OLC Accelerate 2021 - Field Guide Program

About  |  Crews  |  Engagement Maps  |  Power Hour  |  Committee

 

New to OLC Accelerate? Interested in connecting with others to discuss particular topics like instructional design, OER, DEI, faculty development, emerging technologies or digital literacy before, during, and after the conference? The OLC 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.

Join Field Guides to make connections, navigate the conference, and extend the conversation beyond attending sessions. Field Guide volunteers will lead interest-specific Crews, host post-session debrief conversations, and be available to answer questions and help you plan your conference experience! 

There are two ways you can help – become a Crew Lead or build an Engagement Map!

The Accelerate OLC Field Guide program is designed to enhance both the virtual and onsite conference experience for first-time conference attendees and for anyone looking for additional networking opportunities at OLC conferences. A visit to the Field Guides Slack Channel will help you learn more about the OLC Community and introduce a variety of synchronous and asynchronous opportunities for you to build connections by engaging with others, all the while sharing stories of the positive impact being a part of OLC can have on your practice! Core facets of Field Guide offerings include things you might recognize from the past, like Engagement Maps to help you plan out your conference experience and a Power Hour to orient you to the Field Guide Station and get your conference bearings. This year, the Field Guides will be offering two additional programs:

1. Crews. These are groups of conference attendees clustered by interest, facilitated by a “Crew Leader” for ongoing check-ins and community building.
2. Crew Gatherings. These are synchronous and asynchronous opportunities to connect with others, share ideas, and make your plan of action. 

You’ll select a group that aligns with your interests, have an opportunity to meet other participants, and join a cohort of colleagues dedicated to both navigating OLC Accelerate together and co-constructing a meaningful learning experience. Crews will be facilitated by “Crew Leaders” (i.e. Field Guides), who will share updates, offer moments for the group to gather, and provide a crew-specific virtual background (for Zoom sessions) and a “frame” for social media engagement.

To kick this exciting program off, we’ll be gathering around 5 major areas of focus. Some of these are role-based, others are topic-based, but each will be a great way to build community with others who share those interests/experiences. If you notice similarities between this list and the Engagement Map list, you are correct! We’ve intentionally aligned the Crews to the Engagement Maps to build in additional points of cohesion and connection for your 2021 OLC Accelerate experience. Don’t feel like joining a crew? No worries, you can still participate in the activities and gatherings that suit your interests.

Join a Crew today by completing the Crew Sign-Up Form!

We’ll be leading Crews around the following five interest areas this year:

• Instructional Designers
• Allies (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion)
• “New” to Online (for those still relatively new to online, blended, remote, etc.)
• Community & Two-Year Colleges
• Gameful (also gamified, game-based, etc.)

Not sure which Crew is the best fit for you? Spend some time reviewing the descriptions to learn more about each of these unique Crews.

 

Engagement Maps

Engagement Maps are curated conference guides centered around a popular theme or movement in the world of online, blended, and digital learning. These maps, crafted by seasoned conference volunteers, are pathways or routes to navigate the conference. As an attendee, you might choose to follow a given engagement map based on your interests and professional development needs.

As you will see when you engage with the maps, you can view either the primary / main map or engage with the personalized maps developed by each map creator. There you will find their personal stories and learn a little more about their process for developing a given map. Regardless, each map creator was tasked with helping to design custom pathways for your conference journey.

Ready to get started? Take a look at the topics you can engage in and across during this year’s OLC Accelerate and click on the trail names below to access the Engagement Maps (linked via individual Google Sheets).

Please notice that several of the Engagement Maps align to the Innovation Crews; this was intentional. That said, you don’t have to join an Innovation Crew to engage with those particular Engagement Maps. Likewise, if you have jumped in and joined an Innovation Crew, this message is for you: “Don’t feel obligated to stick to your crew’s pathway!” We encourage you to explore and try-out any number of Engagement Maps you wish.

• “New” to Online
• Administrators
• Community and 2-Year Colleges
• Emergency Preparedness
• Equity and Inclusion
• Gameful
• Instructional Designers
• Instructional Technologists
• Instructors
• Researchers
• Students

 

Power Hour: Getting Your Bearings

POWER HOUR: GETTING YOUR BEARINGS
Join your volunteer Field Guides and other conference attendees for the synchronous Field Guide Power Hour, where they will help you plan your conference experiences based on your areas of interest, help you connect with a Crew, and create an OLC Accelerate engagement 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 virtual social activities, train you on the use of the OLC Accelerate Virtual conference venue and website, and point out Engagement Maps designed to help with your program planning. We will also discuss what sessions will be live streamed from the onsite conference in October, to which all virtual attendees will have access. Throughout the conference, you can access a collection of asynchronous informational videos and artifacts in PlayPosit, aimed at helping answer your conference going queries. We’ll also discuss the variety of ways to participate virtually – including Slack and Twitter! Meet old friends, make new acquaintances, and plan your schedule. We can’t wait to see you there!

 

Schedule

Note: All times are listed in US Eastern Time Zone

Questions? Contact us at conference@onlinelearning-c.org.

 

 

Committee Members 

 

		Katrina Wehr Katrina Wehr is an educator and instructional designer who enjoys working with other educators to reduce barriers in online learning environments and improve learning experiences for students. In addition to pursuing a doctorate in Learning, Design, and Technology, Katrina works at the College of Arts & Architecture at Penn State and is interested in researching how hands-on disciplines in the arts and trades can be taught and learned in online environments.
		Jason Reed Jason is a Program Manager and Assistant Professor of information technology at the State College of Florida.  He enjoys researching, testing, and deploying new technologies in the classroom to further engage students and help facilitate learning.  He is passionate about finding and testing new technology to enrich people’s lives and sharing it with his students, co-workers or anyone who will listen.

 

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