Anyone can watch Live on YouTube or OLC Innovate attendees can add the session to your schedule to participate in the Q&A.

The OLC Awards Gala marks a night of virtual splendor and ceremony as we celebrate the achievements, elevate the innovations, and honor the commitments of this year’s OLC and MERLOT award recipients. With over 10 distinct awards to distribute, we are privileged to have these leaders join us on the virtual stage as we thank them for their dedication to quality online, digital, and blended learning, and engage them in dialogue on their perspectives on what’s to come.  In line with the celebratory nature of the session, we invite you, should you choose, to select your most festive Zoom attire (haven’t we all been looking for an excuse to dress up?), prepare a celebratory beverage or snacks, and join us for an enlightening evening filled with accolades and conversations featuring some of the amazing individuals in our field!

 

Schedule for Monday, March 15,
6:45 PM to 8:45 PM Central

The OLC Awards Gala will be held on Monday, March 15 from 6:45 – 8:45 PM CENTRAL TIME. Note that this gala is open to the entire community to attend, regardless of whether you are attending OLC Innovate.

Those who are registered can add this to their session schedule. Those who are not registered can watch live on YouTube.

Feel free to invite your colleagues to join in on this event in celebration of our award winners. Additionally, if you are inspired by the OLC Awards Gala, and would like to register to attend the rest of the conference, you can do so here.

6:45pm – 6:55pm US CT
Room opens, social time

7:00pm – 7:10pm US CT
Welcome Remarks

Speakers:

  • Dr. Jennifer Mathes, Online Learning Consortium
  • Dr. Gerry Hanley, MERLOT
  • Mary Niemiec, Online Learning Consortium Board President

7:10 pm – 7:35pm US CT
MERLOT Awards

Join us to celebrate the hard work and incredible impact of our open educators as we announce the 2021 MERLOT Award winners!

Speaker:

  • Jane Moore, MERLOT

7:35pm – 8:15pm US CT
2021 As A Year of Hopes and Hesitations, A Panel Conversation with Our Award Winners

Join our 2021 award winners in a lively panel conversation about what we learned from 2020, what we see for 2021, and what we hope will come to pass in the field of higher education.

  • Moderated by Angela Gunder, Online Learning Consortium

8:15pm – 8:45pm US CT
2021 As A Year of Hopes and Hesitations, A Panel Conversation with Our Award Winners

Join our 2021 award winners in a lively panel conversation about what we learned from 2020, what we see for 2021, and what we hope will come to pass in the field of higher education.

 

 

Sponsored by

 

2021 OLC Innovate Award Recipients

Effective Practice Award Winners

  • Dr. Sean Nufer of TCS Education and Dr. Veronica Estrada of Pacific Oaks College for the School of Human Development

    • Drs. Nufer and Estrada were awarded an effective practice recognition for their work in re-imagining how online discussion forums can connect with students. “We worked zealously to completely revitalize the current model for online discussions – which involves having students reply to a discussion prompt and then respond to other students throughout the week. Online students are bombarded with discussion assignments. We began looking at our institutional and accreditation competencies, evaluating our assessment rubrics, and dismantling the instructional design components and Bloom’s taxonomy to unmask the fundamental elements of our discussion activities. Which components are essential, which are busy work or perfunctory seat time, and most importantly, where can we introduce innovation?”

  • Erin Blauvelt and Loretta Driskel of Clarkson University

    • Blauvelt and Driskel were awarded an effective practice recognition for their work on RISE: Reframing Instruction for Success Everywhere at Clarkson University. “The RISE workshop enabled instructors to confidently offer their courses in online and blended formats, which provided access for students that normally would not have been able to participate in classes this term, as they were unable to be on campus for various reasons. It also provided the instructors that were unable to come to campus for various health reasons to be empowered to offer their courses fully online, retaining valuable faculty.”

Equity and Inclusion Scholarship Winners

  • Dr. Diana Ruggiero, University of Memphis

    • From a letter of recommendation, “Dr. Ruggiero’s background is diverse and has helped shape her way of thinking, and interests in community based learning. Equity and diversity are the center of her teaching, scholarly activity, and service at her institution, and in her life. Attending any webinar she may give is an amazing cultural experience, since she brings in her own personal life, her background, her experiences and knowledge. I have never seen a
      presenter who engages her audience so much in her presentations than Dr. Ruggiero.”

  • Dr. Yuliana Kenfield, Western Oregon University

    • From a letter of recommendation, “Dr. Kenfield has the heart, compassion and understanding of what equity and inclusion means. I can think of one time in particular when a Deaf student in her course preferred sign language interpreters for the video lectures. Dr. Kenfield communicated regularly with our office to ensure sign language interpreters were available when she made her class recordings so the Deaf student in her class would have equitable access to the information just like the hearing students.”

Special thanks to our 2021 OLC Innovate Awards Judges

  • Lead Judge: Dr. Angela Gibson, Texas A&M University, Kingsville
  • Tonya Bennett, University of Pennsylvania
  • Nick Noel, Michigan State University
  • Katie Schuster, Online Learning Consortium
  • Dr. Ryan Straight, University of Arizona