About | Schedule | Committee Members
How do we within our various contexts and environments work to promote equity and access to learning through digital transformation? What are the practices, processes and connections that must be created to better meet the needs of our learners in local and global contexts? Welcome to OLC’s Online International Summit, an online convening spanning time zones and continents bringing together thought leaders and practitioners around the concept of digital transformation.
International Summit Speakers
Moderators
- Angela Gunder, Online Learning Consortium (moderator)
- Gerry Hanley, California State University – Long Beach & MERLOT (session chair)
Presenters
- Heather Farmakis, Texas International Education Consortium
- Clark Shah-Nelson, University of Maryland-Baltimore
- Maddie Shellgren, Online Learning Consortium
- Rassie Louw, North-West University
Schedule
The International Summit is open to all OLC Innovate participants and held in three parts on Thursday, March 18. Attendees can attend one or all of the sessions, and are encouraged to bring colleagues from their leadership teams to attend as a connected cohort across the event.
All sessions listed in Central Time Zone.
Part 1: March 18, 9:00am – 9:45am US CT
A Case Study for Reimaging and Responding to Education Globally
The Texas International Education Consortium responded to the disruption of the pandemic by harnessing expertise and networks across Texas in online programming, to collaboratively build capacity at institutions in Ghana, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates.
Presenter:
- Heather Farmakis, Texas International Education Consortium
Part 2: March 18, 10:15am – 11:00am US CT
Open Educational Pathways to Digital Transformation
As the world looks to address ubiquitous challenges to access to education in both global and local contexts, open education continues to serve as a powerful pedagogy and practice for creating sustainable and impactful change. This session will focus on creating and implementing a culture of digital transformation in online, blended and flexible learning across the globe through critical open educational practices. The presenters will revisit the findings from the 2019 OLC Accelerate Online International Summit on Openness, sharing what was learned, where we’ve gone since, and what new opportunities emerge ahead.
Presenters:
- Angela Gunder, Online Learning Consortium
- Clark Shah-Nelson, University of Maryland-Baltimore
Part 3: March 18, 12:45pm – 1:30pm US CT
This session will focus on digital learning leadership in international contexts, particularly strategy and operations for ensuring equitable and inclusive access to education.
Presenters:
- Maddie Shellgren, Online Learning Consortium
- Rassie Louw, North-West University
Registration
Registration for this event is included in your conference registration – there are no additional steps to register for these sessions other than your general conference registration. All sessions will be available for on-demand viewing for one (1) year post-conference.
More Information
Please contact Angela Gunder at angela.gunder@onlinelearning-c.org with any questions.
Planning Committee

