In order to have the best virtual conference experience possible, you’ll want to complete the following tasks beforehand.  Additionally, we’ve included information on how to access the virtual sessions once the conference kicks off.

1) Registration and Login

Test your login. All virtual participants will want to ensure that they are successfully registered beforehand.  Keep in mind that your username should be your email address. Check that you are both registered as an individual attendee and also that you are logged in to your OLC user account with which you registered. You will need your email address to log in to the OLC Innovate 2020 Virtual Conference online venue. 

Review and bookmark this OLC Live! page, which includes links to:

Lastly, take some time to plan ahead – know which sessions you want to attend and when they are happening.

2) Accessing Virtual Sessions

Once the conference has begun on Monday, June 15, you can access both the live streamed sessions and the on-demand sessions.  Use the following suggestions below to easily enter the sessions and fully engage in the experience:

  • Log in to your OLC user account (login was required when you registered for this virtual conference) to access the live streams and on-demand recordings. Make sure you can login without difficulty by testing it before the start of the conference using the instructions above. You will need your email address to gain access to the online conference venue.
  • Enter the session room a few minutes early so that you don’t miss anything.
  • You will get the most out of your conference experience if you actively participate! Introduce yourself in the chat window when you enter a session so that the on-site session chair knows you are in the “room”.
  • Complete evaluations for each of the sessions you attend.
  • Check back in to see sessions that have been streamed previously.  Recordings may be accessed for 1 year post-conference.

If you have any questions, please email us at conference@onlinelearning-c.org.

 

How to Log in to the Conference Daily

OLC and MERLOT will be offering two avenues of access for attendees to join the Innovate 2020 program: Classic and Beta.

Classic Access: Available to all registered attendees, this provides entrance to conference sessions through the OLC Innovate website. This is the standard view that previous virtual conference attendees would be familiar with. To access via the Classic view:

  • Log in to your OLC User account (that you used to register for the conference). 
  • Once logged in, you will see a blue stripe that says “The OLC Innovate 2020 Virtual Conference is underway. Classic Access” at the top of the page.
  • Click “Classic Access”.
  • You are now in the conference venue.  Click on Program/Sessions in the navigation bar in the top menu.
  • Find the session you wish to view (watch the video for many ways to search for a session).  
  • Click on the session title.
  • Click on the orange “Watch This Session” button  in the upper right-side panel. 
  • This will launch Zoom and your session will begin at the scheduled time (Eastern Time Zone).
  • If you log in prior to the session start time, you will see a box “The meeting is scheduled for xx date – start at xx time – and the session title”. Links will be active approximately 15 minutes prior to the session start time.
  • Remember – Discovery Sessions are held asynchronously and may be viewed at any time.  Clicking on a Discovery Session title will take you to the Discovery Session in VoiceThread.

For additional guidance on accessing and navigating sessions in the Classic view, please watch this video: 

 

Beta Access (OLC Members only): OLC members are invited to access the conference in a new platform that the Online Learning Consortium is beta testing for this conference. Our hope is that you will find the new platform provides easier navigation of conference sessions, access to resources, and more interaction through our virtual exhibit hall. To access via the Beta view:

  • Log in to your OLC User account (that you used to register for the conference)
  • Once logged in, you will see two blue stripes at the top of the page:
    • The top blue stripe provides access in the Classic View. 
    • The bottom blue stripe – for OLC Members only – will take you to our new beta conference platform. We recommend you select this link labeled “Beta Access”. 
  • After you click the link, you will be redirected to the sign in page. Sign in with the email you used to register for the conference.
  • You will then find yourself on the Home page of the beta site.
  • Click on “Sessions” box which takes you to the list of sessions coming up for the day.
  • Click on the session title you wish to view.  (watch the video for many ways to search for a session).  This will open a pop-up box.
  • Click on the red “Attend” button. This will take you to a full session description.
  • Click on the green “Join the Webinar” button.
  • This will launch Zoom and your session will begin at the scheduled time (Eastern Time Zone).
  • If you arrive prior to the session start time, you will see a countdown clock above the “Attend” button. You won’t be able to enter the session room until 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

OLC members: For additional guidance on accessing and navigating sessions in the Beta view, please watch this video: 

Attendees please note: As you enter a session in either “Watch Now” (Classic view) or  “Attend” (Beta view), remember that links will be active 15 minutes before the start of each live-streamed session. Each room does have a maximum capacity of 1000 participants, so we encourage you to arrive a few minutes early to ensure you get a “seat” in the session. If you find that the capacity of the room has been reached, please select another session to attend during that time block and come back to view the on-demand recording at a later date. 

Presenters and session chairs please note: You will enter your assigned presentation room the same way you would enter a session as an attendee, depending on which system (Classic or Beta) you are using. Please plan on entering your presentation room 10-15 minutes before the scheduled start time (as soon as the link is available).