiger purse to accentuate the outfit and really sell the look.  For my Wall-E look, I found a checkered pattern watch band to match the pattern on Wall-E’s arms.  While you don’t have to get that detailed with your look, it makes it really fun, especially when others notice and appreciate the details.

AG: Where can folks find inspiration to come up with their look?

AD: There is an official Disneybound website that you can start with, but, honestly, that site feels a little intimidating to me. Pinterest is where I would go for inspiration.  There are lots of pictures and suggestions for ensembles to put together.  Even doing a simple Google search for “Disneybound [insert character name]” will give you images for inspiration.  Some sites and pictures will even tell you where to buy each part of the outfit if you don’t already have it.  Searching Instagram for #Disneybounding will show you some great looks of Disneybounding in action at the parks as well.

AG: For those that want to show off their Disneybounding look at OLC Accelerate, where can they join in on the fun?

AD: If you are planning to visit a Disney park while in Orlando for the conference, Disneybounding can be a fun way to add a little extra magic to your trip.  So talk to your friends, pick some characters and make some really fun memories.  We will be doing a Disneybound photoshoot while onsite for OLC Accelerate on Wednesday night at 5:45 pm.  Everyone who wants to participate is invited, just meet in the lobby of the Walt Disney Dolphin Hotel by the fountain before heading to the parks.  And if you are looking for others to join in with you, whether as a Disneybound crew or just to visit the parks together, you can connect on Slack and share your ideas.

Intrigued by Disneybounding? Want to get your crew together (or join a new crew) to show off your creativity and style? I highly recommend that you join us on Wednesday, November 16 at 5:45pm ET for a quick photo shoot. We’ll meet at the fountain in the lobby of the Walt Disney Dolphin Hotel, take some group photos, and then break so that folks can either head to a park (or relax in style somewhere around the hotel or in Orlando). And if you want to preview your look on social media beforehand or show us your look in the park, you can use the hashtag #OLCAccelerate #disneybound and tag OLC at @OLCToday.

The post Our Character on Display: Disneybounding at OLC Accelerate 2022 appeared first on OLC.

An interactive resource for exploring diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility for presenters

Regardless of the type of professional development or training you are leading, presenting within that context is a skill. We at the Online Learning Consortium view presenters as facilitators and, importantly, educators. Thus, just as is the case in other learning environments, we need to be intentional about our practices in order to ensure we are facilitating with our audience in mind. We’ve been working to collate the effective practices and strategies presenters across our various OLC professional development spaces leverage to this end. So without further ado, here are the 12 tips we see presenters utilize to create more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible presentation environments: 

1. Provide multiple formats for receiving information
2. Prepare for multiple forms and levels of engagement
3. Upload presentation files and resources before your presentation
4. Provide an accessible introduction
5. Use inclusive design principles within your slides and any handouts
6. Verbally describe any important visuals or information on your slides
7. Use inclusive and non-jargony language
8. Use common language
9. Share norms and expectations at the outset
10. Respect attendee names, pronunciations, and pronouns
11. Be your authentic self
12. Slow down and breathe

We’ve developed an interactive resource that explains the importance and reasoning behind each recommendation and includes strategies for implementation. Explore these tips in more depth through our ThingLink experience:

We acknowledge that this is only a starting point and that each person’s journey through implementing practices based in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility varies. We all have to start somewhere and set realistic expectations for where we are in our unique journey. So if you are new to these practices know that even taking any one of them up in your practice is a good first step. What we do now will plant the seeds of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in our presentations for the long run.

These are our top 12…not necessarily an exhaustive top 12, so we now invite you to share your own strategies! What other tips do you practice that help to make your presentations more accessible and inclusive? Please post them to the embedded Padlet to share them with the community.

In modeling alternative ways to explore, we’ve prepared a full transcript version of this content.

Finally, we’ve intentionally licensed this under an Attribution-Noncommercial Creative Commons (CC BY-NC) license. This means that we invite you to use this, remix it, adapt the content, and build upon what we’ve shared for noncommercial purposes. With this invitation is the expectation that you acknowledge the OLC as original creators. So download or print this resource out. Incorporate it into your trainings or professional development content. Share it on social media or through email. Add your own tips or custom strategies. And help us extend and amplify diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as core expectations for any presentation environment.

• Shareable ThingLink: https://www.thinglink.com/scene/1637149172471693314 
• Downloadable PDF: https://olc-wordpress-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2022/10/Presenter-Services-DEIA-Infographic.pdf 

References

Garrett, K., Schuster, K. F., Shellgren, M. (2022). Top Recommendations to Increase the Accessibility & Inclusiveness of Your Presentation. OLC Insights. Online Learning Consortium.

The post Top Recommendations to Increase the Accessibility & Inclusiveness of Your Presentation appeared first on OLC.

This week Dr. Janue Johnson, Associate Professor at San Diego Mesa College and OLC faculty for the workshop Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility in Online Learning, joins us to discuss this new offering within the OLC Institute for Professional Development and why it’s important to really focus on DEIA in higher education. Dr. Johnson also shares some valuable insights for instructors looking to get started and incorporate DEIA principles into their courses.

Transcript of podcast

Show Notes

• Learn more by taking one of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility in Online Learning workshops by OLC
  • 7-day instructor-led – Next cohort starts November 7, 2022!
  • Self-paced – Start any time, on your own schedule
• Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond
• Humanizing by Michelle Pacansky-Brock
• CUE Racial Equity Tools from the University of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center

About Janue Johnson

Dr. Janue Johnson has a diverse teaching background with experience in K-12 and higher education settings. Her educational journey began with a Bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach, a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Phoenix, and a Ph. D. in Urban Higher Education from Jackson State University. She is currently a tenured Associate Professor and oversees Professional Learning for the campus community in the Learning Opportunities for Transformation (LOFT) at San Diego Mesa College. The LOFT is the College’s hub for Professional Learning. In her role, she oversees the design and implementation for professional learning activities for faculty and campus employees with a focus on Equity. Her philosophy about learning, teaching, and pedagogy is influenced by the work of bell hooks, Laura Rendon, and Paulo Freire, to name a few. She has three children; a daughter and two sons. They love going to the beach, having movie nights, and playing basketball.

The post Insights from the Field: Strategic Actions to Support DEIA in Online, Blended, and Digital Learning appeared first on OLC.

Tap into your inner competitor, have fun, and embrace play.

One of the first things that genuinely comes to mind when I think about OLC conferences is the word fun. I always smile when I share this because it brings back tons of great memories from past conferences. Just now, for instance, I couldn’t help but recall one of our Board Members racing through the halls in his attempt to beat another team of conference attendees during one of our evening events (in this case a playful spin on a relay race). Reflecting back, fun would not have been a word I used to describe my experiences with other conferences. Sure, the people were fun and I ended up having fun moments, but the conference design itself wasn’t what brought those elements…the people did.

The OLC changed this trajectory for me though and truly what I understood a conference to be…and I’ve never gone back. In my early days serving on the engagement volunteer team for the OLC I learned that conference programming itself could be fun, as could the structure and format of a conference. And why shouldn’t it be? Apart from being memorable, we know that gameful approaches to education can lead to impactful learning experiences when leveraged effectively and conference spaces should be no different.

As a designer now working in this space and someone fortunate enough to work with our current team of engagement volunteers, we follow this tradition of bringing fun into our professional learning spaces through events like our upcoming OLC Accelerate Conference. 

A core part of this work was the onset of this year’s engagement pathways, which playfully story the various personas we tend to see at our conferences – including The Competitor.

Whether you’re planning on attending or just reading for ideas, here are 7 gameful experiences you won’t want to miss:

1. OLC Accelerate GooseChase Mission — Leveling up from our popular Mission Passport, we’ve partnered with GooseChase to gamify our conference experience. Custom missions, cool prizes, and insight into a new educational tool…what’s not to love?
   
2. Engagement Block Party — Inspired by local, neighborhood-based block parties, we bring you lawn games (yes, you read that correctly), cool educational technologies, an entertaining variety show, and more…all with music and lunch.
   
3. OLC Design Sprints — Arguably now a classic of our virtual programming, OLC’s Design Sprints provide a lighthearted way to learn about design thinking while meeting new people.
   
4. Exposition Foundry Challenge: Improvisational Design — Improvisation is a great way to practice agile design and collaborative approaches to learning. We lean on this through this year’s Exposition Foundry Challenge, as we invite conference attendees and sponsors to join together for a chance to win a prize.
   
5. OLC Escape Room Series — This year we bring our conference attendees a series of educational escape room experiences! For those looking for a deep dive into what it takes to design an educational escape room (and for unique strategies and tools), the Master Class session “Build Your Own Escape Room: Theoretical Foundations, Models, And Practical Design Tips” is a must on your “don’t miss” list. Our fully virtual and onsite escape room experiences also make for fun ways to begin to explore this pedagogical approach and meet some cool people along the way.
   
6. Engagement Boulevard — From playful uses of educational technologies to intentional opportunities to network, the Engagement Boulevard will serve as a key engagement hub and thoroughfare space (running directly through the center of the Exhibit Hall.
7. OLC Evening Events — Creating opportunities to close out the day that nevertheless extend networking and community building spaces has been core to our model for evening events. This year we’ve designed a series both virtually (e.g. “Turn Your Bats And Beasties Into Beautiful Besties”) and onsite (e.g. “I’ve Got a Ticket to Ride”).

Not able to join us this Fall? Use this gameful line-up as inspiration for your next event or class!

The post Gamifying Professional Learning appeared first on OLC.

Some might say it’s spooky season, and others Libra season. But, in academia, it’s definitely conference season. October and November have been historically jam-packed with events that up-skill and connect professionals. 

Particularly post-pandemic, as we usher in a new world that simply didn’t exist before, mental health is a key factor in the success of what we build – and achieve – together. 

So how do we create mindful live experiences that eschew burnout in favor of balance?

That inquiry was a springboard for OLC’s planning of Accelerate 2022. This year’s engagement pathways focus on the various personas we undertake and encounter at conferences – with one of them being The Escapist. 

Accelerate 2022 was designed with balance and mental health in mind. In addition to the vibrant backdrop of Orlando for the in-person portion, we’ve been intentional about places, spaces, and activities.

We’re delighted to share with you our top Accelerate 2022 picks to set the tone for a refreshing and rejuvenating conference experience:

1. The Sanctuary – Dim the lights. This is a dedicated space for relaxation, quiet decompression, and reflection.
2. Guided Meditation and OLC Fit – These sessions encourage self-care while giving you space to engage in both work and community with others.
3. OLC Escape Room – A popular feature of OLC conferences, the Escape Room is the go-to for play …and to learn some things along the way. Game on! 
4. OLC Drive-In – Ever been in a keynote session and wish you could chat with the colleagues around you about something that was just shared? Or perhaps you want to eat chips without the worry of being too loud? The Drive-In is a collaborative space to tune in to our live streamed sessions.
5. OLC Café & Mercantile – Inspired by local cafes and coffee shops, OLC’s Cafe and Mercantile is a space for the community to gather around with music, food, and all things local.

We look forward to seeing you around and connecting with you! But if we see you in Tree Pose with your earbuds on, we’ll just wave and smile. 😉

The post Conference Humanely: Finding Balance at Academic Conferences appeared first on OLC.

We sat down with Lainie Hoffman and Jill Giacomini, two Discovery Session presenters to discuss their design strategies and approach to preparing asynchronous professional development for contexts like conferences. Their presentation, “Cultivating the Next Generation of Instructional Designers with Remote Internships” saw one of the highest view counts and engagement yet for OLC’s Discovery Session presentations. Though the chats are not being actively monitored, you can still check out their presentation and get a sense of all that they put in to garner such high engagement. 

One of the things we learned from the beginning of our conversation is that both shared common goals for what they, themselves, were looking to get out of their conference experience: connection. We start with this because it sets the foundation for what they were likewise hoping to achieve with their presentation. In both of their experiences as instructional designers, connection was key to their professional contexts. According to Lainie, “instructional design is such a relationship-oriented career. It really is one of those where you need to be connected to people.” For her, “OLC conferences have been a great way of forming those connections, maintaining those connections, and just being a part of a larger community.” 

Expanding on Lainie’s comment, Jill discussed the need to not only connect as a community, but specifically around different ways of doing things. For her, it is important to not “just assume that everyone kind of is doing things the same way.” When reflecting on conferences and working habits in general, she shared that it is easy to keep information and strategies to yourself. Both Jill and Lainie wanted to make space to intentionally share what they’ve learned along the way with others in the hopes that they might support community building and professional development in other contexts as well as to be a resource to others going through similar situations. Recognizing that “a lot of instructional designers out there are kind of working in a little more siloed environment,” they came to their OLC conference experience as presenters wanting to help move other instructional designers out of institutional vacuums and into community together. 

We open with this due to the way it highlights an intentional move on Lainie and Jill’s part to design their presentation so that it supported their own conference goals, while addressing a priority within the instructional design space: building community with other instructional designers and developing a culture based around the sharing of knowledge and practices. Looking to their presentation and discussing specific strategies they collectively took, it was no surprise to us to see that their Discovery Session was designed to do just that: build community and share practices. They began with two primary questions:

1. Who is our audience?
2. What is it that we want to share?

Who is our audience?

As mentioned above, they wanted to connect specifically with other instructional Designers across institutional contexts and the field at large. Thinking back to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, they shared that the move online brought on significant instructional design needs, but that many just had to “hit the ground running.” It was not just an instructional design community they wanted to connect with, it was a group of colleagues who were uniquely impacted throughout the pandemic that were now entering a new phase of planning: reflecting on what was as a means to center what could be for the future of the instructional designer community. 

What is it that we want to share?

Using their audience as inspiration, they spent a lot of time thinking about what would be most helpful. Both settled on a toolkit: “something tangible and more concrete that others could take away.” As Jill shares, they wanted to “be intentional about creating materials that they can take with, something they can apply. That is really important in order to have that bridge from presentation to application.” 

A look at their Discovery Session demonstrates the intentionality they brought to their design: they included multiple pause points directing audience members to additional resources and content, they incorporated polls and chats for dialogue and to assess understanding, and importantly, they framed all their content around applicable takeaways (prepared and shared so that others could put it into practice themselves). 

Beyond this, however, a clear approach and understanding of asynchronous digital learning environments emerged. Both Lainie and Jill view asynchronous presentation spaces as unique opportunities. Lainie shared that from her perspective, “when you’re doing things synchronously you have to be mindful of time, and exactly how long you have to talk, and what you can fit in. You have to be careful about your interaction points and monitoring the room. In the Discovery session we get to say, what can we play with? What would be interesting to try?” Apart from this, though, she observed that this format actually gave both her and Jill the opportunity for deeper connection with individual audience members. Discovery Sessions give “you the opportunity to connect more directly with the people who need that direct connection the most. Jill was monitoring chats and was able to have some of those conversations there, and I was working with the poll, but we actually got follow up emails later from people who just needed more details or more direct one-on-one, and it felt like it was a lot easier to make those one-on-one connections.” When asked about her perspective on asynchronous presentation formats, Jill unsurprisingly shared in Lainie’s reflection and sentiment: the asynchronous format, itself, made for better connection and opportunities for sustained learning. 

Lainie and Jill’s approach is not only a great one, but it was also a successful one (again, resulting in the highest view and engagement counts we’ve seen yet for the format). So, if you’re preparing digital learning spaces, or are also designing for connection, sustained learning, or engagement, consider spending some time with their presentation and their advice shared here and reflecting on the unique affordances of asynchronous digital learning environments. 

The post Designing for Connection and Sustained Learning: Opportunities Within Asynchronous Formats appeared first on OLC.

For learning experiences to be meaningful, so much happens behind the scenes. Dedicated leadership, learner-centered design, and the ability to adapt. The people in the trenches – sparking significant changes in online learning – deserve to be recognized for their impact.

That’s why each year the OLC launches a call for nominations for a variety of awards, to coincide with our Accelerate conference. We’re pleased to announce our 2022 awardees as inspirational models for our field.

“Online and blended learning are moving at lightning speed, and it’s important we pause to thank the people behind that progress,” shared OLC CEO Dr. Jennifer Mathes. “I am proud of our 2022 Fellows and Awardees as they reflect the tremendous talent dedicated to quality digital learning in our community. I am personally inspired. We all have a lot to learn from them.”

Get to know the bright talent, below, and Join them at Accelerate 2022 onsite in Orlando, Florida as they are honored at our awards ceremony.

2022 Class of OLC Fellows

For the 13th year, the OLC specially recognizes individual members for outstanding contributions. OLC Fellows cannot self-nominate, but instead must be nominated by others in the field. Nominees are then evaluated with a substantial set of criteria:

• Outstanding qualifications in the field of online learning:
• Significant experience in online learning or an allied field:
• Extraordinary contributions and leadership in the field of online learning:
• Distinguished service to OLC or the field

For 2022, the Fellow Selection Committee recommended three exemplary change-makers to the OLC Board of Directors to become OLC Fellows:

Terry Anderson is Professor Emeritus at Athabasca University. He was the editor for ten years of the peer reviewed journal, International Review of Open and Distributed Learning, which is the most cited Journal in this field. With a deep publications track record, he has authored ten books and 100+ peer reviewed articles, including the original work developing the Community of Inquiry Model. He also taught in the Masters and Doctoral program in Online Education and has keynoted international conferences.

Luke Dowden is the Chief Online Learning Officer of Alamo Colleges District – the largest accredited body of community colleges in San Antonio Texas. Through Alamo Colleges Online, he leads and supports capacity-building initiatives at all five Colleges, enabling them to reach a diversity of learners. He is a persistent advocate for designing experiences for learners with some college and no degree as well as those who are employed and income constrained.

Kate Jordahl has worked at the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District for over 25 years as a professor and administrator. Currently, Jordahl is a professor in the Fine Arts and Communication Division/Photography Department at Foothill College. Jordahl has been on the board of the OLC since 2017 and currently serves as Secretary of the Board, Chair of the Governance Committee and Tri-chair of the OLC DEI Taskforce. In her vibrant career, she has been dedicated to quality and equity in online education, particularly the fine arts.

Accelerate 2022 Award Winners

This annual OLC Awards program is an opportunity to showcase leadership and innovation in the field of online, blended, and digital learning. The winners represent individuals who are pushing the envelope of creativity to empower learners. Inclusivity, digital transformation, and collaboration are key features inherent across these bodies of work.

While the competition was strong this year, please join us in congratulating the selected winners:

Excellence in Faculty Development

Reed Dickson, Pima Community College – “PimaOnline Educators’ Conference (POEC)”

Reed is recognized for the design and implementation of an engaging professional development experience that empowered faculty and designers to expand their approaches to teaching online.

Excellence in Instructional and Teaching Practice

Joseph Rene Corbeil and Maria Elena Corbeil, The University of Texas Rio Grande –

“Digital Transformation of Higher Education Through Disruptive Pedagogies”

Joseph and Maria are awarded for their innovative work to ‘wrap a course around a course;’ students in online graduate courses are engaging in self-directed learning. The result has been greater learner agency.

Mark Gale, Athens State University – “The ActiveFlex Format”

Mark is recognized for leading the Athens State COVID-19 response by piloting an effective HyFlex initiative that fostered resiliency in students who returned to the classroom for face-to-face instruction.

Gomory-Mayadas Award for Excellence in Online Educational Leadership

Matthew Pittman, Ivy Tech Community College – “IvyOnline”

Matthew is awarded for stewardship of a team to align online courses with faculty teaching online from Ivy Tech’s 19 campuses into one online academic unit – underpinned by cultural development.

John R. Bourne Award for Excellence in Online Programs and Programming

Mara Huber and Christina Heath, University of Buffalo – “UB Project Portal”

Mara Huber and Christina Heath are recognized for their leadership around the Experiential Learning Network at UB, which has cultivated vital community exchange and learning around innovative and effective practices for online learning.

Accelerate 2022 Scholarship Winner

This scholarship recognizes individuals achieving extraordinary accomplishments in the field of online education at an early stage in their careers. Recipients – including this year’s winner – are known for leadership activities, service to the profession, scholarly publications, and/or contributions to advancing online and blended learning. 

Bruce N. Chaloux Scholarship for Early Career Excellence

Marcela Ramirez, University of Texas at San Antonio

As the Associate Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning & Digital Transformation at UTSA, Marcela has made a career and passion out of supporting faculty and students through innovative design strategies.

We look forward to honoring this incredible group of leaders with you at Accelerate 2022!

The post Meet the 2022 OLC Fellows and Award Winners appeared first on OLC.

Years ago when I was a faculty member at a community college in Illinois, I taught in a blended learning format. I don’t recall if we had a name for the modality, but I do know that I learned a lot – especially that learners want choices and flexibility in how we as educators impart our knowledge to them. 

Today, as we come out of the pandemic, I’m happy to see more administrators and faculty embracing blended learning. To me, it’s the sweet spot between traditional, face-to-face experiences and online learning. If done right, educators and learners get the best of both worlds — a flexible, technology-enhanced learning space that fosters deep interactions.

Blended Learning and Preparing Institutions for Outliers

Perhaps underrated until recently, blended learning has helped us better prepare for future disasters – and I don’t just mean pandemics. Natural disasters like floods, wildfires, and hurricanes can happen at any time and create disruptions for us in education. And, we’ve already seen the impact of online learning and social media when it comes to landmark international events like the 2010 Arab Spring and today, the war waged against Ukraine. 

Where do learners turn when their homes and schools are destroyed?

The truth is now lived; if we already know how to teach effective blended courses, it’s that much easier to ensure continuity in the pivot to fully remote experiences that leverage the technology. As more institutions focus on building antifragility – the ability to thrive under outliers and stress – online and blended environments are becoming a vital part of their strategies.

In the spirit of a new school year for many and bolstering antifragility, I want to focus on two key areas for teaching a blended course: technology and professional development. 

Technology Strategy – The Intentional Edit

When selecting technologies, I’m an advocate for choosing your toolset wisely and not just incorporating tech for tech’s sake.

Fashion designer Coco Chanel famously said to always remove one accessory before leaving the house. Similarly, any technology used in a blended learning environment must enhance the learning experience – not distract from it or exist as a mere shiny object. This includes designing the course in a learning management system and integrating general best practices for teaching in this modality. 

The Online Learning Consortium offers a free Scorecard for Blended Learning Programs, which offers Eagle-eyed insights on the technology and support needed for implementation of a quality program. (See the Quality Scorecard Handbook: Criteria for Excellence in Blended Learning Programs for additional details.) 

Professional Development as Oxygen

Also key to successfully rolling out or growing blended learning at your institution is providing appropriate guidance and immersive training. Think of skill- and character-building PD as mandatory to survive any challenges that come our way – the new oxygen to weather our evolving climate.

I know this was a challenge at the start of the pandemic. Too many faculty had not received training on how to teach in a virtual environment and tried to mimic the in-person experience when lecturing in web conferencing platforms. This resulted in a less than ideal experience for students and educators who often complained that they did not like remote learning.

It is critical that institutions examine how they can provide more diverse and global professional development opportunities to all faculty. As we all know now, a global pandemic and other natural or manmade disasters can happen at any time. Ensuring a smooth transition for faculty and students should be a top priority for sustainable institutional fortitude. 

Providing Solutions for Tomorrow, Today

OLC is working every day to address those issues – and we always have been. As an organization, we always advocate for quality blended learning by providing our scorecards, research, events and professional development. 

That said, the pandemic showed us that we must do more to support our members.  That’s why I’m pleased to share that we are now offering a Blended Learning Symposium as part of our 2022 Accelerate Conference. For senior leaders, our full-day Leadership Network Symposium also provides an opportunity to expand your overall digital and blended strategy.

As we stand upon the precipice of a new year – marking three years since the pandemic – I’m excited to continue championing those institutions and individuals who are channeling lessons learned to create the best learning experiences. I hope to see you at Accelerate where we’ll be planning, together, for the next three.

The post Blended Learning Strategy as a Survival Skill appeared first on OLC.

Pulling Back the Curtains: How the Pandemic Helped Instructional Designers Set the Stage for Today and the Future

As part of our Accelerate conference, OLC recognizes presentations that emerge as outstanding with a Best-in-Track designation. Last year, for Accelerate 2021, the Best-in-Track winner in the Instructional Design track was “Pulling Back the Curtains: How the Pandemic Helped Instructional Designers Set the Stage for Today and the Future,” presented by Dr. Lauren Kelley (University of Delaware) and Celicia Wallace (Seminole State College of Florida). We asked our presenters to answer a few questions about their presentation and about the excellent work they are doing in the field. OLC would like to offer a sincere congratulations to our presenters for this award!

Click here to register for the upcoming Accelerate conference in November.

Q&A With the Award Winners 

Q: What made you explore and present on this topic?

A: We wanted to share our collective reflections and professional experiences as instructional designers (IDs) navigating the educational landscape throughout this pandemic. We felt strongly about presenting our findings particularly because of COVID’s deep impact—not only on what we do in our work, but the ways in which this work changed in scope, and the exponential increase in our value and visibility across institutions of higher learning. In many ways, the pandemic cast a spotlight on the necessity for quality course design for optimal learning and how instructional designers are at the center of that stage. This inspired the title of our OLC session, “Pulling Back the Curtains: How the Pandemic Helped Instructional Designers Set the Stage.” The purpose of instructional design was reintroduced and we helped the academic community to understand why it is essential to designing effective learning experiences.

Q: What are a few key takeaways from your presentation that we should know about?

A: Faculty and students expressed anxiety, fear, and confusion during the rapid switch to emergency remote learning. Instructional designers felt the brunt of these emotions while trying to implement 24/7 customer support sprinkled with patience, care, and empathy. We worked to adapt to rapid college-wide changes, the never-ending uncertainty, and implemented emergency remote strategies for teaching and learning continuity. We felt the biggest shift in the scope of our work in Summer 2020. Our visibility increased as we were continuously consulting, advising, and mentoring faculty to ensure that courses were ready for online and online synchronous teaching. As we prepared for Fall 2020, our silver lining revealed itself. We were in a position to empower faculty to develop a growth mindset in their approach to teaching and learning. Our course design work transitioned from emergency remote to a more intentional design thinking approach.

Q: What other advice can you share with others related to this topic?

A: Prior to the pandemic, instructional designers were largely perceived as technical/LMS support instead of being leveraged to the full extent of our expertise. Institutions should promote greater awareness about the benefits of working with instructional designers to support effective teaching and learning practices. Quality course design and delivery should be a priority in strategic planning.

The pandemic exposed many of the difficult conversations that we began but never finished. COVID taught all of us that we can conduct teaching and learning the right way, which opened the door to more possibilities. As a result, there is no going back to “the way things were before” the pandemic. Faculty should consider being ready for students who enroll in face-to-face courses but also want the option to be remote. Faculty will also need to continue to be flexible in their course delivery because having multiple learning choices is now the expectation.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like others to know about this topic?

A: We appreciated the opportunity to share our stories and spotlight our dedicated peers across the country. It is important to note that the sustainable future of education cannot continue to thrive without the role of instructional designers having intentional conversations and interactions with faculty about online teaching and learning practices.

About the Best-in-Track Winners

Dr. Lauren Kelley is an Educational Technology Consultant at the University of Delaware (UD) with extensive educational leadership in professional development, instructional design, and strategic planning. Her expertise is in the design of learner-centric instruction for onboarding, continuing education, with a specialty in LMS migration. Dr. Kelley has a differentiated instruction-based teaching philosophy that is learner-responsive and rooted in the educational planning framework of Understanding by Design (UbD) and the ADDIE model. Dr. Kelley heads up the Academic Technology Services South office in Orlando, Florida for UD. She handles programs for the College of Engineering, Fashion Design and Apparel Studies, and several academic departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Kelley’s teaching and learning background has involved work at both two and four-year colleges with first-year students, adult learners, and other special student populations. Dr. Kelley teaches career-related courses like New Student Experience, which allow her to encourage learner-centered perspectives in her work with faculty. In her role, she believes in ‘getting to know who her faculty are and how they facilitate student learning in an effort to meet them where they are in their teaching practice.’ As a matter of fact…she has begun facilitating some workshops focused on using Canvas to effectively communicate with students and provide student feedback.

As a life-long learner, Celicia Wallace is passionate about finding innovative solutions to inspire others to reach their fullest potential by creating positive and inclusive learning experiences. During her journey, she has learned the value of clear communication, building relationships, active listening, and establishing trust. Through her role as an Instructional Designer, she partners with subject matter experts to deliver high-quality courses that optimize conditions to ensure learner success. After earning a Master of Arts in Instructional Design and Technology, she gained experience in the private sector, where she worked for federal and military contractors. Her 15-year background in education and dedication to learner-centered teaching led her to higher education. In her current role, she works with faculty to support student growth and achievement.

The post OLC Accelerate 2021 Best-in-Track Winners appeared first on OLC.

Design inspiration can come from a lot of places. For me, I get inspired by the things around me and life in general. As I sat with the design challenge of reimagining conference engagement, an important consideration was how space, scheduling, and programming would interact. This might seem self-explanatory, but for those who might not be deeply engaged in conference or event planning, finding an effective combination does require quite a lot of strategy. A major goal for us is creating and facilitating meaningful spaces for our community to come together and learn. So how do we do this knowing that there will be a lot happening throughout the conference, knowing that we have many different stakeholders to design for (and that each have different and various goals), knowing that we will never have enough time or capacity to do all the things we want to, while also working along the way to ensure our conference is designed in such a way that all our community members get the most out of their experience? This is where the strategy and teamwork come in. While an entire blog series could be dedicated to exploring this point in particular, in this post I will story two new developments that serve as key components to OLC’s new conference engagement strategy: the Engagement Boulevard and the Engagement Block Party.

Following the first major year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many cities and towns were looking for ways to sustain business and a sense of community while also practice safe social distancing. One solution that many took up was the creation and implementation of open community spaces (i.e. those public spaces that were dedicated for pedestrian-only use, some with music, some with food, some with art, some with planned activities, etc). In fact, locally this was the case. I live near East Lansing, MI currently and the city decided to create dedicated public space during the summer for community to come together and engage (including space for businesses and restaurants). They called it “Albert Al Fresco.” The result was much needed community connection and an opportunity for community to interact and engage with each other. It meant that many local businesses and artists survived the pandemic. And perhaps most importantly (in my mind) it marked an important shift in city priorities: community became front and center to design.

Now I started by saying that as a designer I am inspired by the world around me and I meant this. Observing the new approach of cities around me and reflecting back on successful city revitalization projects I’ve read about in the past, I reimagined our conference engagement spaces and programming using dedicated pedestrian thru-ways as direct inspiration. Thus was born the Engagement Boulevard concept. At this year’s OLC Accelerate conference, attendees will be welcomed into the exhibit hall by an intentional “boulevard” of space (right down the middle of the exhibit hall) dedicated to networking, play, hands on design, relaxation, maker activities, and more. It will serve as a connective hub for our conference community to gather so that they can more effectively learn and grow with and from one another. It will also serve as a key strategy to tie their conference experiences together. With the amazing work of the OLC Accelerate 2022 Engagement Team (a truly awesome group of volunteers from across the field of online, blended, and digital learning), the programming that will take place throughout the conference in the Engagement Boulevard will be genuinely inspiring as a model for how we might do and approach conferences differently (to genuinely answer the call to reimagine what’s possible for a conference experience and model the very practices, principles, and theories we present on each year).  

Taking this last point to heart though, we also knew that the Boulevard concept alone would not suffice to meet our goal of redesigning a conference experience that is guided by the very scholarship we present on/around. Though the OLC will always be iterating and innovating as a means to achieve this goal and a quality experience, this year we will also launch the Engagement Block Party. Serving as the second key component to our new conference engagement strategy, the Engagement Block Party will be a dedicated block in our conference programming fully set aside for engagement-related programming. In the first post of this series, I wrote that “engagement is programming and programming should be engaging.” Rarely, however, is engagement programming centered in the way that it will be at OLC Accelerate 2022. For an entire 75 minute block, conference attendees will explore new ways to engage through a series of activities, models, and experiences during the Engagement Block Party. Importantly, this will be the only conference programming happening at that time, ensuring that we are able to communicate that intentional focus on engagement is a priority to the OLC.

I was inspired, once again, by life around me. I spent many of my formative years in a town that hosted a festival every year. For one week every summer, the town essentially shut down as well all collectively planned for and helped manage the festival. We welcomed thousands of visitors from around the country. The local clubs and sports teams all had booths, local artists sold their products. We even had a popular dance party where all the locals were bound to be found on Thursday night. But what always stood as inspiration for me was the way in which this festival mattered to the town. It was a core part of the town’s identity and as a result, everyone came together to ensure it was a success and that all visitors and community members had a great experience. A conference, itself, could serve as a metaphor for this festival, but my design brain went to smaller scale gatherings that nevertheless stood as key moments for community to come together (and which neighbors typically set everything aside to engage in and support: neighborhood block parties).

So what will OLC’s block party be about and why should you care? I’ve referenced this in another blogpost I wrote for the OLC, but I’ll share it here as well: engagement remains a key priority area for students (that many faculty still feel under-prepared to address). “In an Every Learner Everywhere and Tyton Partners survey of 852 introductory faculty from over 600 institutions, ‘increasing student engagement in class’ was ranked as the highest instructional priority for both the Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 semesters (Fox et al. 2021, check out the full report here). Interestingly, the survey report also identifies ‘Keeping my students engaged’ as the top challenge for introductory faculty, again for both the Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 semesters (Fox et al. 2021)” (Shellgren, 2021). You can read that blogpost for more background on other ways we at the OLC are centering and support development around engagement. That said, the Engagement Block Party is one other direct action we are taking to ensure that we are dedicating space, time, and resources to help the OLC community grow in their capacity to design truly impact and quality engagement. 

In the next segment of this series, we will hear directly from the OLC Accelerate Engagement Team around the specific programming they are developing for both the Engagement Boulevard and the Engagement Block Party. For now, whether you are an educator, a leader, a conference manager, or simply someone who came across this post and decided to read it, I encourage you to also explore life around you as you design and plan for engagement. There is so much to be inspired by. And as always, I hope you consider joining us at OLC Accelerate this year.

References

Fox, K., Bryant, G., Lin, N., Khedkar, N., Nguyen, A., (2021, January 28). Time for Class – COVID-19 Edition Part 3: The Impact of 2020 on Postsecondary Teaching and Learning of Introductory Faculty. Tyton Partners.

Shellgren, M. (2021). OLC Partnership with PlayPosit Seeks to Collaboratively Explore the Future of Online Engagement. [Blogpost]. OLC Insights. Retrieved from https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/olc-partnership-with-playposit-seeks-to-collaboratively-explore-the-future-of-online-engagement/.

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Forewarning: This blogpost is a story because I like to tell stories. Most of all, though, it is a thought piece anchored around a call to action to get involved and an invitation to play / re-imagine as we continue to work together to innovate and dream up new possibilities for professional development within learning spaces, like Conferences. 

To begin this story, I will share one vision we have within the OLC for our conferences: a truly experiential conference experience; one where our session content and overall programming approach gives us an entry point to not only see the connection between theory and practice…but, experience it. Engagement programming is a core part of our conference experiences and has been ever since I joined the organization. Before I joined the staff, I actually started as a volunteer. At the time, my experience with conferences aligned with what many across academia likely experience. People submit to a CFP, sessions are accepted, we attend to present or to learn, and that learning experience is attending other sessions. Usually, I was overwhelmed by content. I sometimes left feeling refreshed. Moreover, I left thinking about all the things I now wanted to do, inspired by the other talks I attended. If I presented, I felt like I was better positioned to continue to advance my work, excited about new connections, or glad that I got to minimally share about the work I was doing.

But in my own case, at least, I rarely ever got to all those ideas. My connections ended up being temporary. My notes ended up scattered and archived. The tools I wanted to explore? I might have gotten to one or two of them. The plans that I had to share the things I learned with my colleagues? Other things took over as priority, so I didn’t get to roll them out. And then I did it all over again the next time. I went because going to, attending, and presenting at conferences…well they are part of academic culture. It was expected of me. Presentations carry social and professional weight. They look good on a CV, I can get my name out there (which might result in more of a presence and maybe even lead to jobs into the future). But admittedly, I did always wonder: Is this it? Is this all there could be? 

And then I attended an OLC conference. I had gotten asked to be a volunteer in the Technology Test Kitchen and support engagement programming. I can’t express enough that this moment was a pivotal one in my career and more specifically my journey within and across academia. I experienced something different. I left that conference with genuine new friends at other institutions. I laughed harder than I had ever before while attending a conference. I didn’t want to leave…and I didn’t. I volunteered for every OLC conference after that and now get to design and develop strategy around engagement for our conferences and the whole organization as a member of the OLC’s staff. 

Now I start with this story because experiences like that are important. They have the potential to fundamentally shift our perspectives and help us see new possibilities and new horizons. Those new ideas can be infectious and motivating, driving change work as we seek to make new visions a reality within our own working spaces. But as we sit with those new ideas, we of course also need to anchor them in our values and the core aspects of our organizational or institutional structures. 

We at the OLC very much view conferences as professional development. We understand this is likely a given for our community and the individuals that attend (i.e. most see conferences as professional development). But within that understanding, one thing that we are deeply committed to is the question of how we help every attendee and presenter get the most out of their experience, and this includes learning and development just as it does networking and connection. Being part of and sustaining a community that values professional development, learning, and engagement means designing with this in mind. It requires a perspective of mutual benefit and reciprocity, one that understands that the responsibility and onus for a quality conference experience is not on presenters, alone. Regardless of whether you are a presenter or attendee, you have something to give to this community. The work also falls heavily on conference organizers to design, deliver, and coordinate a conference experience that maps to and is driven by community needs. Engagement has long been a marker of a quality learning experience but research today still confirms that from both the student/learner side and the instructor/presenter/facilitator side, it is an area we need a lot of growth around. 

One way the OLC has facilitated a culture of quality and a culture of peer-learning within our conference spaces has been through our engagement programming. Through these spaces, we not only model what effective engagement is, we also invite people into the space to experience it for themselves and we support them by providing tools and resources they can use to implement similar experiences in their own spaces. For us, a key message we always hope people leave with is that engagement is programming and programming should be engaging. 

But there’s the catch…”traditional” models of conferences don’t tend to leverage effective engagement practices, and as a result, there are a variety of approaches to the challenge of helping every attendee and presenter get the most out of their conference experience. Truly, until I attended my first OLC conference, I didn’t know anything else was possible (though I had recognized I wasn’t fully satisfied with the experiences I had thus far). And even though my own original OLC experience was fun and amazing and fundamentally different, I still know there is so much more work to be done in this area and that we have a long way to go to “practice what we preach.” 

Over the next few weeks, I will be joined by the OLC Accelerate 2022 engagement team, a group of amazingly fun, talented, creative, generous volunteers from various institutional contexts leading and designing our upcoming conference engagement programming. But for now, I am excited to announce that we will be implementing a completely new and improved model for engagement at this year’s OLC Accelerate Conference. We’ve listened and learned from our community and are once again shifting the needle for conference engagement through a new model. If you’ve been to our conferences before, you are likely familiar with “classic” OLC engagement spaces like the Speed Networking Lounge, the Technology Test Kitchen, our educational escape rooms, the Field Guide program, OLC Live, and more. Though effective, these programs were also somewhat siloed. So this year, we are leaning into storytelling models and the benefits of narrative approaches to teaching and learning to deliver a truly unique, immersive, and playful conference experience. The second installment in this engagement series will specifically story two programmatic structures we are designing for this year: the Engagement Boulevard and the Engagement Block Party, so if you’re looking for specifics and insights into unique strategies, I encourage you to stick around. 

But for now, as someone who is regularly committed to continuous improvement and always sitting with new ideas, I encourage you to reflect on the experiences you have had and afford yourself the creative space to ask what if…? What if we could redesign it all? What could a conference experience look like? What would we want it to look like? What would scholarship tell us it should look like? What resources, infrastructure, community, and cultural work would we need to implement, ensure are in place, and commit to in order to have a conference experience that is guided by the very scholarship we present on/around?

This year’s engagement programming for OLC Accelerate makes space for this line of questioning and will position attendees to genuinely test, pilot, play, and experience that question for themselves…to engage with it (pun intended) in a new and innovative way. It marks a big shift for us and will be an entirely new conference and professional development experience, one that will only be successful with your insights and feedback. If you’re like me and love exploring through practice and play, join us at OLC Accelerate this year. But at a minimum, follow us here for the journey, as we story this new road we’re paving to a truly experiential conference program.

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What if we could scrap everything we do and start over? If we were to build a fully virtual conference, which elements would we keep? How would we build community and engagement? That’s what we’re going to explore in this second part of our blog post series. In part 1, we re-introduced you to the Online Learning Consortium’s partnership with PlayPosit and invited you to explore the possibilities for digital learning environments made possible through intentionally designed asynchronous spaces, content, and programming. 

In re-imagining conference and professional development spaces, we wanted to take the opportunity to address a big challenge we face in the field today: engagement. In managing our conference “Call For Proposals” process, one of the most common omissions that results in lower scores by reviewers is engagement related, specifically submissions that don’t have a thorough plan for engagement for their session. 

An engagement plan lays out how you are going to interact with and engage audience members throughout your session. It is a core component of our submission process because we know that engagement is a key anchor for learning. However, it is not uncommon to receive submissions that have not considered this at all, regardless of session type (i.e. traditional or specialty presentation styles). OLC as an organization really encourages people to think about their contribution to the conference and what that gift of engagement looks like for both themselves, and attendees. 

Regardless of the learning environment you are designing for, it is important to take into consideration the unique affordances of the modality and format. When it comes to engagement, this task has not proven easy for many, and a common practice taken up is one of translation – attempting to simply take an activity that works in an in-person, synchronous setting and trying to replicate that in online spaces (including asynchronous spaces). Unfortunately, this rarely succeeds in the ways we are hoping. That said, with intentional planning during the build phase, we are better able to address those unique affordances while working to uncover new possibilities for learning and development across the board. 

Our OLC Virtual Discovery Sessions (a session type featured at both OLC’s Accelerate and Innovate conferences) is one space to begin this exploration. In this blogpost, we dive deeper into the design and purpose of this session type, as well as how it is significant to the work we are doing together. 

For those new to our Virtual Discovery Sessions, these are fully asynchronous session types that leverage PlayPosit as a tool to support engagement. Presenters prepare video-based session content that incorporates intentional engagement ahead of time. Conference attendees can access session content at any time during and after the live event dates.

Importantly, Discovery Sessions are not simply pre-recorded or on-demand recordings of an otherwise synchronous session. They are designed with an asynchronous audience in mind, and therefore create a very different experience for both presenters and audience members. Discovery Sessions afford an opportunity for more robust engagement and interaction, and deeper learning and connection.

We’ve found that presenters can take advantage of the unique 1:1 environment of the Discovery Session. They can provide more content, link to more supplemental material, and engage with their audience over a longer period of time. Presenters are not just preparing a presentation and delivering it for a single point in time, they are intentionally adding in points of engagement, inviting participation in the presentation, inviting collaboration on new ideas or feedback on research material. Discovery sessions are more dynamic, active, and effective in garnering participation from the entire OLC community, whereas synchronous sessions tend to cater primarily to live audiences only. As we, at the organizational level in the OLC, sit with the future of not only our conferences, but the field, this is perhaps the opportunity that excites us most. 

Another reason for us to be excited about Discovery Sessions, beyond the unique session type, is that they allow for participation from a greater variety of learners and presenters. This facilitates a more inclusive and equitable learning experience. Time plays an important role, but intentionality is also a key player. Discovery Sessions allow us to stretch time and space, and they change the game when it comes to intentionality – How would you design your presentation if you could deliver it 1:1 with a peer? What are the different types of questions you might ask in this more personal setting? How might our presenters take advantage of this more personalized community forum? By unanchoring presentations to a physical space or moment, and bringing our speakers side by side with attendees, we can spark a new level of connection and engagement. 

To us, Discovery Sessions provide insight into what’s possible for professional development across the field of online, blended, and digital learning, and specifically what’s possible for the future of conferences. Conferences have always made for a tremendous learning opportunity within and across academia. In the case of OLC events, hundreds of educators are coming together. Given this, how then do we best leverage this moment for driving the field forward? Through these sessions, we can experience something different and engage in a different way, all backed by scholarship around the impact of intentionally designed engagement and asynchronous learning environments.

With Discovery Sessions, OLC looks to immerse attendees in an active professional learning experience, and push the envelope for how technologies can enhance, not just mimic, the learning experience. As technologies improve, we are committed to exploring the best tools for the job. PlayPosit excitingly gives us a platform to incorporate things like sustained dialogue, 1:1 connections, and intentional content and resource sharing across time and space. We invite you into this space with us to play, to explore, to design. If you are, or have been, a Discovery Session presenter, we hope that you are excited about the ways in which you are driving forward models for the future of our field. If you have yet to consider joining us for OLC Accelerate, this is your invitation to come connect and learn with us and to help us re-imagine the future of learning, professional development, and conferences through a lens of re-engagement.

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OLC’s Framework on Storying Digital Change Work is Recognized in United Nations Education Scientific And Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) International Database

The OLC report, “Advancing Universal Access to Quality Digital Learning Through Global Coalitions and Narrative Practices”, is now featured in the prominent United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database for the 3rd UNESCO World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022).

Published as an open knowledge product to be widely and freely accessible, this playbook helps educators document their current progress while roadmapping future initiatives. OLC’s framework was designed in alignment with all 17  UN Sustainable Development Goals, including Quality Education.

“Our report serves as a concise guide to address the needs of educators seeking to ensure that online, blended, and digital learning is equitable within their own local contexts,” said OLC Director of Community Strategy and Engagement Madeline Shellgren. “It provides models for professional learning, partnership, and collaboration on digital learning change work through global coalitions.”

Indeed, the report’s framework emphasizes collaboration with educators’ local and global communities in order to create quality, equitable digital education at any scale. This includes individual digitally-mediated courses as well as those across online programs and within institutional, system-wide, and countrywide digital strategies. 

Advancing Universal Access to Quality Digital Learning 

In this two-part report, OLC shares a pair of case studies of digital learning change work in support of the advancement of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Beyond the application of the fourth goal (Quality Education), both sections of the report detail how all 17 of the goals were leveraged, using digital and collaborative storytelling, rhetoric, metaphor, and other practices to increase understanding, empathy, and impact across globally-situated communities of practice.  

Part 1 – “Developing an International Leadership Institute on Global Coalition Building and Digital Learning Change Work” discusses the conception, design, and development of the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL) Global, an ecosystem with an international leadership academy that builds global partnerships to increase access to quality education worldwide. 

Part 2 – “Creating a Narrative Framework for Advancing Digital Learning Equity” presents the OLC’s process for developing an interactive tool for capturing and sharing the stories of digital learning leaders to address locally contextualized challenges related to online, blended, and digital learning. OLC has created an open framework that anyone can use, remix, and redistribute on storytelling digital change work.

“All educators working across a multitude of modalities and contexts are invited to explore the action-oriented approaches shared within this report. Whether you are new to digital learning or global coalition building, this report will help you to create a foundation for quality and equitable digital education at any scale,” said OLC Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Mathes, Ph.D.

Indeed, the report spans an important cornerstone of OLC’s breadth of planning and resources for online and blended learning change-makers. This focal case study details the OLC’s IELOL Global Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL) ecosystem, which encompasses expansive programming and virtual events to create intentional spaces for leaders around the world to collaborate and advance best practices in their field.

Taking Action With Us

To view the full report, please visit the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference website (or access the report directly). Persons interested in working with the OLC on these important issues can apply to the OLC’s IELOL Global’s Core Program, register for the now fully asynchronous IELOL Regional Colloquy and contribute to OLC Global using the interactive version of the storytelling framework.  

About the UNESCO WHEC2022 and the Call for Knowledge Contributions

This report is elaborated and disseminated as a contribution to the 3rd World Higher Education Conference (WHEC) organized by UNESCO on May 18-20, 2022, with the purpose of enhancing the contribution of higher education institutions and systems world-wide, under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its pledge to leave no one behind, and looking at the Futures of Education. The content of this publication does not necessarily express the views of UNESCO or its Member States.

WHEC2022 issued a global invitation to organizations and alliances that wished to produce and share knowledge, research, practices, and impactful ideas to enhance higher education institutions and systems, locally and internationally. The invitation for submissions and the following review process was open to diverse entities (within and outside the UN system) willing to establish a partnership with UNESCO under the purpose and main themes of the WHEC2022.

Through its participation in WHEC2022, this OLC report is an open invitation and call-to-action to global educators and advocates to join in the efforts documented here, both in sharing their individual stories and amplifying the stories of those whose wisdom will otherwise be lost. 

References:

Shellgren, M., Gunder, A. (2022). Advancing universal access to quality digital learning through global coalitions and narrative practices. Online Learning Consortium.

For more information and to get involved with the OLC, please contact madeline.shellgren@onlinelearning-c.org.

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In her opening remarks at the inaugural Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL) Global Regional Colloquy, Online Learning Consortium Board of Directors President Dr. Elizabeth Ciabocchi asked every participant to think about the following: “Why are we gathering here today? Why is it significant that three distinct organizations are partnering on an event like this Regional Colloquy? Why should we care about what is happening with respect to change work around the world (in this case in Ghana and specifically at KNUST) and how does this impact me?” In response she offered two primary anchors to guide us as we embarked on our programmatic journey together:

1. We cannot do this work alone.
2. Our perspective is only ever partial; we do not and will not ever know everything…about anything, and as a result, there will always be an opportunity to learn from others.

As I listened to those words, it inspired me to answer them for myself and share the story from the organizing perspective on the why behind this IELOL Global Regional Colloquy event, “Transforming Educational Futures Through Innovation in West Africa.”  

Now, I must confess that I have already written about the OLC’s why before. Excitingly, a report myself and colleague Angela Gunder (OLC’s Chief Academic Officer) wrote about the impact of the IELOL Global Ecosystem was accepted as an open knowledge product contribution to the 3rd UNESCO World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022) database. I won’t retell the entire story we shared there, but I will quote a brief section of it for reference here. We wrote:

In light of recent responses to COVID-19 and the global emergency shift to remote educational models, it became clear that countries and regions that historically did not have the infrastructure to support online learning prior to the pandemic face even more significant challenges accessing quality education. In the case of the OLC, we saw an uptick in engagement from international partners looking to leverage our services. As we engage in these partnerships, though, it is paramount that we lean into opportunities to learn from one another. We must not forget the relative inequities we each face today globally with respect to advancing access to quality digital learning. For instance, in the United States alone, “approximately 19 million Americans—6 percent of the population—still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds. In rural areas, nearly one-fourth of the population—14.5 million people—lack access to this service” (Federal Communications Commission, n.d.). With this in mind, we must develop strategies and spaces to meaningfully engage in the amplification of a plurality of voices so that we can truly leverage collaborative and critical dialogues for change. By doing so, we will not only be able to identify locally situated challenges and needs but work to address inequities everywhere. (Shellgren & Gunder 2022, pg. 9)

Sitting with data like this is an important reminder that the world over faces challenges related to access to quality digital learning. Some of you reading this might think that this statement is self-evident or obvious, but I personally think dwelling on the implications that arise from truly acknowledging this is a worthy pursuit. Beyond this, it is the opportunities that come from understanding the world’s solutions and approaches to addressing these challenges that I believe constitute a core reason why we cannot ignore the work of reflecting on those implications. 

Just the other day, I was set to meet with a colleague from South Africa to talk about our ongoing partnership and new initiatives. He never showed, but that’s not completely out of the ordinary for our colleagues from South Africa, due to load shedding (a process of rolling power outages). I am not positioned to speak on the relative benefits or downsides to load shedding as I have never experienced them, so I won’t. However, I can speak to my own experiences in learning about them and particularly the benefits of gaining an understanding of the implications of load shedding on educational models in South Africa. Imagine having to design educational models that accommodate unexpected periods of widespread power outages. Above I referenced a statistic about access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds in the United States. This is a significant problem that absolutely needs to be addressed if we are to prioritize equitable access to online learning in the U.S. That said, I can’t ignore the possibilities that might come from weaving this data together. What outcomes might arise if educational leaders in the United States positioned themselves to learn intentionally from South African models of access? 

Again, and importantly, I am not suggesting that we table or drop the issue of access to fixed broadband service in the U.S. in favor of educational models designed around things like widespread power outages. But I do recognize that systemic change takes time and requires the collaborative efforts of many, across stakeholder groups (and frankly, we aren’t always that great at collaborating). But as we contend with the now, because this is urgent – today’s educational models are not equitable and not just – there is simply too much we can learn from each other to not intentionally engage in global coalitions for change within and across the world of online, blended, and digital learning. And in the case of the example I share here, South African educators have developed models and are actively engaged in solutions to address this challenge. And we as educators, regardless of where in the world we are located, can learn from these models.

So what can we do now to advance universal access to quality digital learning? And how might the greater project of global coalition building support a collective intent to collaboratively design a more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just future of online, blended, digital, and flexible learning?

So this is our why. We recognize that we do not know everything and that we cannot do this work alone. Moreover, we are fortunate to have many amazing colleagues from around the world committed to this same pursuit. This is also the answer to why this current Regional Colloquy is so exciting and so significant. It is an opportunity to further learn from others around the world, and not only deepen the commitment to global collaborations, but act on it. We are grateful to our colleagues from the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for sharing their stories and expertise, dedicating their time to collaborating with us, and for all that we have already learned from them. We are also grateful for the event sponsors, Carolina Distance Learning, Labster, and Coursetune, as well as the support of the U.S. Department of State (and specifically the U.S. Embassy in Ghana). Their contributions to this program, and the scholarships they resulted in, mean a truly more accessible event.

In closing, I invite you to join us in this work. You can read more about the OLC’s partnership with TIEC and KNUST in this blogpost. Registrations for the Regional Colloquy are also still open (you can register here). Finally, the work continues through the IELOL Global Core Program, a cohort-based leadership development program set to kickoff in September (you can learn more about that opportunity here).  

References:

Federal Communications Commission. (n.d.). Eighth broadband progress report. https://www.fcc.gov/reportsresearch/reports/broadband-progress-reports/eighth-broadband-progressreport#:%7E:text=Notwithstanding%20this%20progress%2C%20the%20Report,lack%20access%20to%20this%20service.

Shellgren, M., Gunder, A. (2022). Advancing universal access to quality digital learning through global coalitions and narrative practices. Online Learning Consortium.

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