A Fireside Chat on Digital Learning Equity

Concurrent Session 5
Streamed Session

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Session Materials

Brief Abstract

The best conference sessions feature the rich sharing of ideas from thought leaders that spark our curiosity and open up new opportunities for us to advance our work in online, blended and digital teaching and learning. This fireside chat creates that space for an extended conversation with each of our featured speakers, giving you the chance to bring your questions, your challenges, and your extensions of new ideas to the table, participating in a collegial and generative discussion on effective practices for the field.

 

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Angela Gunder, Online Learning Consortium

Angela Gunder is the Chief Academic Officer and VP of Learning for the Online Learning Consortium. In this role, she is responsible for gathering, curating, and leveraging the intellectual capital created by and disseminated through OLC. Prior to her position at the OLC, Angela served as the Director of Instructional Design & Curriculum Development for the Office of Digital Learning, managing and mentoring the team that builds the fully-online programs for The University of Arizona. Her over fifteen-year career as a designer for higher education informs her instructional design practice, where she leverages her expertise in web design, usability, visual communication, programming, and standards-based online learning. She is an Associate Editor for the Teacher Education Board of MERLOT, and the recipient of the 2018 MERLOT Distinguished Service Award, the organization’s highest honor. She is also the recipient of two Online Learning Consortium Effective Practice Awards for the creation of a framework for personal learning networks, and for the creation of exploratory installations of education technology, respectively. In 2019, Dr. Gunder was named an OLC Fellow for her dedication to service, innovation, and scholarship in support of student success in online learning. Her research interests include open educational practices, digital literacies, narrative in online course design, and emerging technology for second language acquisition. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Fine Art from Fordham University, a M.Ed. in Education Technology from Arizona State University. Angela completed her Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies at The University of Arizona, where in 2020 she was named an Erasmus Scholar by the College of Education for her commitment to the college, the university and to the community. Pronouns: she/her/hers

Co-presenter: Jessica Williams, WCET-WICHE

Jessica is the Director of Every Learner Everywhere, a network of organizations with a mission to help institutions use new technology to innovate teaching and learning and better serve Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students, poverty-affected students, and first-generation students. As Director, she provides leadership and vision for the network and leads the operation of the network strategy. Prior to this role, Jessica served as the Completion Grant Initiative Project Director for University Innovation Alliance. She also worked as Project Director in Georgia State University’s Office of the Senior Vice President of Student Success. During her time at Princeton University, Jessica served four years as a Diversity Fellow at Princeton University’s Office of Academic Affairs and Diversity and was honored with the Patrice Y. Johnson *80 Memorial Service Award by the Association of Black Princeton Alumni in recognition of her high levels of performance and service to the university. Jessica has devoted her career to helping institutions better serve marginalized students. Jessica earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia and earned both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University. She is also a mother of four children. As her spare time allows, Jessica enjoys traveling and escaping into the world of literature.

Extended Abstract

The best conference sessions feature the rich sharing of ideas from thought leaders that spark our curiosity and open up new opportunities for us to advance our work in online, blended and digital teaching and learning. But oftentimes, we want to continue that conversation beyond the scheduled time, digging deeper into contextual examples of how to apply those words of wisdom from the featured speakers. This OLC Accelerate seeks to create that space for an extended conversation with each of our featured speakers, giving you the chance to bring your questions, your challenges, and your extensions of new ideas to the table, participating in a collegial and generative fireside chat.

Each fireside chat is open to both those who attended the featured speaker’s talk prior, as well as those who may have missed the live session but still want to get a chance to engage with each of our thought leaders. Come ready to not only ask questions, but share your perspective on how the topics are situated in your own contexts, and how others might learn from your own experiences (both challenging and successful). These open conversations are meant to help turn the spark of ideas into the start of new and innovative practices that we can share broadly across the field of online and blended learning.