Conference Co-Chair Welcome

We extend to you a warm and enthusiastic welcome to the 10th anniversary of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Innovate Conference. This year’s  conference, taking place April 1 – 3, 2025 promises to be an extraordinary event filled with opportunities to network, collaborate and learn from one another. 

As our academic institutions harmonize with the ever-changing rhythm of higher education, OLC Innovate 2025 strikes a chord for individuals of all backgrounds and experience levels. We invite you to partake in a dynamic exchange of best practices, the exploration of new ideas, and collaborative efforts aimed at supporting, enhancing, and revolutionizing online, blended, and digital education. Like the diverse elements that come together to create a harmonious composition, our conference will craft a melody of innovation that echoes through the future of education.

In our tenth year of hosting #OLCInnovate, we invite you to embark on a transformative journey:

1. Inclusivity: Envision yourself participating in a myriad of conference opportunities. Immerse yourself in unique session formats, experiential workshops, topic-based summits, and numerous engagement avenues.
2. Inspiration: Delve into a rich array of workshops, presentations, and conference sessions spanning a diverse range of topics designed to educate, challenge, and inspire you.
3. Engagement: Connect with attendees from around the globe to exchange ideas, tackle shared challenges, unearth new opportunities, and collectively dream up innovative solutions.
4. Challenges: Reflect upon and consider fresh perspectives, opportunities, and lessons shared by our diverse array of presenters, sponsors, and keynote speakers. Access both advanced and novel practices to bolster online, digital, and blended learning.
5. Transformation: Prepare to craft strategies and solutions that will impact and influence the current landscape of online and blended learning. Contemplate future possibilities and opportunities for online and blended learners. Celebrate your participation in this newly forged professional learning network.

We wholeheartedly encourage you to engage proactively, taking full advantage of the myriad opportunities available both before, during and after the onsite conference. Whether this is your first or tenth #OLCInnovate, we invite you to be an active participant and contributor. Consider enrolling in the Field Guide program, accessing our range of conference services, participating in the inaugural Design Sprint sessions, and connecting with fellow attendees during our crowd-sourced Engagement Sessions that are unlike any networking events you see at other conferences.  We are confident that these initiatives will lead to valuable interactions with colleagues who are here to collaborate, share, and learn alongside you. The Innovate Conference’s enduring legacy extends beyond our collaborative learning experience onsite, fostering relationships that flourish long after our time together concludes. Moreover, please ensure you are signed up for conference updates and peruse our conference website for a comprehensive overview of the exciting experiences that OLC Innovate has in store.

In closing, we applaud the dedicated members and volunteers of the OLC and MERLOT communities who’ve orchestrated the perfect harmony for the #OLCInnovate experience.  Just as every great song finds its rhythm in collaboration and creativity, we hope you’ll find your own verse in this ongoing symphony of innovation. After all, as the legendary Johnny Cash once sang, ‘I walk the line’—and together, we’ll walk the line toward the future of education, one inspired note at a time.

Warm regards,

Conference Chair, Allison Rief, University of Arizona Global Campus

Executive Conference Co-Chair, Dr. Jennifer Mathes