For the Solution Design Summit (SDS), a new program feature created for OLC Innovate 2016, small teams (e.g. 3-5 people) will submit a challenge from their respective organization and/or institution that requires a creative, multi-disciplinary approach. Selected teams will receive feedback on their SDS proposal, be invited to join the SDS workshop session at the start of the conference to network with peers and solicit feedback from experts, be provided an opportunity to “pitch” (i.e. 10 minute presentation) their ideas during the #OLCInnovate conference where participants can ask questions or give feedback, and share with the OLC community after Innovate 2016 concludes.

Submission deadline was Wednesday February 10, 2016.

Winning SDS team members will receive:

  1. A one-year OLC Professional Membership (limited to a maximum of 5 team members). Current OLC members would receive a 1-year extension to their existing OLC Professional Membership.
  2. A complimentary future OLC 2016 or 2017 conference registration (limited to a maximum of 5 team members, not applicable to OLC Innovate 2016).
  3. The OLC Team will engage the winning team in a conversation of how best to showcase their solution through OLC.  Examples may include a webinar, membership dashboard interaction, OLC social media promotion, etc.

The goal of the Solution Design Summit is to:

  • Encourage creative, design thinking for challenges we face in learning
  • Foster dialogue among learners, educators, administrators, researchers, designers, and ed tech companies
  • Promote a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach towards the development of solutions for learning challenges

Who should apply to the Solution Design Summit?

This program is designed to welcome small, interdisciplinary teams (e.g. 3-5 people) with a diverse set of backgrounds, roles, and expertise. Possible teams may be:

  • University team comprised of members across multiple departments and divisions
  • Graduate school teams from different academic departments
  • Group of educators ranging from K-12 and higher education
  • Public-private partnership of a university and technology company
  • Organizations (private, non-profit, etc) who promote learning

 

The OLC Innovate Solution Design Summit: A Focus on Learning

Challenges in K-12, higher education, and/or workplace learning that require an innovative, multi-disciplinary team to solve the issue. You can select any topic, case study, issue, or challenge in need of a solution. This year the Solution Design Summit focuses on current learning challenges where an innovative solution idea could lead to increased student success.

Personalized and Adaptive Learning

To offer solutions post-secondary education is faced in developing courseware, learning, and creating an effective user experience based on course delivery and design. There are currently grants to examine the “speed adoption of next-generation digital courseware solutions by higher education institutions and faculty, in order to improve outcomes in general education courses, especially for disadvantaged and underserved student groups” and the impact of personalized learning to put learners at the center of this process.

  • How will personalized or adaptive learning support specific learner populations we want to reach?
  • Can learning design impact academic success?
  • Are there digital solutions to scaffolding the learner experience?

Professional Learning and Development

As we encourage learning and growth in our professions, it will be important for individuals to account for their skills and knowledge development. The role of formal and informal learning is blending with new opportunities to participate, engage, and continue educating oneself.

  • How do we recognize or provide evidence-based learning opportunities?
  • As continual learning is fluid in our learning communities, how do we provide credentials, badges or mark achievements of professional development?

Impact of Open Learning

Open educational resources (OER) have impacted how and when we learn. With the introduction of open courses, open textbooks, open content, and new models for open learning, we are faced with a number of challenges and questions to answer.

  • How will open education impact the way we approach learning?
  • What are some of the challenges we see with open course design and delivery?
  • What strategies and considerations must be taken into account for effective implementation and support for OER?

Choose Your Own Learning Challenge

Define your own challenge your organization or institution is facing, related to learning, and provide ideas and approaches you plan to initiate as a solution.

  • What are additional issues you encounter for learning in K-12, higher education, or with workforce learning?
  • What resources, initiatives, and ideas do you need to connect to support this solution design?

Timeline and Schedule for OLC Innovate Solution Design Summit Involvement

Before the Conference

  1. Prospective SDS participants submit a challenge proposal by February 10, 2016: Abstract about the problem, team, and potential solution.
  2. Acceptance notifications will be sent out to teams by February 16th.
  3. Those SDS teams with accepted challenges will submit a solution pitch video for public review on the OLC Innovate 2016 website, by March 11, 2016.
  4. Experts and OLC Innovate attendees will be invited to view and comment online to provide feedback on the video pitches March 21 – April 1.
  5. SDS teams will meet via an online web conference for 30 minutes to debrief and plan before the with the SDS facilitators in early April, before the #OLCInnovate Conference.

During the Conference

  1. SDS teams participate in a two-part pre-conference workshop session the morning of April 20, 2016. This will involve sharing the challenge and potential solution.
  2. Building on the feedback from the pitch reviews before, the design thinking workshop on day 1, and comments from the workshop (via educators, edtech experts, researchers, exhibitors, and other SDS teams), you will further develop your challenge statement and solution design “pitch” to present during a concurrent session.
  3. SDS teams will present their solution in a 15-minute (10-minute presentation & 5 minute Q & A) time slot during an OLC Innovate session for all conference attendees.

Post-Conference Winning Team Benefits

  1. The winning SDS team members will each receive a one-year OLC Professional Membership (limited to a maximum of 5 team members). Current OLC members would receive a 1-year extension to their existing OLC Professional Membership.
  2. The winning SDS team members will receive complimentary future OLC 2016 or 2017 conference registration (limited to a a maximum of 5 team members, not applicable to OLC Innovate 2016).
  3. The OLC Team will engage the winning team in a conversation of how best to showcase their solution through OLC.  Examples may include a webinar, membership dashboard interaction, OLC social media promotion, etc.

In order to participate in the OLC Innovate 2016 Solution Design Summit you will need to complete the following items:

  1. Complete the OLC Solution Design Summit Submission Form (submissions are now closed).
  2. In this application, you will need to include:
    1. A title of your Solution Design Summit plan
    2. Short abstract about the challenge & solution (100-150 words)
    3. Extended abstract or description (up to 500 words) to detail the problem/challenge your solution team will be working on
    4. Description about each team member (affiliation, contact information, and how they will contribute to the team)
    5. Potential ideas for the solution or approach your team will take to solve this challenge (up to 200 words)
    6. Who might benefit from this solution?

Be sure to read through all of the information about this program feature, as the Solution Design Summit is a new addition to the OLC Innovate conference. Review the timelines and requirements, and be sure to email and/or add sds@onlinelearning-c.org to your address book to ensure you receive your notification.

Proposals will go through a blind peer review process by a team representing K-12, higher ed, training, and EdTech. Proposals will be reviewed for clarity, relevance to one or more of the challenge areas, inclusion of a team, and overall relevance to OLC Innovate 2016 conference.