OLC Innovate 2020 Presenter FAQs

Download our “Session Evaluation Reminder Slide” (.pptx) to insert at the beginning and end of your presentation to encourage attendees to complete evaluations for your session. Breakout rooms will be set up for 16:9 ratio presentations. Please note that we no longer use paper evaluation forms. All sessions evaluations are done through the conference mobile app or website.

OLC does not require you to use a specific presentation template. We encourage you to develop your own “personal brand” by using your own/your institution’s slide template, but in the event you would like to use a conference-provided template, you are welcome to use the OLC Innovate 2020 conference ppt template.

As lead presenter of a session at the conference, we strongly urge you to upload or link to your presentation file and any additional supplemental files for your presentation. The most common comment we see in session evaluations is about presenters not providing their session materials. Providing your final presentation is essential to providing a quality conference experience for all attendees and important for creating conference content that is accessible. 

We ask that upload your presentation files no later than June 1, 2020. These materials will be available to onsite and virtual conference attendees on the OLC Innovate 2020 website, linked on your session page. 

• Log into your OLC user account
• Select “Conference Profile” from the left-hand menu.
• Once in the Conference Management System, click on “My Sessions” in the upper right.
• Next to your session, click on the “Edit” link.
• Click on the “Upload Files” link for your session.
• Add your presentation url or upload your presentation file using the file browser.  (If you are using PowerPoint, we recommend saving your ppt file as a PDF and uploading the smaller file-size PDF.)
• Scroll down and click “Save.”

There is a short video tutorial that walks you through this process: https://youtu.be/eZ_EjLFcpB0

If you make changes to your presentation in the weeks leading up to the conference, you may upload a revised version of your presentation at any time by following the same steps outlined above.

• GUIDELINES ON PRESENTING YOUR SESSION: (What to cover; how to engage) Conversation, Not Presentation sessions are modeled after the hugely popular OLC Collaborate events. These 45 minute, small table facilitated conversations should address your proposed issue, challenge, or idea. As the facilitator of this session, you should open the conversation with a few key points/observations to start the discussions around this topic and provide a few starter questions for small groups to discuss at their tables. However, you should not “present” after that, but rather encourage small group discussions around the table for half of the session, provided engaging questions for discussion, and then ask for groups to report in on their discussions and continue an all-inclusive group discussion to conclude the session. The audience will participate to help solve the dilemma or explore the topic you present, and we encourage using a collaborative online document to crowdsource note-taking. Please be sure to add the link to your collaborate note-taking document to your session page in the conference management system. OLC has a sample template you can make a copy of to use for capturing crowd-sourced notes.  Note: These presentations will be “slide-free” or single-slide proposals.
• TIME, DATE & LENGTH OF SESSIONS: The The Conversation, Not Presentation sessions will be held throughout the conference during each 45 minute concurrent session. You can find the specific time for your session on the conference website Program page. We recommend that you arrive 15 minutes early to prepare and set up any necessary configurations needed for your session.
• PARTICIPATION BY ATTENDEES: Attendees will be very actively involved in this session. Encourage their input, draw them into the conversations. Move from table to table to listen to discussions. At the end, each table should report in their conversations.
• ROOM LAYOUT: Conversation, Not Presentation sessions will be held in the Maple rooms. The rooms will be set in banquet rounds to hold up to 100+ people, with banquet round seating for 8-10 people per table. There will be a podium and head table for presenters in the front of the room.
• PRESENTATION TECHNOLOGY: Each room is equipped with an LCD projector (16:9 aspect ratio), an HDMI connection to the projector, a wired Internet connection to the podium, laptop audio output capability, a podium and a screen. Rooms are not equipped with computers; presenters must provide their own computers. The conference does not provide laptops for presenters. We recommend you bring any specialized conversion cables along with you, such as Mac adapters. Microphones, including a mic at the podium (gooseneck or lav, depending on the room) for the lead presenter and mics on stands on the head table for co-presenters will be provided. The Conversations, Not Presentations room will also have a catchbox mic to facilitate conversation. Mics may need to be shared if there are numerous co-presenters. Some rooms are of a size where it is deemed microphones are not needed. Due to their highly interactive and conversational manner, Conversation, Not Presentation sessions will not be live-streamed.
• ASSISTANCE FOR PRESENTERS: Technicians will be roaming the rooms to assist if needed. There will also be a hall monitor who can secure assistance for you as needed. 
• PARTICIPANT TECHNOLOGY PROVIDED: No in-room computers are available. This is a conversation driven session; attendees may wish to bring their own computers to “crowd-source” conversations and ideas into a collaborative online document. 
• PRIOR TO THE CONFERENCE: We ask that all presenters upload their presentation and any support materials (including handouts) to the conference repository prior to the conference (now due July 6, 2020). Since there are a large number of sessions occurring during this time period, attendees will want to view in advance the conference repository to determine their session selection and find materials for those they will miss. We find it extremely helpful for Conversation, Not Presentation presenters to upload ‘pre-read’ materials that participants may want to read prior to the conference to help them prepare for robust conversations in these sessions.
• HANDOUTS/DOCUMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS: Handouts should be uploaded to the repository associated with your session (now due July 6, 2020). If you wish to use hard-copy handouts during your session, please print them in advance and bring them with you. We are unable to print onsite.
• FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:
  Please note that computers are not provided for this or any session at OLC Innovate; therefore all sessions are designated at BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Each presenter must bring their own laptop/device, and must specify what device requirements are expected of participants attending the session.

• GUIDELINES ON PRESENTING YOUR CAREER FORUM ROUNDTABLE: (What to cover; how to engage) Career Forum Roundtables are open ended discussions among attendees, with presenters serving as facilitators, to address career seeking and career advancement from the perspectives of three distinct professional tracks. You will want to open the discussions with some key thoughts, present for a short time on the topic assigned, and then open it up for interactive discussions and brainstorming the majority of the session.
• TIME, DATE & LENGTH OF SESSIONS: Career Forum Roundtables are 45 minutes in length. You can find the specific time for your session on the conference website Program page. We recommend that you arrive 15-20 minutes early to prepare and set up any necessary configurations needed for your session.
• PARTICIPATION BY ATTENDEES: Attendees are free to select any session to attend during a particular time slot; there is no advance registration for sessions. Depending on the interest level for your roundtable session and other sessions during your time slot, you may have anywhere from 10-50+ people in your session.
• ROOM LAYOUT: Career Forum Roundtable sessions are held in Mayfair. The room will be set in a banquet rounds to facilitate conversations.
• PRESENTATION TECHNOLOGY: Mayfair will be equipped with an LCD projector (16:9 aspect ratio), an HDMI connection to the projector, a wired Internet connection to the podium, laptop audio output capability, a podium and a screen. Rooms are not equipped with computers; presenters must provide their own computers. The conference does not provide laptops for presenters. We recommend you bring any specialized conversion cables along with you, such as Mac adapters. Microphones, including a mic at the podium (gooseneck or lav, depending on the room) for the lead presenter and mics on stands on the head table for co-presenters will be provided.  Mics may need to be shared if there are numerous co-presenters. Some rooms are of a size where it is deemed microphones are not needed. Due to their highly interactive and conversational manner, Career Forum Roundtable sessions will not be live-streamed.
• ASSISTANCE FOR PRESENTERS: Technicians will be roaming the rooms to assist if needed. There will also be a hall monitor who can secure assistance for you as needed. 
• PARTICIPANT TECHNOLOGY PROVIDED: No in-room computers are available. PLEASE NOTE- not all participants will be able to bring computers or tablets. Wireless connectivity is provided for participants.
• PRIOR TO THE CONFERENCE: We ask that all presenters upload their presentation and any support materials (including handouts) to the conference repository prior to the conference (now due July 6, 2020). This is especially important for this session. Any handouts, white papers, PowerPoints, website links, or other sources of information you might have that can assist attendees with pursuit of their careers based on discussions in your session will be helpful to all attendees, not just those who participated in your session. Since there are a large number of sessions occurring during this time period, attendees will want to view in advance the conference repository to determine their session selection and find materials for those they will miss.
• HANDOUTS/DOCUMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS: Handouts should be uploaded to the repository associated with your session (now due July 6, 2020). If you wish to use hard-copy handouts during your session, please print them in advance and bring them with you. We are unable to print onsite.
• FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:
  Please note that computers are not provided for this or any session at OLC Innovate; therefore all sessions are designated at BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Each presenter must bring their own laptop/device, and must specify what device requirements are expected of participants attending the session.

• GUIDELINES ON PRESENTING YOUR SESSION: (What to cover; how to engage) Sessions should be designed with specific, identifiable learning outcomes for participants and provide participants with tangible “take-away” information. Presenters must consider how participant engagement will be used to achieve participant learning outcomes. Presenters must account for at least 5-10 minutes of Q & A during or at the end of the session to encourage audience participation. Educate & Reflect session presenters must account for 5 minutes of quiet individual reflection before Q&A. 
• TIME, DATE & LENGTH OF SESSIONS: Present & Reflect, Featured, and Industry Showcase Sessions will be held throughout the conference during each 45 minute concurrent session. You can find the specific time for your session on the conference website Program page. There is a 15 minute break between each concurrent session. We recommend that you arrive 15 minutes early to prepare and set up any necessary configurations needed for your session.
• PARTICIPATION BY ATTENDEES: Attendees are free to select any session to attend during a particular time slot; there is no advance registration for sessions. Depending on the interest level for your session and other sessions during your time slot, you may have anywhere from 10-100+ people in your session. Sessions that are live webcast (see the program to determine if your session is live webcast) will be available for on-demand viewing by all onsite and virtual attendees for one year post-conference.
• ROOM LAYOUT: Rooms will be primarily set in banquet round seating for 8-10 people per table. Some rooms will be set classroom style; Industry Showcase rooms are typically smaller and set theater style. There will be a podium and head table for presenters in the front of the room. The National Sponsor Presentation room us set U-shape with extra chairs for overflow attendees. 
• PRESENTATION TECHNOLOGY: Each room is equipped with an LCD projector (16:9 aspect ratio), an HDMI connection to the projector, a wired Internet connection to the podium, laptop audio output capability, a podium and a screen. Rooms are not equipped with computers; presenters must provide their own computers. The conference does not provide laptops for presenters. We recommend you bring any specialized conversion cables along with you, such as Mac adapters. Microphones, including a mic at the podium (gooseneck or lav, depending on the room) for the lead presenter and mics on stands on the head table for co-presenters will be provided. Mics may need to be shared if there are numerous co-presenters. Some rooms are of a size where it is deemed microphones are not needed. If your presentation is being live streamed, please make sure attendees use the microphone to ask questions and use your own microphone to repeat the question and then answer it. This will ensure the virtual audience hears the questions AND the answer!
• ASSISTANCE FOR PRESENTERS: Technicians will be roaming the rooms to assist if needed. There will also be a hall monitor who can secure assistance for you as needed. Session Chairs will be in each live streamed room to assist with the virtual audience. 
• PARTICIPANT TECHNOLOGY PROVIDED: Presenters must explicitly note what technology participants are expected to bring along with them to the session in the session abstract. No in-room computers are available. PLEASE NOTE- not all participants will be able to bring computers or tablets. Wireless connectivity is provided for participants.
• PRIOR TO THE CONFERENCE: We ask that all presenters upload their presentation and any support materials (including handouts) to the conference repository prior to the conference (now due July 6, 2020). Since there are a large number of sessions occurring throughout the conference, attendees will want to view in advance the conference repository to determine their session selection and find materials for those they will miss.
• HANDOUTS/DOCUMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS: Handouts should be uploaded to the repository associated with your session (now due July 6, 2020). If you wish to use hard-copy handouts during your session, please print them in advance and bring them with you. We are unable to print onsite.
• FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:
  Please note that computers are not provided for this or any session at OLC Innovate; therefore all sessions are designated at BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Each presenter must bring their own laptop/device, and must specify what device requirements are expected of participants attending the session.

• GUIDELINES ON PRESENTING YOUR DISCOVERY SESSION: (What to cover; how to engage) In the Discovery Sessions, up to 13 presenters stand at their specific table as attendees move at will between tables to speak with presenters. Discovery Sessions should involve a brief (10-15 minutes maximum, repeated to attendees over a 45 minute time period) electronic presentation to elicit ideas from your peers. The Discovery Sessions allow for interactive 1:1 discussions between presenters and attendees. In general, we recommend a short series of PowerPoint slides (no more than 5) that hit your key points and are visually appealing to draw attendees to your table. There is no right or wrong way to present your Discovery Session. There are no specific requirements, other than they are conducted electronically on a laptop or other electronic device (such as an iPad) large enough for a small group of attendees to easily read the screen while standing next to you. No projector devices, please.
• TIME, DATE & LENGTH OF DISCOVERY SESSIONS: Discovery Session presentations will take place during each concurrent session; all will be held in the Ballroom Promenade. All Discovery Session presentations run concurrently over the 45 minute concurrent session to which they are assigned. You can find the specific time for your session on the conference website Program page. We recommend that you arrive 15 minutes early to prepare and set up for your session.
• PARTICIPATION BY ATTENDEES: Attendees are free to move around the room at will and participate in any one or all of the Discovery Session. An attendee may be especially interested in your session and stay with you the entire time, or they may want to hear brief summaries from multiple presenters and move from table to table. The 1:1 nature allows you to engage more deeply where warranted, or just cover an overview of the topic with your 5 slides, depending on interest level of the attendee.
• ROOM LAYOUT: Discovery Sessions are held in in the Ballroom Promenade. Each presenter will have a 4’L x 42” high counter with a sign showing the session title on that counter, as well as a lower round table to accommodate anyone for whom the higher table may not work. A chair will be provided for you to sit on as needed. The counters will numbered according to your assigned position and will be found in the back half of the room. Please do not set-up your laptop any earlier than 15 minutes prior to your presentation, and do not leave your laptop unsupervised at any time.
• PRESENTATION TECHNOLOGY: Each counter is supplied with a powerstrip in order to keep your presentation device charged. Computers are not provided; sessions are BYOD and presenters must provide their own laptops. The conference does not provide laptops for presenters. There are no microphones due to the 1:1 nature of the presentations, and no laptop audio output (ie, speakers) other than what your device offers. No printed posters are allowed; there simply is no place to hang them. Everything is strictly digital in this session. For 2020, a special thank you to gold sponsor MindEdge, who will be providing LCD monitors at each Discovery Session station. Please be sure to bring an adaptor if needed so you can connect to the monitor.  
• ASSISTANCE FOR PRESENTERS: Technicians will be roaming the rooms to assist if needed. There will also be a hall monitor who can secure assistance for you as needed.
• PARTICIPANT TECHNOLOGY PROVIDED: Wireless connectivity is provided for participants. 
• PRIOR TO THE CONFERENCE: We ask that all Discovery session presenters upload their presentation and any support materials (including handouts) to the conference repository prior to the conference (now due July 6, 2020). Since there are a large number of sessions occurring during this time period, attendees will want to view in advance the conference repository to determine which Discovery Sessions they wish to attend and find materials for those they will miss.
• HANDOUTS/DOCUMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS: Handouts should be uploaded to the repository associated with your Discovery session (now due July 6, 2020). If you wish to use hard-copy handouts during your presentation, please print them in advance and bring them with you. We are unable to print onsite.
• FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:
  Please note that computers are not provided for this or any session at OLC Innovate; therefore all sessions are designated at BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Each presenter must bring their own laptop/device.

• GUIDELINES ON PRESENTING YOUR INNOVATION STUDIO DESIGN THINKING CHALLENGE SESSION: (What to cover; how to engage) Innovation Studio Design Thinking Challenge presentations are not your typical sit-and-get sessions.  Rather, you will guide participants through a concrete challenge, working collaboratively to design a meaningful solution, and help them leave with an applicable deliverable.  Presenters must consider how participant engagement will be used to achieve participant learning outcomes. Presenters must account for questions, answers, and/or whole group discussion within the course of the presentation.

  These studio sessions are designed to highlight applied teaching, learning, management, and research for learning, all within an active learning space, design studio and collaborative makerspace.  Encompassing the spirit of an education session, a conversation and a hands-on demo, the Innovation Studio sessions should be comprised of the following segments:

• Prompt – a 5-minute facilitated, quick-start conversation to kick off the studio session.
  • i.e. – The facilitator presents a “how might we …” challenge to solve a particular problem.
• Brainstorming: Understanding the Challenge – a 20 minute divergent brainstorm session to generate new ideas and solutions to the challenge. 
  • i.e. – Presenter facilitates brainstorming session with planned activities and brainstorming approaches. 
• Prototyping: Working Towards Solutions – a 20-minute convergent session for participants to process, refine, vote on, and even paper prototype the concepts and practices shared.
  • i.e. – Teams present solutions, narrow down top choices, identify practical next steps, and consider how they might apply in their own instructional context.

These focused “show and tell” sessions will highlight a specific pedagogical strategy, technological tool, research method, design-thinking, industry innovation, or leadership approach designed for participants to learn more about, experiment with, and implement immediately for all skill levels. Presenters are encouraged to leave participants with a takeaway, which could be a tangible resource or even a call to action.

• TIME, DATE & LENGTH OF INNOVATION STUDIO DESIGN THINKING CHALLENGE SESSIONS: The Innovation Studio Design Thinking Challenge sessions will be held throughout the conference during each concurrent session. Except for Wednesday AM sessions, which are 90 minutes long, Innovation Studio sessions are 45 minutes long, including any group work and Q & A. You can find the specific time for your session on the conference website Program page. We recommend that you arrive 15 minutes early to prepare and set up any necessary configurations needed for your session.
• PARTICIPATION BY ATTENDEES: Attendees are free to select any conference session during a particular time slot. Attendees are able to participate at Studio stations in the Innovation Studio as well as participate in Innovation Studio presentations (your presentation) in the Live Studio Space.
• ROOM LAYOUT: The Live Studio Space where your Innovation Studio session will take place features dedicated space for you to engage attendees in your guided studio session. There will be a podium for the presenter. Participants will be at  banquet rounds of 8. If your session is very popular, you may have overflow attendees standing on the sides or seated in overflow chairs. The Innovation Studio can be found in the center of the exhibit hall (Aurora Ballroom). It is a pipe and draped room.
• PRESENTATION TECHNOLOGY: The Live Studio Space will be equipped with an LCD projector (16:9 aspect ratio), an HDMI connection to the projector, a wired Internet connection to the podium, a lav mic at the podium, laptop audio output capability, a podium and a screen. The room is not equipped with computers; presenters must provide their own computers. The conference does not provide laptops for presenters. We recommend you bring any specialized conversion cables along with you, such as Mac adapters. Microphones, including a mic at the podium (gooseneck or lav, depending on the room) for the lead presenter and mics on stands on the head table for co-presenters will be provided. Mics may need to be shared if there are numerous co-presenters. Some rooms are of a size where it is deemed microphones are not needed.
• ASSISTANCE FOR PRESENTERS: Technicians will be roaming the rooms to assist if needed. Your studio technicians can assist if needed. 
• PARTICIPANT TECHNOLOGY PROVIDED: Innovation Studio presenters must explicitly note what technology participants are expected to bring along with them to the session in their session abstract. No in-room computers are available. PLEASE NOTE- not all participants will be able to bring computers or tablets. Wireless connectivity is provided for participants.
• PRIOR TO THE CONFERENCE: We ask that all Innovation Studio presenters upload their presentation and any support materials (including handouts) to the conference repository prior to the conference (now due July 6, 2020). Since there are a large number of sessions occurring during this conference, attendees will want to view in advance the conference repository to determine their session selection and find materials for those they will miss.
• HANDOUTS/DOCUMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS: Handouts should be uploaded to the repository associated with your Innovation Studio session (now due July 6, 2020). If you wish to use hard-copy handouts during your session, please print them in advance and bring them with you. We are unable to print onsite.
• FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:
• Please note that computers are not provided for this or any session at OLC Innovate; therefore all sessions are designated at BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Each presenter must bring their own laptop/device, and must specify what device requirements are expected of participants attending the session.
• If you must have a flip chart for your session, please notify us immediately at conference@onlinelearning-c.org. We do not provide flip charts on a standard basis, and encourage you to use a Google Doc instead to gather notes.

• GUIDELINES ON PRESENTING YOUR INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP SESSION: (What to cover; how to engage) Workshops should be designed with specific, identifiable learning outcomes for participants and provide participants with tangible “take-away” information, models, and/or products with multiple opportunities for collaborative and/or interactive group activities to engage participants in a more in-depth look into the topic and related technological tools. Presenters must consider how participant engagement will be used to achieve participant learning outcomes. Presenters must account for questions, answers, and/or whole group discussion within the course of the workshop.
• TIME, DATE & LENGTH OF INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS: The Interactive Workshops will be held on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. All 90-minute Workshop sessions will run 8:30am-10:00am and 10:30am-12:00pm, with a 30-minute networking coffee break in the exhibit hall between workshop sessions. Breakfast on Wednesday will be downstairs by the workshop rooms, so expect people to arrive to your room early with their breakfast. You can find the specific time for your session on the conference website Program page. We recommend that you arrive 15-20 minutes early to prepare and set up any necessary configurations needed for your session.
• PARTICIPATION BY ATTENDEES: Attendees are free to select any workshop during a particular time slot. All Wednesday workshops are available at no additional fee to registered conference attendees. While attendees have indicated which workshops they plan to attend, they are not held to actually attending that workshop and are free to select a different workshop if desired. Workshops could be as small as 25 people and as large as 125 people. Be prepared for both extremes.
• ROOM LAYOUT: Workshop rooms hold anywhere from 80 to 120 people, with crescent round seating for 8-10 people per table. There will be a podium and head table for presenters in the front of the room.
• PRESENTATION TECHNOLOGY: Each room is equipped with an LCD projector (16:9 aspect ratio), an HDMI connection to the projector, a wired Internet connection to the podium, microphones for presenters (some may need to share), laptop audio output capability, a podium and a screen. Rooms are not equipped with computers; presenters must provide their own computers. The conference does not provide laptops for presenters. We recommend you bring any specialized conversion cables along with you, such as Mac adapters. Microphones, including a mic at the podium (gooseneck or lav, depending on the room) for the lead presenter and mics on stands on the head table for co-presenters will be provided. Mics may need to be shared if there are numerous co-presenters. Some rooms are of a size where it is deemed microphones are not needed. Technicians will be roaming the rooms to assist if needed. You will also have a hall monitor who can secure assistance for you as needed.
• ASSISTANCE FOR PRESENTERS: Technicians will be roaming the rooms to assist if needed. There will also be a hall monitor who can secure assistance for you as needed.
• PARTICIPANT TECHNOLOGY PROVIDED: Interactive Workshops leaders must explicitly note in the session abstract what technology participants are expected to bring along with them to the session. No in-room computers are available. PLEASE NOTE- not all participants will be able to bring computers or tablets. Wireless connectivity is provided for participants.
• PRIOR TO THE CONFERENCE: We ask that all Interactive Workshops presenters upload their presentation and any support materials (including handouts) to the conference repository prior to the conference (now due July 6, 2020). Since there are a large number of Interactive Workshop Sessions occurring during this time period, attendees will want to view in advance the conference repository to determine their Interactive Workshop selection and find materials for those they will miss.
• HANDOUTS/DOCUMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS: Handouts should be uploaded to the repository associated with your Interactive Workshop session (now due July 6, 2020). If you wish to use hard-copy handouts during your workshop, please print them in advance and bring them with you. We are unable to print onsite.
• FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:
• Please note that computers are not provided for this or any session at OLC Innovate; therefore all sessions are designated at BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Each presenter must bring their own laptop/device, and must specify what device requirements are expected of participants attending the workshop.
• If you must have a flip chart for your session, please notify us immediately at conference@onlinelearning-c.org. We do not provide flip charts on a standard basis, and encourage you to use a Google Doc instead to gather notes.

The 2019 conference in its fourth year had an onsite attendance of 1,275 and a virtual attendance of 1000 from over 550+ institutions, 50 states & territories, and 13 countries.

Yes, all presenters are required to register in advance of the conference. Presenters must register and pay the registration fee no later than June 1, 2020 in order to avoid potential session cancelation. The registration fee table can be found on the registration page. Any presenter unable to register by June 1 should contact Christine Hinkley, Senior Director of Conferences, at christine.hinkley@onlinelearning-c.org with a description of the issue and the time frame you expect it to be resolved within.

As a non-profit, OLC does not cover any other conference-related expenses for presenters (including technology, registration fees, etc.) Presenters are responsible for ensuring they have adequate computers, headphones, microphones, etc., that are necessary for them to present virtually.

The final date presenters can submit edits to their abstracts or submit co-presenter information is June 1, 2020. Any changes submitted after that date will not may not be updated on the website and mobile app. Any changes to presenters, session descriptions, etc. must be submitted no later than June 1 to conference@onlinelearning-c.org.

Yes, all proposals go through a rigorous 3-phase review process. The first phase consists of a double-blind peer-review. The second phase is review and recommendation by the track chairs. The third phase is final review by the conference and program chairs and the OLC conference team.

Submission notifications will be emailed on December 4. Notifications are sent to all authors on each submission. Only the lead presenter should claim the session. All submissions are sent notification emails, regardless of acceptance status. Please be sure to “whitelist” emails from the @onlinelearning-c.org domain. If you do not receive a notification email, please contact us at conference@onlinelearning-c.org.

No, OLC does not require a final paper submission. Your presentation is your final product. We require presenters to upload a final presentation by June 1, 2020 to the presenter’s session page so that it is available to conference attendees. Your presentation can be a link (ie. Prezi, SlideShare, VoiceThread, etc.) or a file upload (.pdf is recommended). This material, along with the full abstract and information about the authors, becomes part of the conference materials that remain on the website. You may also elect to submit a final paper (recommended for Research track sessions), should you have one, for consideration for publication in OLC’s Online Learning Journal. These are the stated guidelines for the journal: papers should be full papers, which include scientific rigor and data. The results presented should clearly advance our field by providing new information. Papers that are purely anecdotal or have no research underlayment will not be considered for publication. Papers are typically 10 to 20 pages printed and conform to the guidelines for publication found at https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/olc-online-learning-journal/. All full paper submissions may be eligible for publication in the conference proceedings and/or special issue of the Online Learning Journal. These manuscripts must be original (not published or accepted in a journal or conference proceedings and currently not under consideration for publication elsewhere). Papers are blind reviewed.

OLC Innovate 2020 is all virtual due to the COVID-19 crisis. OLC’s policy during normal operations on virtual presentations is that the lead presenter must register for and attend the conference on-site. A co-presenter may be brought in virtually and must pay the virtual registration fee. OLC does not provide IT support or cover the cost of any additional technology required for virtual presenters. Discovery sessions are not conducive to virtual presenters due to difficulties with hearing sound volume (there are no speakers for audio output provided).

The conference website will have a complete listing of sessions where you may find the date and time assigned for your presentation. After the schedule is published, you may search for your presentation date/time/room assignment. You may search a number of ways – by track, by presentation type, date, etc. – to find your presentation. You can also use the Presenter tab to search by your last name. There are advanced search filters in the “Search” tab that allow you to search by keyword, date, session type, track, audience, or special session type. Click on the link for your presentation and you will see the full description for your session. Please refer to the conference website if you are uncertain about your presentation type or length. It will be listed as part of your presentation description. Be sure to check back frequently as presentation rooms, dates, and times do change. We recommend that you plan to stay through the end of the conference.

For OLC Innovate 2020 – all sessions are part of the virtual to virtual conference. 

This section will be updated for the OLC Innovate 2020 virtual conference. Please plan to attend a presenter training in May. Discovery Session presenting training will take place at 1pm ET on Friday, May 15. All other session type presenter training will take place at 1pm ET on Tuesday, May 19. Please watch your inbox for an invitation. 

Goals for Live Stream Sessions: 

• Actively involve virtual attendees in the session so they feel as if they are participating in the conference.
• Create an open dialog between virtual attendees, the session presenters, and session participants.

Tips for Designing Your Live Streamed Session: 

• Create and upload an online worksheet or handout so audience can take notes
• Be sure to upload your presentation and any additional materials so virtual attendees can access them quickly and easily
• Add the OLC-provided session evaluation reminder slide to the beginning and end of your slide deck
• Design with interaction in mind (Use interactive features (i.e. polling, Q&A, Twitter) at the beginning, middle and end interaction)
• Plan content in small segments that allow for discussion breaks or interactivity

Working with Your Session Chair:

• Arrive early to meet your Session Chair
• Agree on a signal indicating questions from the virtual audience
• Provide all necessary information to Session Chair (i.e. polling information) before session start
• Indicate if you want signals regarding time

Delivering an Interactive, Live Streamed Session

• Engage both audiences with your intro; ask questions, tell an interesting story
• Plan breaks for questions or comments; seek input from virtual audience; plan for a potential time delay in responses from virtual audience (could be up to 45 seconds based on upload and download speeds)
• Pay attention to signals from the Session Chair
• Be conscientious of wearing a microphone. Your mic will pick up any side commentary with co-presenters that the online audience can hear
• Save time at the end of the presentation for audience Q & A
• Provide contact information for post-session questions
• Thank your audience for their participation
• Remind your audience to please complete the session evaluation form (found on the session page via mobile app & conference website)

Yes. Each session has a link on the website and in the mobile app that allows attendees to complete session evaluation forms online. All session evaluations will be collected, tabulated by the conference management team, and the results sent to you in the weeks following the conference. Keynote presentations will have their evaluations gathered in the online post-conference survey. Download our “Session Evaluation Reminder Slide” (.pptx) to insert at the beginning and end of your presentation to encourage attendees to complete evaluations for your session. All sessions evaluations are done through the conference mobile app or website.

Each session will have a session chair and an OLC staff member who will be available to assist if any technical issues may arise. The session chair should introduce the presentation to the audience, monitor the live stream, and collect virtual attendee questions to pose to the presenter(s) during Q & A.

We encourage you to post your presentation and any support materials to your conference session page no later than June 1, 2020. This is important for your fellow conference attendees so they can be prepared for your session. Doing so is also important for those who may need the resources to assist important accessibility issues.

Yes! Let’s work together to create some buzz about your participation in this conference! Please promote your own presentation as well as the conference in general to your colleagues and social networks. Download the presenter promo kit to help! The Twitter handle is @OLCToday; the hashtag for this conference is #OLCInnovate. Feel free to create hashtag for your own presentation as well. Presenters may indicate a custom hashtag in the presentation claiming process. We also suggest you post hashtags at the start of your session and encourage attendees to use them.

It is becoming increasingly common for conference participants to document and disseminate the information shared in conference sessions through social media.  We are requesting that you help them (and us) capture, credit, and amplify your message more effectively and accurately. Here are some best practices and ideas for your consideration.

• Include your Twitter handle and conference hashtag on each slide.  If you do not have a Twitter handle, consider including one of a research partner or affiliated program or institution. Doing so benefits you in several ways.  First, it provides session attendees with an easy way to give you credit for your ideas.  Second, it allows you to monitor what attendees are tweeting about your session.  If they quote you incorrectly, you have the opportunity to correct them or engage them in dialogue.  Finally, by having the information on each slide, it automatically provides a source and context when participants take pictures of your slides – even if they fail to caption the pictures on social media.

• Be explicit (in advance) about things you don’t want shared beyond the room. If there are just a few ideas within your talk that are sensitive in nature, just make that clear to your audience; live tweeters are even more likely to honor your wishes than the non-tweeting conference goer, because if they share something inappropriate you are more likely to find out! Be advised that all session recordings will be available to paid conference attendees for 1 year post-conference.

• Consider publishing your slides to a digital slide sharing service. Many presenters across disciplines are beginning to publish their slides – either in advance or immediately after –  to platforms such as www.slideshare.net.  This allows attendees to revisit the presentation and reaches individuals who were unable to attend your session, thereby amplifying your message far beyond your session.  If you choose to publish your slides, you can include the link in your session page instead of your final presentation file (now due June 1, 2020).

• Use a microphone and repeat any audience questions into it. These sessions are being live streamed; virtual attendees cannot hear you or questions if they are not spoken into a microphone.

This section will be updated for the OLC Innovate 2020 all virtual conference.

• These Discovery Sessions should include a brief (10-15 minutes maximum, repeated to attendees over a 45 minute time period) electronic presentation to elicit ideas from your peers. The Discovery Sessions allow for interactive 1:1 discussions between presenters and attendees. In general, we recommend a short series of PowerPoint slides (no more than 5) that hit your key points and are visually appealing to draw attendees to your table. The Discovery Session is 45 minutes long, so you will be starting and stopping the slide show repeatedly as attendees come and go from your table. People will likely join during the middle of your presentation; consider beforehand how you will welcome them into the conversation.
• For your presentation, you will be assigned a concurrent session, a presentation table in the Discovery session room, and a position number  to indicate your table location. You will find signs on the tables in that area indicating in which space you should set-up your equipment. Sessions are arranged alphabetically by title. Please, do not leave your laptop unattended at anytime. We recommend instead that you leave the concurrent session just prior to your Discovery Session a little early to give yourself plenty of time to set-up your laptop for your conversation. 
• For 2020, a special thank you to gold sponsor MindEdge, who will be providing LCD monitors at each Discovery Session station. Please be sure to bring an adaptor if needed so you can connect to the monitor.  
• All sessions are designated at BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Each presenter must bring their own laptop/device. You will present on your laptop to attendees as they circulate around the area to the various Discovery Session stations. The conference will provide a small table for your laptop, wireless internet, and power to the table.
• There is no right or wrong way to present your Discovery Session. There are no specific requirements, other than they are conducted electronically on a laptop or other electronic device (such as an iPad) large enough for an attendee to easily read the screen while standing next to you. No projector devices, please.
• It is especially important for Discovery Session presenters to upload your presentation and any support materials (including handouts) to the conference repository prior to the conference. There are several Discovery Sessions occurring during this session, and attendees will want to view in the conference repository any Discovery Session they miss. Questions on uploading to the repository can be emailed to OLC Conference Support at conference@onlinelearning-c.org. Handouts should be uploaded to the repository. However, if you feel you must have some hard-copy handouts on hand, please print them and bring them with you. We are unable to print those for you onsite.
• Finally, please note that there is no laptop audio output provided in the electronic Discovery Session. It is simply too loud to be able to use audio output of any type during your presentation.