OLC Accelerate 2020 Post-Conference Highlights

The OLC Accelerate 2020 Conference, held November 9-18, was filled with opportunities to connect with the entire digital education community and generated a great deal of enthusiasm in its fully virtual format. Approximately 4,000 attendees participated from nearly 410 institutions/organizations, representing 43 states plus the District of Columbia and 14 countries around the globe.

This year’s program included more than 400 compelling sessions, 20 immersive workshops, numerous discovery sessions and the new Exposition Foundry. Additional highlights include the keynote by Flower Darby, OLC Awards Gala, various Summits (Instructional Design, OLC Leadership Network, OLC Research) and HBCU Workshops.

In a notable shift, OLC programming is moving in more community-centered directions, putting more choice in the hands of our membership and leveraging events as a way to catalyze continued co-development of much needed job aids, publications, and meaningful networked collaborations. As an example, the OLC Research Summit on November 17 not only provided a research toolkit but also ended with the opportunity for attendees to sign up for facilitated writing and editing opportunities to help them further develop and publish research and ideas gleaned from their conference attendance.

Beyond content, who can forget the myriad of ways that attendees were able to deeply engage in the online environment? While we were physically distanced we were very socially connected via the Field Guide Program and Virtual Speed Networking Lounge, which was designed to enhance the conference experience for first-timers and anyone looking for additional networking opportunities. The evolving Asynchronous Technology Test Kitchen forged new frontiers in the delivery of ‘hands-on’ asynchronous virtual learning experiences, and the Exposition Foundry and Ex Foundry Games, were a fun, informal way to connect with our sponsors, learn about new technology and educational innovations and an opportunity to win prizes that were generously donated by the very same sponsors. Finally, we had frequent community touch points throughout the conference via the responsive OLC Live! program, which featured more intimate, in-time dialogue with presenters and community members around conference themes and experiences.

We hope you enjoyed OLC Accelerate 2020 and look forward to seeing you again at next year’s OLC Innovate 2021, taking place virtually from March 15-19 and at OLC Accelerate 2021, taking place onsite and virtually in Washington, DC October 6-8, 2022. Help us keep exploring new ways to connect. Sign up for email updates about these events and be on the lookout for an open call for speaker proposals soon.

Access Recorded Sessions

Registered conference attendees have access to the on-demand recordings for one (1) full year post-conference. OLC offers two avenues of access for attendees to view the Accelerate 2020 on-demand program: Classic and Enhanced. You must be logged in to your OLC user account to access the on-demand recordings.

In the Enhanced platform, each of the individual session pages has a link to “Watch on Demand.”
In the Classic platform, each of the individual session pages has a link to “Watch this Session.”

To access on-demand recordings, registered participants need to be logged in at onlinelearningconsortium.org.

Missed the live conference? No problem!

It’s not too late to get access to the virtual OLC Accelerate 2020 conference! The 400+ recorded sessions are available on-demand for one full year. See full details and register here. Discounts are available for groups of three or more and campus-wide access.

Please email conference@onlinelearning-c.org if you have any questions.

A Message from the Conference Co-Chairs

Deal Colleagues,

The OLC Accelerate Virtual Conference was held November 9-18, 2020. New this year, OLC Accelerate moves to an all virtual format (November 9-18). In these uncertain times, it is important to the OLC and the OLC Accelerate 2020 conference committees that we create a reimagined program encompassing the rich opportunities for engagement in a fully-online format. As such, preparations for this year’s conference are underway for a dynamic and impactful conference that participants can enjoy online live or asynchronously through a library of session recordings. Full details on the virtual agenda can be found in our program listing.

This year promises to bring a new and exciting focus as we look forward with “20/20 Vision: Envisioning the Future of Online, Blended and Digital Learning.” We’ll be sharing new and upcoming technologies, trends and pedagogical approaches that our colleagues worldwide are successfully implementing or envisioning within their digital learning spaces.

We are excited to continue to expand the depth and breadth to our conference agenda with exciting programming, networking, and a variety of informal opportunities for OLC Accelerate attendees to engage and connect with one another, and with OLC staff and volunteers.

Congratulations to these lucky winners and thank you to our generous sponsors!

Ex-Foundry Games (Sponsor Scavenger Hunt):

Winner Name	Institution	Activity – Scavenger Hunt	Gift Card / Prize – Donated by OLC
Darnell Kemp (Grand Prize)	Fullerton College	1 Completed Full (Grand Prize)	Unlimited Virtual Pkg for a 2021 OLC Conference
Amy Thomson	Granite State College	1 Completed Full -1st Place	$250 Amazon Gift Card
Pam Snyde	Penn State University	1 Completed Full -1st Place	$250 Amazon Gift Card
Lainie Hoffman	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	50% Completed – 2nd Place	Airpods
Kaye Temanson	North Dakota State University	50% Completed – 3rd Place	OLC Professional Membership ($175 value)
Erin Blauvelt	Clarkson University	50% Completed – 4th Place	OLC Professional Membership ($175 value)
Rachel Stern-Lockerman	CUNY Queens College	50% Completed – 5th Place	OLC Professional Membership ($175 value)

Sponsor Prize Donations:

Winner Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize	Donated By
William Prado	Prescott College	1 Green Screen	Examity
Sujita Shrestha	SUNY Empire State College	1 Travel organizers	PSI
Anna Zak	St. John’s University – New York	1 Travel organizers	PSI
Rebekah Benson	American InterContinental University	1 Swag bags (each contains a stuffed moose, a notebook and pen and a tshirt in a D2L tote bag!	D2L
Trina McCarty	Kansas State University	1 Swag bags (each contains a stuffed moose, a notebook and pen and a tshirt in a D2L tote bag!	D2L
Corey P. McNair	Alamo College District Office	$100 Amazon Gift Card	DigitalEd
Elizabeth Riley	University of Arkansas – Little Rock	$100 Amazon Gift Card	Cidi Labs
Osmara Salas	University of Florida	$250 Sunglass Hut Card	Proctor U
Lily Oyarzun	Indiana University – Bloomington	$50 Target Kiosk Gift Card	MindEdge Learning
Tracy Stuntz	Clovis Community College	$50 Target Kiosk Gift Card	MindEdge Learning
Meg Erlewine	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	$150 Amazon Gift Card	Honorlock
Bart McLeroy	Collin College	$50 Amazon Gift Card	Science Interactive
Angela Gibson	Texas A&M University – Kingsville	$50 Amazon Gift Card	ACUE
Rebecca Cottrell	Metropolitan State University of Denver	$50 Amazon Gift Card	Respondus

VSNL: Mad Libs

Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize –Donated by OLC
Jason Reed	State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota	$25 Amazon Gift Card

Evening Event: A Very Happy Happy Hour: The Zoom where it happens

Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize – Donated by Examity
Danielle Trueba	Pima Medical Institute	$25 Amazon Gift Card

Evening Event: Chef-nanigans

Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize –Donated by OLC
Rachel Stern-Lockerman	CUNY	$25 Amazon Gift Card

Evening Event: Musical Bingo

Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize – Donated by OLC
Angela Gibson	Texas A&M University – Kingsville	$10 Barnes & Noble
Stephanie Wood	Granite School District (562030)	$25 OLC
Stephanie Wood #2	Granite School District (562030)	$25 OLC
Crystal Nielsen	Northwest Nazarene University	$25 OLC
Jason Reed	State College of Florida – Manatee – Sarasota	$25 OLC
Wendy Commons	Collin College	$25 OLC
Tracy Balduzzi	Syracuse University	$25 OLC
Susan Wegmann	University of Mary Hardin – Baylor	$25 OLC

VSNL: Scavenger Hunt

Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize – Donated by OLC
Dorothy Loftin Megan Kohler Patricia Yu Katherine Fisne	Oregon State University Penn State University University of Hawaii – West Oahu Marywood University	$25 Amazon $25 Amazon $25 Amazon $25 Amazon

Closing Event:

Winner Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize	Donated By
Martin Dunlap	West Virginia University	Unlimited Virtual Pkg for a 2021 OLC conference	OLC
Omar Jakin	Kwantlen Polytechnic University	Individual 2021 Virtual Conference Registration	D2L
Rey Martinez	New Mexico Highlands University	Individual 2021 Virtual Conference Registration	Canvas
Christina Pinkston	Norfolk State University	Individual 2021 Virtual Conference Registration	Honorlock
Travis Phillips	Rowan – Cabarrus Community College	Individual 2021 Virtual Conference Registration	Mediasite
Lokman Zaibet	Sultan Qaboos University Oman	Individual 2021 Virtual Conference Registration	VoiceThread

Session Evaluations (Attendees):

Winner Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize	Donated By
Maria Aurora Yanez	Alamo College District Office	$25 Amazon Gift Card	OLC
Mary Mahank	Indiana University-East (Richmond)	$25 Amazon Gift Card	OLC
Malgorzata Ilkowska	Baker College	$25 Amazon Gift Card	OLC
Fred Telegdy	University of Virginia	$25 Amazon Gift Card	OLC
Laura McLaughlin	Neumann University	$25 Amazon Gift Card	OLC

Session Evaluations (Presenter)

Winner Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize	Sponsor
Melony Shemberger	Murray State University	$25 Amazon Gift Card	OLC

Post Conference Survey Winners:

Winner Name	Institution	Gift Card / Prize	Sponsor
Martha (Marty) Whalen	Clarkson University	$50 Amazon Gift Card	OLC
Pamela Darling-Facio	Collin College	$50 Amazon Gift Card	OLC

Take a look at photos, videos, inspiring quotes, and more that were shared before, during, and after the conference by following the #OLCAccelerate hashtag!

Photos

View Photo Gallery

OLC Live! and Open Sessions

As part of the broader Virtual Experience at #OLCAccelerate 2020, OLC Live! is a catered virtual lounge and conversation space where participants can engage directly with keynote speakers, select presenters, and other attendees. Join our OLC Live guest hosts Jenae Cohn and Nate Angell for your chance to connect virtually with a variety of personalities from the OLC community. If you missed them live, you can still enjoy the recorded sessions. Of special note, check out these recordings:

Exposition Foundry Sessions

The Exposition Foundry

Informally called “The Foundry,” this collaborative space brings together educators, technologists, researchers and advocates of all positions (from institutions, companies, associations, etc.) to design and implement change work around online, blended and digital learning.

Testimonials

“This was my first OLC Accelerate conference. Though I wish I could have been onsite, it was an incredible virtual conference with amazing opportunities. I have never had a virtual conference that is so organized, engaging, easy to navigate, fun, relaxing, and informative all in one. I was pleasantly surprised by the exhibit hall experience, the Ex Foundry Games, the relaxation/quiet room, and the opportunities to network. What I enjoyed most was the engaging and incredible workshops. I have learned that I prefer the virtual experience because I could hop out of a workshop that ended up not being geared to what I needed and jump right into another one of interest, while maximizing my time in the session. In a traditional conference, I would waste 10 minutes walking to another session, missing valuable information. I maximized my time to learn as much as possible on my breaks from teaching. This is a conference that I would not hesitate to attend virtually again or in person. Thanks for an amazing and dynamic conference experience.”
Celia Kerr
Psychology Instructor, York Technical College

“Learned so many amazing things and was able to build networks with others in my academic interest area.”
Dr. Tina Callaway
New England Institute of Business at Cambridge College

“I was very hopeful when the conference had to be changed to a virtual environment and I was not disappointed. This was my first OLC Accelerate experience, but certainly not my last. There is nothing like leaving a conference with things to try and a broadened perspective. I look forward to next year’s event!”
LaDonna Reynolds
Instructional Designer, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (Salisbury, NC)

Volunteer with OLC

Thank You, OLC Accelerate Volunteers!

You may have noticed that in addition to our presenters, each session had a Zoom room manager and volunteer session chair helping manage this huge program. A special thanks to our session chair team!

Additionally, beyond the OLC staff, there was a team of reviewers, track chairs, engagement, program and conference chairs, steering committee, Field Guides, etc. helping plan and implement the various aspects of the conference.

Special thanks to the Accelerate 2020 team, who ended up volunteering for this all-virtual event. If you are interested in getting more involved, become part of our volunteer team.

“I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to volunteer as session chair during the Innovate conference. I also wanted to share faculty have provided very positive feedback on the conference and several have asked about the Accelerate conference virtual attendance. I look forward to future volunteer opportunities with OLC.”

Penny Kuckkahn
Director of Instructional Effectiveness and Flexible Learning
Nicolet Area Technical College