Participate | Engagement Maps | Schedule of Events | Tours | Power Hour | Talk-abouts
What’s Next | Join the Slack Community | First Time Attendee FAQ | Meet the Committee
New to OLC Accelerate? Attended previous OLC conferences and want to share your knowledge and expertise? Interested in connecting with others to discuss particular topics like instructional design, blended learning, faculty development, emerging technologies or digital literacy before, during, and after the conference?
The OLC Accelerate Field Guide Program is designed to enhance the conference experience for first-time conference attendees and anyone looking for additional networking opportunities at OLC conferences.
How to Sign Up
Please respond as soon as you can if you’d like to join the Field Guide team and contribute to attendee engagement and networking at OLC Accelerate. You may sign up as either a Field Guide or a program participant.
Engagement Maps (complete PDF of all persona “maps”; individual google doc maps linked below)
| Red | #TEACH | Online Teaching and the Faculty Experience | |
| Navy | #ID | Instructional Designers | |
| Burgundy | #TRAIN | Faculty and Staff Development | |
| Light Pink | #OPEN | OER and OCW | |
| Yellow | #LEARN | Online Learning and the Student Experience | |
| Hot Pink | #BLEND | Hybrid, Flipped, & Blended | |
| Turquoise | #SVCS | Student Services | |
| Beige | #DATA | Data, Analytics, & Research | |
| Light Gray | #GEEK | EdTech Geeks | |
| Kelly Green | #LEAD | Administrators & Emerging Leaders | |
| Lime | #IDEA | Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Advocacy | |
| Royal | #UDL | Accessibility & Universal Design | |
| Purple | #CC | Community and Two Year Colleges |
Schedule of Field Guide Program Events
| 6:00pm - 6:45pm | Tour of the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort and Convention Center | Meet at Field Guide Station (Convention Foyer) |
| 8:00am - 8:45am | OLC Field Guide Program "Power Hour" | Asia 3 |
| 9:00am - 9:45am | OLC Field Guide Program Talk-about | Meet at Field Guide Station (Convention Foyer) |
| 10:00am - 10:45am | Tour of the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort and Convention Center | Meet at Field Guide Station (Convention Foyer) |
| 11:00am - 11:45am | Field Guide Group Visit to Exhibit Hall, Technology Test Kitchen, Speed Networking Lounge | |
| 12:00pm - 1:15pm | Field Guide Program Kick-off Luncheon (pre-registration and ticket required) |
Northern C |
| 8:45am - 9:30am | OLC Field Guide Program Talk-about | Meet at Field Guide Station (Convention Foyer) |
| 9:45am - 10:30am | OLC Field Guide Program Talk-about | Meet at Field Guide Station (Convention Foyer) |
Tours
Join the OLC Accelerate Field Guides and other conference attendees for a tour of the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort and Convention Center. There is no better way to explore this hotel and learn about conference layout than on a guided tour with the OLC Field Guides. The tour will include the following stops and points of information:
- Conference breakout session areas
- Evening Event areas
- Exhibit hall, Breakfast, and Keynote locations
- Registration and Field Guide Station locations
- Accessibility points, including elevators and escalators
- Restaurants
- Indoor and outdoor water complexes and fitness area
- Shopping and other general areas of interest in the hotel
Join us to familiarize yourself with the conference center layout to ensure your conference experience is off to a great start. No advance sign-up needed; just meet your Field Guide tour guide at the Field Guide Station (Convention Foyer) near conference registration.
Tour dates and times:
- Tuesday, November 19: 6:00pm – 6:45pm
- Wednesday, November 20: 10:00am – 10:45am
Power Hour
Wednesday, November 20: 8:00am – 8:45am, Asia 3
Come join other conference attendees and create an OLC Accelerate game plan. During this power hour, you’ll have the chance to organize your conference schedule and select presentations and activities you want to attend. The OLC Field Guides will be there to suggest interesting presentations and activities, train you on the use of the OLC mobile app, and pass out Engagement Maps. We’ll also discuss ways to participate virtually–including Slack and Twitter! Meet up with old friends, make new acquaintances, plan your schedule, and have a bite to eat! We can’t wait to see you there!
Questions? Contact us at conference@onlinelearning-c.org.
How #OLCAccelerate Attendees Can Engage with OLC Field Guides
Conference attendees will enjoy a guided experience that has been custom-built by peers and colleagues who seek to share their knowledge and insight, but also are experienced in navigating OLC conferences.
You can participate in as few or as many Field Guide activities as you’d like, and are free to explore the different guided learning journeys integrated with the various conference tracks and networking events.
We invite you to participate in a series of short and collegial engagement activities occurring before, during and after the conference. By signing up, you’ll be invited to join the #OLCAccelerate Slack team (What is Slack?) to facilitate communication and coordination.
If this sounds good, please sign up!
Interested in being part of the OLC Field Guide Program? Please read on!
Before the Conference
- Pre-conference Field Guide Orientation session recording
- Pre-conference Field Guide Orientation session slides
Participants:
- Participate in virtual discussion, via Slack discussion and/or synchronous virtual meeting. (What is Slack?)
- Receive engagement maps targeted for specific demographics (faculty, instructional designers, administrators, library, etc.). These maps will detail pathways through the conference program that include theme-based sessions to attend in support of a specific topic or focus area.
- Participate in on-site and virtual networking and mentoring events.
Field Guides:
The main overall responsibilities of the OLC Field Guide are to:
- Familiarize attendees with the OLC conference landscape and language;
- Encourage dialogue and interaction between new and seasoned conference attendees;
- Help to create and distribute engagement maps through the conference program;
- Guide conversations at established OLC Field Guide events;
- Help attendees connect with appropriate networks; and
- Support existing and mentor new OLC Field Guides.
Before the conference, Field Guides will:
- Participate in virtual discussion, via Slack discussion and/or synchronous virtual meeting. (What is Slack?)
- Guide the development of the OLC Field Guide operations manual. This will help us scale and measure the effectiveness of our program!
- Create engagement maps through the conference program for targeted demographics (faculty, instructional designers, administrators, library, etc.). These maps will detail pathways through the conference program that include theme-based sessions to attend in support of a specific topic or focus area.
- Contribute to developing logistics and resources for on-site and virtual networking and mentoring events.
During the Conference
Please be sure to arrive in Orlando early enough to attend our Face-to-Face Kickoff Session, at 12:00pm – 1:15pm on Wednesday, November 20. Field Guides and participants are encouraged to join in as many of the following activities as they would like.
Participants:
- Receive guidance before, during, and after the conference. You can use Slack for instantaneous communication to help participate in meet-ups during the conference.
- Engagement maps are available, providing detailed pathways through the conference program that include theme-based sessions to attend in support of a specific topic or focus area.
- Join a field trip or Talk-about with a Field Guide, such as a tour of the conference area for new attendees, a trip to one of the Disney sites, a group dinner, or participate in a table discussion. Pick whatever you’d most enjoy, and explore and learn with new colleagues.
- Join a table discussion during the Face-to-Face Field Guide Kickoff session of the OLC Accelerate 2019 Conference. Some tables will be focused on navigating the conference, while others will be focused on issues or challenges that arise in the pre-conference discussion of different conference streams (e.g., managing relationships between faculty and instructional designers; getting buy-in to implement analytics).
- Learn about how to become an OLC Field Guide for a future conference.
Field Guides:
- Guide conference attendees during the conference. You can use Slack for instantaneous communication to help coordinate your meetups during the conference.
- Lead a field trip or Talk-about with conference attendees, such as a tour of the conference area for new attendees, a trip to one of the Disney sites, a group dinner, or lead a table discussion. Pick whatever you’d most enjoy, and share your experience and expertise with new colleagues.
- Contribute to social media and other channels in support of guiding conference attendees through the engagement maps, and updating maps as needed. Whenever necessary, provide wayfinding services for attendees as they navigate through established learning pathway maps.
- Lead a table discussion during the Face-to-Face Field Guide Kickoff session of the OLC Accelerate 2019 Conference. Some tables will be focused on navigating the conference, while others will be focused on issues or challenges that arise in the pre-conference discussion of different conference streams (e.g., managing relationships between faculty and instructional designers; getting buy-in to implement analytics).
- Mentor a future OLC Field Guide. Seasoned OLC attendees may ask about the OLC Field Guide program. Encourage them to explore what you are doing and share your experiences with them.
After the Conference
Participants:
- Participate in the the OLC Conference Field Guide Slack discussions.
Field Guides:
- Participate in the the OLC Conference Field Guide debrief session, and/or Slack discussions.
What You’ll Receive as part of the OLC Field Guide Program
Participants:
- Wednesday kick-off orientation session and lunch
- Engagement maps
- Learning opportunities in our growing online Slack community (200+ and growing)
- A chance to build your networks, strengthen your online learning community and find people with similar interests
Field Guides:
- Wednesday kick-off orientation session and lunch
- Recognition at the opening keynote, in the printed program and on the website
- An awesome Field Guide scarf and button for designation
- Leadership opportunities in our growing online Slack community (200+ and growing)
- A chance to build your networks, strengthen our online learning community and find people with similar interests
Field Guide Testimonials
Considering all of my conference-going experiences, there is something unique about the ways in which the OLC welcomes participation from presenters in conference leadership opportunities. The Field Guide Program is a great example of this. On the surface, it might seem like you are just giving directions, but being an OLC Field Guide can be so much more than that; it is an opportunity to network, share your knowledge(s) and expertise, help others consider ways to strategically attend presentations for a more personalized conference experience, and engage with a great and supportive new team. I would definitely recommend to anyone who has not participated as a Field Guide that they take the chance and try it out.
Maddie Shellgren, Michigan State University
I initially took a chance on becoming an OLC Field Guide because I felt that it would be a good way to get to know a wider group of attendees, and to give back to a community that I value greatly. I appreciate the fact that the OLC offers all of us in the online education space two opportunities each year to see how the environment is evolving, and being able to offer my time to help others have a great experience is rewarding.
Andrew Rourke, DigitalEd
The Field Guide program was so welcoming last year with my first time attending! It helped to know I could ask these folks any question I might have as I wandered around such an amazing array of choices. I appreciated their help so much that I have volunteered to help be a Field Guide this year!
Laura Widenor, Kansas State University
The Field Guides were very friendly. The participants were sharing information. It was a great environment.
Anonymous OLC Innovate attendee
The Field Guide Pre-Conference Meeting will be announced soon for program participants. We’ll discuss:
- using Slack
- what to expect
- engagement maps
- getting organized before the conference
- and answer all your questions!
After that, we hope to see you in Slack, and at the OLC Accelerate 2019 Field Guide Face-To-Face Kickoff on Wednesday, 11/20/19 12:00pm – 1:15pm ET in Orlando!
Field Guide Station is located:
- Convention Foyer, across from registration
Questions? Please ask us on Slack or email conference@onlinelearning-c.org. We look forward to meeting everyone very soon!
Please meet up with us on Slack! Slack is a “Team Communication Platform” (TCP), basically a chat client, but more expansive, since you can join “channels” or groups about various topics of interest, rather than just chat one-to-one. Slack can be used via a web browser, or as its own application on desktops, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. For the uninitiated, please watch a short video demonstrating what Slack can do.
We have set up a Slack team to be used before, during, and after #OLCAccelerate. We highly recommend you download the Slack applications for iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, etc.
Join the OLC Accelerate Slack Team
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Once you have set up your account login/password, you can visit https://olcaccelerate.slack.com to sign in with your new credentials on any of your devices. (Please note that you will need to sign in to the team separately on every device on which you use Slack. So, if you sign in on a phone, that doesn’t mean you’ll also be signed up when you open up the application on your desktop. You’ll need to add the team (olcaccelerate.slack.com) on each device, and sign in on that device to get started.) Once you have signed in, you’ll see a few default channels you have been added to. To see what other channels are available to join, click the “Channels” link in the left navigation to browse all channels. (Channel names may not exactly match what you see in this image.) You’ll find a list of channels you can join, channels you belong to, and the number of participants in each channel. You can join as many channels as interest you – and you can always leave and re-join channels later based on your needs. You can also configure different types of notifications for each channel so that you aren’t constantly inundated with notifications. Here are a few of the default channels and how they might be used:
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You’ll also find channels for various personas or special interests in order to connect with like-minded folks, share ideas, and perhaps meet up in Orlando (keep in mind some of these may be sparsely populated until we get closer to the conference): |
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Once you have joined some channels – you can start by introducing yourself in a channel or two, perhaps posting a link to an interested or inspiring article or a question that is on the top of your mind. Share information about the conference, upcoming sessions, sessions you are excited to see, things you plan to do during the conference, etc. Just keep in mind that communication in Slack may be somewhat synchronous, but may be entirely asynchronous, too, depending on when others are online and participating. If you have other ideas for channels or connected apps, please let us know and we’ll see what we can do.
Some Slack Video Resources to get you started:
- A short video on messaging in Slack. Keep in mind that if you really want to alert someone personally and quickly, you can use a direct message to that person, OR use @username in the channel to mention that person and send a notification.
- A short video on managing the notifications in Slack
We are inviting everyone to start joining the Slack channels whenever you like leading up to the conference. You can share session tips, ask questions, plan meet ups and your conference schedule, etc.
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Torie Wynn, Instructional Designer, University of Missouri-Kansas CityTorie has served midwestern institutions as an Instructional Designer and Accessibility Lead since 2015. She previously served as the Senior Instructional Designer at Wichita State University and now functions as an Instructional Design Expert for the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In addition to these roles, Torie has worked as an Instructional Design and Video Consultant for various institutions including St. Mary’s College of California, Ft. Scott Community College, and the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Torie has taught online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses in social media, business writing, composition, and American literature. Torie is a Quality Matters Master Reviewer and holds both BA and MA in English Language and Literature from WSU. She also holds an OLC Certificate in Online Teaching with a specialization in Accessibility. She is passionate about creativity and inclusion in course design and training resources. In her spare time, she enjoys powerlifting and watching as many soccer matches as she can. |
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Laura Widenor, Instructional Designer, Kansas State University Global CampusLaura Widenor serves as an instructional designer for Kansas State University Global Campus. Her primary responsibilities include assisting faculty in the design of online coursework, course reviews, and providing resources for best practices in online teaching. Laura served as the Faculty Services Coordinator for K-State Global Campus for 4 years. Prior to joining the K-State Global Campus, Laura acquired several years teaching experience in Idaho and held a variety of administrative positions in student life. Laura holds a Master’s degree in Elementary Education, which she received through a hybrid online and on-campus program from University of Phoenix, Boise. She holds two certificates from the Online Learning Consortium in online teaching and instructional design. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Psychology from the University of California, Davis. She is currently a student in the Lamar University Educational Leadership Doctoral Program. |
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Katrina Wehr, Instructional Designer, Penn State College of Arts & ArchitectureKatrina has worked as an instructional designer at Penn State University since 2015. Prior to Penn State, she worked in learning design at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She has design and teaching experience in both higher education and K-12, and earned her Master’s in instructional design from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Currently, she is pursuing a doctorate in learning, design & technology at Penn State. She is interested in exploring how open educational practices transform teaching and learning, how learning occurs in informal learning communities, and best practices for interdisciplinary learning experience design. Katrina likes to spend her free time adventuring outdoors, attending concerts, and being present with family and friends. |
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Amy Ostrom, Instructional Designer, University of North Carolina WilmingtonAmy currently serves as the Interim Director for Distance Education and eLearning at UNCW. While Amy has been an instructional designer at UNC-Wilmington since 2017, she has been an instructional designer and instructional technologist for 9 years. Her primary responsibility is faculty development and enhancement of online courses. She specializes in accessibility and access, humanizing online learning, innovative course design, and emerging technologies. She has taught face to face and online classes from k-12 to higher education and adult learners. Amy is an OLC Certified Online Instructor and a WGU Distance Education Certified Trainer. In addition, she holds a BA in English Education, a Master degree in Special Education (learning disabilities and behavioral/emotional disorders) specializing in curriculum design and assistive technology, and is currently seeking a Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Curriculum and Instruction in Higher Education. Amy loves to brainstorm new ideas on how to take courses to the next level and collaborate with others. When she is not working online, she enjoys playing games with her family, hiking, and dancing. |
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The Field Guide Program is Sponsored by
