Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash As I traverse the snowy Midwest plains at 550 MPH and 35,000 ft. on my way from Denver to Orlando for #OLCAccelerate 2018, I’m reminded (by way of turbulence and cheap pretzels) of the importance Read More >
Archives - November, 2018
As your OLC Innovate 2018 Conference Co-Chair Emerita, we’ve spent much time brokering meaningful connections between colleagues, and carving new channels for initiatives and opportunities for engagement. We’ve done it (and luckily, continue to get to do it) with genuine passion and joy. And yet, when we share with folks that the two of us are introverts to the bone, we are often met with consternation and protests. How is it possible that two gregarious and earnest colleagues might lead this double-life as introvert connectors?
To kick off OLC Accelerate Live, John Stewart (Assistant Director for the Office of Digital Learning at the University of Oklahoma) interviewed Prof. Jean Twenge a couple of weeks ago about her recent book iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood–and What That Means for the Rest of Us. Prof. Twenge teaches in the Department of Psychology at San Diego State University and is going to be one of the keynote speakers at OLC Accelerate this November.
How would you like to participate in a fun virtual contest utilizing Twitter, Slack, virtual bots, video announcements, and online apps to win prizes? The OLC Social Engagement Contest allows OLC Field Guide participants the opportunity to engage across multiple social channels to win prizes and be recognized at the OLC Accelerate Field Guide Kickoff lunch (4 winners will receive $25 OLC gift cards!)
When it comes to opportunity, there’s much more than meets the eye for OLC Accelerate attendees. The formal sessions, while vitally important as the foundational conference scaffold, need to be viewed as supplements and mental catalysts within a much wider network of potential for connection and engagement. The OLC leadership team has worked tirelessly to envision a four-day experience, not just a conference.
One distinctive characteristic of the Online Learning Consortium’s conferences is the organization’s support for members who want to experiment with new ideas to continually improve the attendee experience. Last year, OLC launched a new social engagement program at OLC Accelerate called the Field Guide program, and thanks to popular demand, we’re happy to announce that it will return this year.
After attending OLC conferences for several years, I had become well-versed in both online learning and also in the variety of conferences in our field and was able to start identifying clear-cut features for the conferences I liked. Here are some of the most beneficial conference features that I’ve found during my almost two decades in the field of online and digital learning: