OLC Innovate FAQ

For detailed information about the conference, please visit the 2021 schedule page. The pages under the Program and Engagement tabs will be updated regularly as information becomes available.

If you have any questions that are not addressed on the Web site, please send an e-mail to conference@onlinelearning-c.org.

From “Register” tab on the conference website, please follow the registration prompts. You must register using our website; we are unable to accept paper or email registrations.

If you are not able to attend virtually, you may substitute another individual in your place (one time) at no additional fee before the start of the conference. The name and email address of the substitute must be emailed to The Online Learning Consortium.  Refunds will be made to the original form of payment for the event when possible (i.e., credit memo, credit card, or check). If you do not attend the program and do not submit a written refund or credit memo request, The Online Learning Consortium will retain all fees. The Online Learning Consortium is not responsible for any change/cancellation charges assessed by airlines, travel agents, hotels or other similar vendors. Email all cancellation requests, substitutions, and registration questions to conference@onlinelearning-c.org.

For virtual registrations, your member discount is automatically applied if you are logged in to your OLC user account and it is correctly affiliated with your institution. 

For this completely virtual conference, the full program information will be available on the website only, so you can start to plan which sessions you’d like to attend. 

We do not provide “Letters of Invitation” for international attendees to attend our events. Conference participants from other countries must obtain a tourist or student visa on their own merit and not be dependent upon Letters of Invitation from OLC to acknowledge or sponsor their attendance. It is up to the applicant, and the applicant alone, to demonstrate his or her desire and compelling plans to return to their home country after a brief visit in order to qualify for a visa.

Press Passes are available for a limited number of press by invitation only. For more information or questions contact us at marketing@onlinelearning-c.org.

 Detailed directions can be found on our Register page. 

Please review the First Time Attendee FAQ document for additional details that may be helpful to first time conference attendees.

The Effective Practice Awards webpage will be updated to reflect the current selection round. EP recipients will be asked to present their award-winning session during OLC Innovate.  Follow the above link or Submit Here.

Access OLC Innovate virtual-to-virtual sessions starts Monday, March 15 (pre-conference workshops will take place on Friday, March 12). All times are listed in US Central Time zone. All recordings may be accessed for 1 year post-conference. 

Prior to the start of the Virtual Conference:

Most importantly, you should test your system prior to the start of the conference so that you don’t miss the first session due to access issues! It is important that you test the setup of any and all computers you will use to access the virtual conference BEFORE the conference sessions begin. Don’t assume that your computer will work or that if one computer works, a different computer on a different network will work as well.

• You need to be logged into OnlineLearningConsortium.org using your free user account that was required when you registered for this virtual conference.
• Virtual to virtual conference sessions will be held in Zoom. 
• Session times are listed in the US CENTRAL TIME ZONE.
• Plan Ahead: Know which sessions you want to attend and when they are happening. Enter the session up to 10 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 when you enter a session so that the on-site session chair knows you’re there.
• Day of the conference, join links will be active 10-15 minutes before the schedule start time of the session. 

Session times are listed in US Central Time Zone

To access the virtual conference venue:

• Navigate to the OLC website and log into your OLC User account (that you used to register for the conference). 
• Once logged in, click “My Account”
• You will see a blue stripe at the top of your profile dashboard that says “The OLC Innovate 2021 Conference venue is open. Access enhanced venue.” 
• After you select the link, you will be redirected to the venue sign in page. Sign in with the email you used to register for the conference.
• You will be redirected to the Home page of the conference venue.
• From the Home page of the conference venue, select the Today’s Live Sessions button to view the list of sessions coming up for the day or select the On Demand and Full Session Listing button for the complete program listing.
• Select the session title you wish to view. This will open a pop-up box.
• About 10-15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the session, select the “Attend” button. This will take you to a full session description.
• Select the “Join the Session” button to launch the Zoom room. Your session will begin promptly at the scheduled time (US Central Time Zone).
• If you arrive prior to the session is open, you will see a countdown clock above the “Attend” button. You won’t be able to enter the session room until 10-15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
• Remember – Discovery and Exposition Foundry Asynchronous Sessions are held asynchronously and may be viewed at any time.  Clicking on one of these sessions will let you view the the presentation in VoiceThread. Create a free VoiceThread account or log in to your existing VoiceThread account to leave comments or questions for the presenters. 

If you have additional questions, please view the rest of our Virtual Conference FAQs or email conference@onlinelearning-c.org.
We hope you enjoy this virtual event! 

When a virtual attendee registration is complete (paid for) you will receive an email with access instructions. Reminder emails with access instructions will be sent to all attendees as the conference approaches. 

You need to be logged into OnlineLearningConsortium.org using your free user account (this was required when you registered as a virtual attendee for this conference). Step 2: We will use Zoom for all virtual-to-virtual sessions. You can test your system’s compatibility with Zoom using their “test meeting”: https://zoom.us/test 

We recommend you use Chrome as your browser to optimize your virtual conference experience. 

Visit the Virtual Experience page for step-by-step instructions to access our conference event delivery platform. 

If something we are experiencing technical difficulty with the stream, please know that it is still being recorded. If the stream isn’t back after a couple minutes, we recommend switching to watch a different session and watching the recording of the interrupted session at another time. Recordings will be available within 24 hours of sessions ending and you will have access to them for one year. If you have concerns about a particular session, please email conference@onlinelearning-c.org. 

OLC Innovate 2021 is virtual-to-virtual. All times listed will follow the US Central Time Zone.

Yes, all of the live streamed sessions will be recorded and made available for viewing with 24 hours of the presentation. On-demand recordings will be available for up to one (1) year post-conference. Asynchronous sessions are available for on-demand viewing at any time.

Please contact support@onlinelearning-c.org for technical help. First be sure that you are logged in to the OLC conference website with your free user account. You will see in the upper right hand corner of your screen “You are logged in as username”. Please be sure that your internet connection is working. We recommend you use Chrome as your browser to optimize your virtual conference experience. If you still need technical assistance, please email us as stated above.

Each synchronous virtual presentation will have a dedicated OLC staff member and a volunteer session chair who will help introduce and facilitate the discussion with the presenter(s). The session chair will introduce herself/himself to the virtual audience at the beginning of the session. If you have a question or comment, write it in the chat window. Your session chair will relay it to the presenter, either at the end during the Q&A portion, or when/if the presenter pauses to take questions. If you need further clarification, let your session chair know, and s/he will be happy to help.

Please be sure that you are correctly affiliated with your institution in your OLC user account profile. Please contact conference@onlinelearning-c.org for assistance.

Please visit the OLC website, JOIN, and check to be sure your Institution is a Member by selecting: “INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP”. Next, select: Check to see if my institution is already a member.
Once that is verified, please be sure you are affiliated with your institution. In order to become affiliated with the institutional membership your college purchased, you must first create a community account on our website if you do not currently have an account with us. The community account is free. When you complete the form, please be sure to enter the name of your college where indicated on the form. Our database will automatically affiliate your account with the membership.
If you currently have an OLC account, please update your profile to include the name of your college. Again, once that has been done, our database will automatically affiliate your account with the membership.

With a Virtual Group Package you may choose the package that best suits your group’s needs. The options for group packages are outlined on the Register page. 
The Group Manager will register for the appropriate Group Package level. Upon completion of the order (completion means payment by credit card, a check is received, or an institution’s Purchase Order is received), the group manager will receive an email confirmation that includes instructions for registering your group participants. Each group will be assigned a unique link to share with intended registrants. Each individual that intends to participate in the conference must register to have access to the conference content. If the group manager intends to participate, they must also register as an individual using one of the allotted seats in their package. An Unlimited Group Full Virtual Pass applies to only a single campus. For system pricing, please contact us at sales@onlinelearning-c.org for a custom package. More details can be found on the Register page.

From the Register page on our website, select “Register Now.” Your Group Manager should register for the Group Virtual Package. When this order has been completed (paid by credit card or after a check or official purchase order has been received), the group manager will receive a confirmation email with instructions and a unique link to register the rest of their participants. The Group Manager will distribute registration instructions to each of the individual participants from your institution. Each individual (including the group manager if they intend to participate) should register as an individual virtual attendee in order to be considered a registered conference attendee and have access to the conference content.

Please remember – only the group manager will register and pay for the a group package. Each individual participant must register as an individual virtual attendee using the unique link for their group (instructions will be distributed to your group by your group manager). Individual access instructions are sent to the each participant upon completion of their individual registrations. Please be sure your group account is Paid in Full. Access will only be granted when payment is received. If you have questions or concerns, please email conference@onlinelearning-c.org.

Please refer to this copy of the group member registration instructions you received after you registered your group. Your group has been assigned a unique link that can be shared with your intended package participants. Each participant for the virtual conference needs to log in and register through their own OLC user account. 

Your group manager has received registration instructions for your group. Please contact them to obtain registration instructions for individual virtual attendee registration. Once you have received your group’s unique registration link, please complete the form in order to register for the conference. **Note – conference content access is granted only to the owner of the OLC account through which the registration was purchased or completed.