Welcome to the Technology Test Kitchen

About  | Engage |  Escape Room | Schedule | Meet the Team 

 

The Technology Test Kitchen (TTK) is created to deliver hands-on learning experiences that will boost your online/digital teaching and learning endeavors. This year, the TTK team has gone above and beyond in designing unique programming for both our virtual and onsite conference attendees. Across both spaces, the TTK-AC21 invites you on an adventure through space. On this adventure, you will have meaningful engagement through fun and interactive technology ideas. The mix of synchronous and asynchronous options will challenge you to collaborate while engaging with the conference and various technology tools and techniques. While some of the technologies may be familiar to you, the TTK chefs will provide unique and fun examples of tools so you can see them in action and adopt them in your practice. Here in the TTK, you find tips and tricks to unleash your creativity and foster your imagination through exploration, discovery, innovation, and collaboration. You can engage in the TTK individually and in groups (based on your preferences) and learn from the models presented by our chefs as well as from each other.

This year we welcome back two popular programs for our onsite engagement experience: the OLC Escape Room with all its wicked puzzles, challenging codes, and mysterious messages, and the sizzling, fiery pedagogical competition that is the Iron Chef Battles. Along with the informative and engaging Chef Demos and the tantalizingly engaging virtual TTK experience that our TTK team has prepared for you, this year’s Technology Test Kitchen will be one you don’t want to miss!

• TTK Chefs will be readily available and eager to offer support and answer questions to all attendees – no question is too small, just ask! 
• Collaboration and communication are major focus in the TTK and you join us to share your thoughts and some laughter as you build new relationships with other OLC “space travelers.”
• Whether it’s stepping foot into the immersive virtual spaceship or attending the spotlight session the TTK will provide an innovative and engaging opportunity to learn about new tools and practical use cases.
• Get in on the ground floor with featured tech and best practices that are heavily influenced by established research and emerging technology explorations. 
• Network with other space and technology enthusiasts, meet the space chickens  and share your research ideas on tools and tech that you use in your everyday practice.

Engaging with the TTK

Asynchronous Engagement

If you have visited the TTK in the past, you are used to hands-on activities and opportunities to collaborate with colleagues.  While things might look a little different this year, the idea behind the Test Kitchen is still the same.  It is a space for you to pop in and out, test new technologies, and learn how to best integrate them into your current role.  Our wonderful TTK team has developed a series of activities for you to try as you engage with new technologies and connect with your peers.  Check out the brief descriptions below to get a small taste of what you can expect to see when you venture into the TTK.

Code-Free eLearning Design in Bits and Bytes!

PowerPoint presentations are the staple of instruction at every level. What if you were able to implement and showcase a new technique with every PowerPoint display you created? Well, doing that, IZEASY! Explore the code-free design principles in IZEASY and create SCORMS to welcome students with whimsey or wonder. Wow audiences, and keep participants interested by using simple steps. Rummage through the files on your drives and let’s revamp and recreate together.

Interactive Videos

Are you creating video recordings or looking for some new tips and tricks on how to bring engagement and interactivity to your teaching and learning materials? The TTK chefs will share some ideas on using Camtasia and PlayPosit to make your content shine. 

Embeddable Widgets

Looking for ways to integrate some unique and open sourced interactive widgets? Check out the materials on Materia to see how you can get started using the tools in your LMS at your institution! 

Social Learning

Join us for an experiment in social learning as we explore Padlet as a tool to connect, collaborate and learn from and about one another.

Create a Virtual Tour

One of the benefits of online learning is being able to go anywhere in the world without leaving your computer screen — even into deep space!  Learn how to enhance that experience for students using ThingLink. 

Synchronous Engagement and Onsite Chef Demos

And if you are looking for opportunities to connect with the TTK live, we invite you to join us for some fun and games, and learning, of course.  Check out the schedule below to connect with us!

See if you have what it takes to complete the OLC Accelerate’s 2021 Escape Room

In the spirit of constructivist learning, the Technology Test Kitchen will feature an EdTech themed Escape Room event!

For those conference attendees who are looking for something exciting and adventurous, we invite you to join others in completing OLC Accelerate’s 2021 Escape Room (#OLCEscapeRoom) – a fun challenge and puzzle-based experience that unites participants around collaboration and strategy. Participants will have the option to choose between four 30-minute time slots, which run between 8:30am -11:30am.

Escape Rooms are collaborative experiences where participants work together to solve a series of puzzles, challenges, riddles, or mysteries using clues, hints, and intentional strategy. They often feature a specific theme and a particular set of objectives that require participants to work as a team if they hope to complete the challenge in time. 

The OLC Escape Room will allow conference participants a fun and unique space to not only engage with a variety of educational technologies, but do so in a themed, challenge-based environment with others. Challenges might include finding a hidden code within a database to unlock a presentation, navigating through a virtual or augmented reality to receive your next clue, using distance-learning technologies to communicate with your teammates, or completing a circuit to turn on a device, among others. That said, they will all be fun, practical, and representative of the types of teaching and learning challenges that educators face in their day-to-day lives.  

And if an opportunity for some fun and collaborative learning wasn’t enough, each member of the winning team (max 10 members per team) will receive a $25 OLC gift card and some fun OLC swag!

You can plan to join us as an individual, pair, or part of an existing group – all are welcome. We have a limited number of spots available – so make sure to plan early!

 

Escape Room is Sponsored by

          

 

TTK Schedule of Sessions

Note: All times are listed in US Eastern Time Zone

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

 

 

Meet the Team

		Cody House, Co-Chair Cody House serves as the Director of Online Learning and Instructional Technology in the College of Professional Studies (CPS) at The George Washington University (GW). He is currently working on his Ed.D. in the Curriculum and Instruction program through the Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD) at GW. When he is not doing schoolwork or supporting CPS he enjoys spending time with his family (year-and-half-old daughter — Ruthie), playing golf, running, and collecting bourbon.
		Florence Williams, Co-Chair Florence Williams works as an instructional designer at the University of Central Florida, where she is a newbie on the team, having joined amidst pandemic restructuring in 2020. In her role, she engages in pedagogical faculty support. Additionally, her work with faculty includes faculty coaching, mentoring, and design and development of online and blended courses. Affectionately called “Dr. Flo” by past students and colleagues, Florence has worked in several faculty development roles since 2006 to promote quality technology and curriculum integration. Her research interests include emerging technology and its benefits for teaching and learning. Outside of work, Flo volunteers with Big Brother Big Sister of Tampa Bay and loves to spend time camping, hiking, and kayaking in the state parks on Florida’s Adventure Coast.
		Arianna Davis Arianna holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications -Electronic Media from the University of North Florida and is currently pursuing her M.S. in Digital Forensics at the University of Central Florida. Arianna has always enjoyed all things involving media and technology from videography to video games. In 2013, she began working at the Florida Institute of Technology as the Media Production Manager I for the Continuing Education department where she managed a studio responsible for all video creation for their online courses. In 2015, she was promoted to Media Production Manager II for the Information Technology department where she managed instructional video operations on campus as well as live events and digital signage. In 2017, she headed inland to work for UCF’s Center for Distributed Learning as a Web Project Manager Assistant. She now manages the Faculty Multimedia Center at UCF, a space designed to empower and train faculty on how to use innovative technology and media in their courses.
		Shaun Moore Dr. Shaun Moore is the Director of e-Learning and Instructional Support at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, where he earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, with a specialization in Higher Education. Along with his staff position, he is a part-time faculty in the School of Business. Shaun was named Oakland County Executive Elite 40 Under 40, class of 2017, and won the Excellence in Teaching Award at Oakland University in 2021. His research in online learning in higher education has taken him across the country to present at national conferences. His current research focuses are quality online education and best practices in faculty development, the role of instructional designers, and virtual reality in higher education.
		Drew Santorello Drew Santorello is the Senior Multimedia Producer in the College of Professional Studies (CPS) at The George Washington University (GW). He works directly with a team of instructional designers and faculty to produce different types of multimedia for online higher ed courses. Drew earned his Master of Fine Arts in Television Production from CUNY Brooklyn College in 2012 and just recently graduated from the GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development with a Master’s focused on Educational Technology Leadership. When off the clock Drew enjoys spending time with family especially his children (4yo and 1yo), photography and hitting the gym!
		Margo Williams Margo Williams is a Senior Instructional Designer at Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering (JHU-WSE). She has spent her career working as an instructional designer in different industries, the past ten years in higher education. In her role at JHU-WSE, Margo supports the development of online courses through instructional design and faculty development, but also is a champion of various edtech tools. Margo earned a Master’s degree in Human-Centered Computing from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), which she has used to help design various digital platforms to support her team’s internal and external needs, including a custom Blackboard course design that pushes the limits of what that platform can achieve. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, gardening, and horseback riding.

 

Technology Test Kitchen Sponsored by