OLC Innovate 2021 - Pre-conference Workshops

The Online Learning Consortium prides itself on bringing together amazing session presenters engaged in rich online engagement on leading-edge topics in the field of online, blended and digital learning. As a way to extend the conference experience, the pre-conference workshops were created to give participants the chance to engage deeply in effective practices and methods critical to supporting quality teaching, learning and leadership. These master classes are facilitated by thought leaders in our field, and designed to provide you with actionable and impactful strategies that you can immediately apply to your teaching and learning contexts.

The workshop topics selected this year were directly guided by the most widely discussed topics and themes from the OLC Accelerate 2020 Conference held last November:

Readiness for Online: Innovative and creative teaching practices in the online learning environment
Design Principles: Leveraging visual communications to promote accessible learning design
Student Support: Transforming our approaches to student success to improve outcomes for all learners
Quality: Methods for ensuring quality online learning across courses, programs and institutions

OLC Innovate 2021 pre-conference workshops are 3 hour events, held Friday, March 12, 2021 from 9:00am-12:00pm or 1:00pm-4:00pm Central Time Zone (CT). Pre-conference workshops are available for an additional fee and are conducted live with additional on-demand viewing available for one (1) year post-conference to attendees registered for a particular workshop.

Individual Session Descriptions

AM Workshops (9:00am – 12:00pm CT)

Maslow Before Bloom: Effective Practices For Humanizing eLearning – Student Support

Presenters: Angela Gibson (Texas A & M University – Kingsville), Madison Hanson (University of St Augustine for Health Sciences)

This workshop will focus on Maslow Before Bloom, a humanization of the online learning experience to increase student efficacy and instructional practices. Our workshop is for those new(er) to online teaching and learning as well as those looking to sharpen their current skill set.

During the workshop we will examine how the integration and application of humanistic educational theory and effective practices promotes and strengthens learning and success. Participants will engage in reflection on how using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in dominance over and in conjunction with Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning in digital learning environments increases efficacy in humanizing learning. The workshop will engage participants in discussion and activities to create connections and community through learning conversations. Additionally, participants will produce a new strategy, objective, and/or asset based on the synthesis of the information to then apply in their service to others.

Quality Assurance: Implementing The OLC Quality Scorecard For The Administration Of Online Programs – Quality

Presenter: Kaye Shelton (Lamar University: Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Global))

No matter the age of your online program, program assessment is a core element for continuous improvement. The (OLC) Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Programs is widely used to evaluate and demonstrate levels of quality in programs as it guides a systematic review of an online academic program.

Affordable Learning Solutions For HBCUs: Sharing Practices, Tools, And Resources – Part 1

Presenters: Gerry Hanley (California State University – Long Beach/ MERLOT/ SkillsCommons) (Moderator), Robbie Melton (HBCUs – Tennessee State University)

The 5th Annual Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$) for HBCUs workshop will feature HBCU faculty, staff, and administrators sharing their practices for supporting faculty changing to no-cost and low-cost digital course materials, including OER, and saving students thousands of dollars. The workshop will include demonstrations and practice using MERLOT and SkillsCommons to support adopting no-cost course materials as well guidelines for planning your own AL$ program for your own campus.

AM Workshop (10:00am – 12:00pm CT)

AnnotatED: Making Reading Active, Visible And Social With Collaborative Annotation

Presenters: Jeremy Dean (Hypothesis), Nate Angell (Hypothesis), Jeremiah Kalir (University of Colorado Denver), Rajiv Jhangiani (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)

In collaboration with the Online Learning Consortium, MERLOT and AnnotatED, the community for annotation in education, Hypothesis is convening a workshop on collaborative annotation at OLC Innovate 2021. The workshop will start with a quick orientation to collaborative annotation for social reading: What is it, and how are people using it to enrich online learning?

Then we’ll shift to a hands-on activity to explore, discuss, and augment readings on topics shaped by OLC Innovate 2020 keynoter Rajiv Jhangiani. We’ll practice reading together to see firsthand how social annotation can build understanding, connections, and community. Our conversations will be anchored in texts — literally — and spread out to engage other texts, ideas, and people beyond the workshop itself.

The second half of the workshop will combine with a special edition of Liquid Margins, the show where we gather to talk about collaborative annotation, social learning, and other ways we make knowledge together. You’ll join episode 20, “Making Sense of Science With Social Annotation,” to meet up with educators using social annotation to help students read, interpret, and comment on scientific texts — and share their “findings” with each other. Hypothesis scholar in residence Remi Kalir will moderate a conversation with Erin McKenney, Assistant Professor of Applied Ecology, and Carlos Goller, Associate Teaching Professor, both from North Carolina State University; and Melissa McCartney, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Florida International University and the Director of Research at Science in the Classroom, an AAAS program that helps students learn to read real-world scientific literature. Read more about the AnnotatED Workshop in the Hypothes.is blog.

To participate in this workshop, please register online.

PM Workshops (1:00pm – 4:00pm CT)

Strategies To Incorporate Active Learning Into Your Online/Hybrid Course – Readiness for Online

Presenter: Tazin Daniels (The Pedagologist)

Searching for a fun way to end your week and launch your OLC Innovate experience? Look no further! Whether you’re new to the OLC or been with us for years, join us for light networking and insider tips into how to get the most out of your online conference experience. We’ll show you tips and tricks for engaging with Zoom, and crowdsource ideas for how you might run virtual networking in your own contexts. And of course, you’ll leave with new connections and friends to navigate your OLC Innovate experience with.

Boldly Awakening The Ordinary (4.0): Designing For Human-Centered Learning – Design Principles

Presenters: Ben Scragg (Arizona State University), Adam Croom (University of Oklahoma)

In this DIY-style workshop, you’ll explore the deep connections that digital learning has to design theory. Much more than a sit-and-get session, presenters will introduce open-source (free!) tools and the collective genius in the room to reimagine and redesign learning materials, processes, experiences and even systems. Come explore fundamental design considerations you can use to create engaging learning experiences, and get a treasure trove of resources and tools to take home!

Affordable Learning Solutions For HBCUs: Sharing Practices, Tools, And Resources – Part 2

Presenters: Gerry Hanley (California State University – Long Beach/ MERLOT/ SkillsCommons) (Moderator), Robbie Melton (HBCUs – Tennessee State University)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add a pre-conference workshop to my existing registration?

Log in to your OLC user account: https://my.onlinelearningconsortium.org/s/login/
From the event registration page, select “Manage my Registration”
Select the “…” dropdown button next to your attendee record
Select “Purchase New Sessions” from the dropdown
Select the pre-conference workshop you will like to add to your registration
Continue the checkout process to complete your purchase
If you have any difficulties, please contact conference@onlinelearning-c.org for assistance.

Is there an additional cost for the pre-conference workshops?
Pre-conference workshops are $125 each.

Is there a discount for taking multiple workshops?
Yes, you may participate in any two ½ day OLC pre-conference workshops and save on the combined cost. The combination package price is $220.

Both pre-conference workshops I’m interested in are held at the same time. Can I still sign up for both?
Yes, you may participate in two or more OLC pre-conference workshops. If two are held at the same time, you would be able to attend one live and watch the other one on-demand. All pre-conference workshops will be available for on-demand viewing for one (1) year post-conference to registered attendees of each particular workshop.