Please note the category of presentation to which you have been accepted, and read the description below for detailed information. The session types and other information will be helpful as you prepare your presentation.

Claiming Your Session | Session Types | Timeline |  Presentation Uploads

Claiming Your Session

Please note: You MUST follow these steps no later than Monday, August 3 to notify us of your intention to present at the conference. If you do not actively follow these steps to accept to present, it will be assumed that you intend to withdraw your proposal. All affiliated presenters are notified, but only the lead presenter (typically the original author of the submission) is able to claim the session.

During the claiming process, you will indicate your preference to present onsite in Orlando or virtually in a virtual presenter-to-virtual audience format.  Based on these responses, the presentation schedule will be posted at a later date.

  1. Log in to your OLC user account and navigate to the OLC conference management system by selecting “Conference Profile” in the left hand navigation menu of your OLC user profile. Please email conference@onlinelearning-c.org if you have any difficulty signing into your account. 
  2. Once in the OLC Conference Management System, click on “My Sessions” in the upper right hand corner. 
  3. Select the “Accept/Decline presentation offer” link for your session, and follow the prompts to accept or decline our offer to present. You will be asked to confirm several items of note in this process, including that you understand what your presentation type will be.
  4. If you accept, you will be asked whether you will want to present onsite or virtually.  Should you indicate onsite and the onsite program is canceled due to a COVID-19 shutdown, your onsite session will automatically be converted to a virtual-to-virtual presentation.  An “onsite” selection is an indication from you that you definitely prefer and plan to attend and present onsite in Orlando. 

*Note if you accept our offer to present, you will also be asked to complete a streaming release form. Given the always-present possibility that the program might be forced to an all-virtual modality, we require that all presenters who accept to present their session also answer in the affirmative to the streaming release form.

If you plan to join us for OLC Accelerate, your next steps should be:

  • Review your OLC conference user profile in the conference management system to make sure it is complete and up to date with your name, title, affiliation, photo and bio.
  • Instructions for registration will be emailed to you once the program is posted August 12.  The deadline for presenters to register is September 23, 2020.
  • Once the program is posted August 12, please review your session listing on the conference website.  If any of your co-presenters are missing, please notify us immediately at conference@onlinelearning-c.org.  We will need their name, title, institution, and email address in order to be able to add them to your session.  
  • Send any abstract edits (title, abstract, co-presenters, etc.) to conference@onlinelearning-c.org no later than September 23, 2020. 
  • Plan to upload your presentation materials to your session page no later than November 2. Instructions and a session evaluation reminder slide will be emailed closer to the due date. 
  • Review the Presenter FAQ page. This page will be updated with additional information as the conference approaches.

We also ask that as you prepare, to think of your title and abstract as a promise you are making to the participant that this is the content that you will be covering in your session. As you plan your presentation, consider how your ideas for engagement will align to your session description so that participants can see the intended goals for the presentation and deeply connect with the content.

IMPORTANT:  Be sure to add conference@onlinelearning-c.org to your email safe-senders list to ensure you continue to receive logistical emails from the OLC Conference team as the conference approaches. One of the biggest issues presenters encounter is not receiving important email updates from us because of institution spam-filters.  Don’t let this happen to you!

Session Types and Descriptions

Please claim your session using the process outlined above. Note that as lead presenter, you MUST claim your session by the stated deadline (August 3) in order to officially accept this offer to present. The schedule will be posted August 12, at which time presenters will be notified to review their session information in the conference program/session listing and contact conference@onlinelearning-c.org with any requested updates no later than September 23. 

The conference provides several session types:

1. Education Session

2. Express Workshop

3. Gamified Session

4. Lightning Talk

5. Discovery Session or Graduate Student Discovery Session (virtual-to-virtual only)

6. Workshop

7. Pre-conference Workshop

8. Featured Session

9. Industry Showcase or National Sponsor Presentation

 

 

1. Education Session

The total time allotted for your Education Session is 45 minutes. Please allow 5-10 minutes of that time for questions, answers, and discussion with the audience.

Education Sessions provide an opportunity for presenters to share their work, innovations, or new opportunities to the OLC community. The presenters are responsible for driving the conversation and encouraging deep thinking about a topic, sharing practical applications of their work, or providing new and varying perspectives. Although these are more traditional formats, the presenters/panelists should strive to make the sessions as engaging as possible through polls, audience discussions, and other forms of interaction.

Note: Presenters are responsible for providing all materials. Instructions for uploading materials will be provided to all accepted presenters. Presenters are also responsible for ensuring all attendees can actively engage in the session. Please see the Presenter Services and/or our Equity & Inclusion web pages for more information.

 

 

2. Express Workshop

The total time allotted for your Express Workshop is 45 minutes. Presenters must provide an opportunity for questions, answers, and/or whole or small group discussion within the course of the workshop.

These sessions are designed to provide the attendees with an opportunity to explore a new skill, strategy, or technology. By offering practical, hands-on learning activities, participants are fully engaged in the learning process. Facilitators provide both group and 1-1 guidance as necessary during the session. Attendees should walk away from the session feeling as though they have acquired a new skill, have developed an action plan, or have gained significant insight into a new technology. Workshops must include measurable outcomes and activities.  These should not be considered standard lecture-type format sessions.  It is important that Express Workshops are interactive and have take-aways for attendees.

Note: Presenters are responsible for providing all materials. Instructions for uploading materials will be provided to all accepted presenters. Presenters are also responsible for ensuring all attendees can actively engage in the session. Please see the Presenter Services site for resources on making the session fully accessible. 

 

 

3. Gamified Session 

The total time allotted for your Gamified Session is 45 minutes, should be highly interactive with an emphasis on competition and interactivity, and must include elements of game-based learning.

These sessions engage both the presenters and the attendees in a fun and unique OLC conference experience. Moving beyond traditional styles of presentations, attendees and presenters of this session type will have the ability to connect with the content and each other like never before. Presenters may draw upon well known games such as Jeopardy and Family Feud as example formats or inspiration. These sessions tend to draw large audiences, please be sure all attendees can be accommodated with the strategies used.

Note: Presenters are responsible for providing all materials. Instructions for uploading materials will be provided to all accepted presenters. Presenters are also responsible for ensuring all attendees can actively engage in the session. Please see the Presenter Services site for resources on making the session fully accessible.  

 

 

4. Lighting Talk 

The total time allotted for your Lightning Talk is 15 minutes.   Time allotments may vary but each session should include approximately 1-2 minutes for introductions, 7-8 minutes for the main presentation, and 5 minutes for questions.

These compressed, TED talk style 15 minute sessions provide an opportunity for presenters to inspire and engage participants in thinking through compelling concepts and findings in a short amount of time.  Because of the focused length, these sessions are great for sharing a driving question or provocation that attendees can continue to reflect upon well beyond the talk. Presentation should be accompanied by a concise slide presentation (important for accessibility purposes and for virtual audience viewing). 

Note: Presenters are responsible for providing all materials. Instructions for uploading materials will be provided to all accepted presenters. Presenters are also responsible for ensuring all attendees can actively engage in the session. Please see the Presenter Services and/or our Equity & Inclusion web pages for more information.

 

 

5. Discovery Session or Graduate Student Discovery Session (virtual-to-virtual only)

With social distancing concerns top of mind, Discovery Sessions for Accelerate 2020 will be fully virtual, asynchronous presentations that allow presenters to share their work, ideas, and innovations in a virtual presenter to virtual audience format. These sessions allow for a greater exchange of ideas and in-depth asynchronous conversations about important topics to the OLC community.  Discovery Sessions typically consist of 10-15 minutes of information shared by the presenter with a built-in asynchronous discussion via VoiceThread. Participants will be able to leave video, audio, or text comments for the presenters at any time during the conference in response to the presentation in VoiceThread.

Note: Each presenter will prepare an asynchronous digital presentation and upload the presentation to VoiceThread where voice-over comments should be added. You will receive additional instructions from OLC after the presenter registration deadline of September 23. 

 

 

6. Workshop

The total time allotted for your workshop is 90 minutes. Presenters must provide an opportunity for questions, answers, and/or whole or small group discussion within the course of the workshop. 

These 90-minute workshops will provide participants with tangible “take-away” information, models, and/or processes and will offer a more in-depth look into tools and approaches than the 45-minute Education Sessions. Workshops should be designed with 2-4 meaningful and measurable participant learning outcomes with opportunities for collaborative and/or interactive group activities​ that will be used during the session to achieve stated learning goals​. Note that the length for workshops scheduled to be presented virtually will actually be 120 minutes, covering two (2) 45 minute concurrent session slots and the 30 minute break between.  You can run your workshop that entire 120 minute time, or you can do 45 minutes – 30 minute break – 45 minutes finish.  Our experience is it is best to run the full 120 minutes, but take a short “coffee/stretch break” for 5 or so minutes in the middle to give everyone a mental break (and the ability to get coffee without missing anything).

Note: Presenters are responsible for providing all materials. Instructions for uploading materials will be provided to all accepted presenters. Presenters are also responsible for ensuring all attendees can actively engage in the session. Please see the Presenter Services and/or our Equity & Inclusion web pages for more information.

 

 

7. Pre-conference Workshop

The total time allotted for pre-conference workshops is 3 hours. Presenters must provide an opportunity for questions, answers, and/or whole or small group discussion within the course of the workshop.

Workshops should be designed with 2-4 meaningful and measurable participant learning outcomes with opportunities for collaborative and/or interactive group activities​ that will be used during the session to achieve stated learning goals​. 

Note: Presenters are responsible for providing all materials. Instructions for uploading materials will be provided to all accepted presenters. Presenters are also responsible for ensuring all attendees can actively engage in the session. Please see the Presenter Services and/or our Equity & Inclusion web pages for more information.

 

 

8. Featured Session

Thank you for agreeing to be a Featured or Invited Presenter.

The total time allotted for your Featured Session is 45 minutes. Please allow 5-10 minutes of that time for questions, answers, and discussion with the audience.

Note: Presenters are responsible for providing all materials. Instructions for uploading materials will be provided to all accepted presenters. Presenters are also responsible for ensuring all attendees can actively engage in the session. Please see the Presenter Services and/or our Equity & Inclusion web pages for more information.

 

9. Industry Showcase or National Sponsor Presentation

The total time allotted for your Industry Showcase or National Sponsor Presentation is 45 minutes. Please allow 5-10 minutes of that time for questions, answers, and discussion with the audience.

  • Design your presentation to be interactive and highlight how your company solves an issue that online and blended educators face.
  • Avoid an obvious sales pitch.
  • Solve a real-world problem – provide solutions or suggestions to common problems that educators or institutions face.

In order to best serve the diverse needs of our participants, presenters are reminded to design conference experiences to be as interactive and engaging as possible. Presentations will set the stage for interaction, but should not dominate the entire session time.

 

Timeline

  • Deadline for presenters to accept is August 3, 2020
  • Schedule will be posted August 12, 2020
  • Deadline for presenters to register is September 23, 2020
  • Final date for presenters to edit abstracts is September 23, 2020
  • Final presentation upload date is November 2, 2020

 

Presentation Uploads

As an accepted presenter, you are responsible for uploading your presentation materials as a pdf, PowerPoint file, or link (Prezi, VoiceThread, etc.) to your session in the OLC Conference Management System by November 2, 2020. The contributions will remain online as part of the conference materials after the conference. You will be provided instructions at a later date by the conference management team. Session abstracts and information about the presenters also will be included in the resource. 

IMPORTANT: In order to post your final presentation to your session page, you will need to log into your user account on the OLC Conference Management System. Presenters will be provided instructions on how to upload their presentation materials in October. Presenters are responsible for providing all materials.  Presenters will also be provided a slide that we encourage them to insert at the beginning of their presentation to encourage attendees to provide evaluation feedback through the mobile app or website for their presentation.

OLC does not require a specific conference PowerPoint template for your presentation. We encourage presenters to use their own template to build their personal or institutional brand. If you wish to use an OLC PowerPoint template, one can be downloaded from the Presenter Services page or the Presenter FAQ page closer to the conference.