Virtual | April 20-22, 2027
Call for Proposals is Now Open!
Challenge teaching and learning paradigms, reimagine the learning experience, and ideate on the innovative classroom of tomorrow.
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OLC Innovate, a joint conference presented by OLC and MERLOT, provides a path for innovators of all experience levels and backgrounds to share best practices, test new ideas, and collaborate on driving forward online, digital, and blended learning.
Join us virtually April 20-22, 2027 as we challenge our teaching and learning paradigms, reimagine the learning experience, and ideate on how disruptions in education today will shape the innovative classroom of tomorrow.
3:00 – 4:00 pm
First Time Attendee Welcome & Onboarding
8:15 – 8:45 am
*Meditation and Mindfulness
9:00 – 9:45 am
Concurrent Session 1
9:45 – 10:15 am
*Engagement Activity
10:15 – 10:30 am
Express Sessions 1
10:45 – 11:00 am
Express Sessions 2
11:15 am – 12:30 pm
Welcome and Keynote Address
1:00 – 1:45 pm
Concurrent Session 2
1:45 – 2:15 pm
*Engagement Activity
2:15 – 3:00 pm
Concurrent Session 3
3:15 – 4:00 pm
Featured Session
4:15 – 5:00 pm
*Evening Social Event
8:15 – 8:45 am
*Wellness Session
9:00 – 9:45 am
Concurrent Session 1
9:45 – 10:15 am
*Engagement Activity
10:15 – 10:45 am
MERLOT Awards Presentation & Celebration
11:00 – 11:15 am
Express Sessions 1
11:30 am – 12:15 pm
Concurrent Session 2
12:45 – 1:30 pm
Featured Session
1:30 – 2:00 pm
*Engagement Activity
2:15 – 2:30 pm
Express Sessions 2
2:45 – 3:00 pm
Express Sessions 3
3:15 – 4:00 pm
Concurrent Session 3
4:15 – 5:00 pm
Evening Social Event
8:15 – 8:45 am
*Meditation and Mindfulness
9:00 – 9:45 am
Featured Session
9:45 – 10:15 am
*Engagement Activity
10:15 – 11:00 am
Concurrent Session 1
11:15 – 11:30 am
Express Sessions 1
11:45 am – 12:00 pm
Express Sessions 2
12:30 – 1:15 pm
Concurrent Session 2
1:30 – 2:15 pm
Concurrent Session 3
2:15 – 2:45 pm
*OLC Innovate 2027 Virtual Closing Celebration
End of conference. We look forward to seeing everyone this fall in Orlando, FL for OLC Accelerate 2027 (November 15-18, 2027)
This schedule is subject to change.
*Networking opportunities to connect with other attendees in informal social settings with activities.
The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is committed to creating collaborative spaces where educators and learning and development professionals across K-12, higher education, and workforce learning can share their experiences and work together to enhance learning communities and environments.
Expect to be actively involved in sessions at OLC Innovate. From design sprints and express sessions to deep dive workshops and featured sessions with subject matter experts in digital learning, presentations will encourage deep thinking and engagement around relevant topics.
Get more out of your experience by forming meaningful connections and sprouting new collective ideas with the best and brightest in our field. Need help determining which sessions best fit your professional development needs? Our program development team is here to help.
Engagement activities are an important part of our programming at OLC Innovate. Connect with other attendees through lightweight, collaborative activities.
Interested in becoming a sponsor? Generate new prospects, cultivate existing relationships, and build awareness of your brand and products at OLC Innovate 2027.
On behalf of the OLC, we extend our sincere gratitude to our sponsors for their generous support of OLC Innovate 2026. Their contributions play a vital role in making this conference a success, helping us bring together educators, innovators, and thought leaders from around the world to shape the future of digital learning.
Interested in becoming a sponsor? Generate new prospects, cultivate existing relationships, and build awareness of your brand and products at OLC Innovate 2027.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get the latest conference updates, including registration discounts, calls for proposals, and programming announcements.
Registration is Now Open!
OLC Accelerate is the premiere online learning conference showcasing groundbreaking research and highly effective practices in online and digital learning across K-12, higher education, and corporate L&D.
Dear Innovators,
I invite you to join me April 20-22 at Innovate 2027, hosted by the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) and MERLOT. This virtual conference will bring together educators, instructional designers, and leaders of online and digital learning for three transformative days of collaboration, creativity, and connection.
The theme of this year’s conference, Human by Design, reflects a commitment to keeping people at the center of learning. As artificial intelligence continues to change our world and the landscape of education, it is human curiosity and creativity which drive innovation. The intentionality we bring to our work is what sets our efforts apart. At Innovate, we will gather as a community in purposeful dialogue and deliberate strategy about how to fuse the best of humanity with modern learning.
This year’s conference promises insightful keynotes, inspiring sessions, and innumerable ideas to ignite your imagination – the name of the conference is Innovate, after all! The secret magic of each OLC conference is our community, and Innovate invites us to gather together while still miles apart. The connections are real. The ideas are profound. And the stakes have never been higher for learners and educators alike. Join us as we share research and reflections, buoyed by a passion for what is possible.
I look forward to seeing you online this April, Innovators!
Conference Chair
Mary Beth Messner
Catawba College
Executive Conference Chair
Dylan Barth, Ph.D.
OLC
MERLOT Executive Chair
Gerry Hanley
MERLOT
Hello Innovators,
Welcome to OLC Innovate 2027! Whether this is your first Innovate conference or you have been part of the OLC community for years, we are so glad you are here. This gathering is more than a virtual conference. It is a space where ideas take root, collaborations begin, and the future of digital learning takes shape.
This year’s theme, “Illuminate the Future: Envisioning our Next Era of Digital Learning,” captures the energy we hope carries you through the days ahead. Together, we will explore emerging technologies, navigate the fast pace of change our field knows so well, and rethink what it means to teach and learn in digital spaces. Those of us doing this work understand the effort behind it: the intentional course design, the faculty conversations, the steady balancing of innovation with what truly serves students. That shared experience is exactly what makes this community worth showing up for.
This year’s conference features engaging tracks spotlighting:
Each session has moved through a rigorous peer-review process, which means you are learning from some of the most thoughtful, creative minds in our field. We have built the program around a variety of formats, so there is truly something for everyone:
We have also worked to make this program reflect the inclusive, accessible practices we champion on our own campuses. This is a space designed for everyone to fully participate, because modeling that commitment matters as much as talking about it.
If you are planning to present this year, we look forward to receiving your proposal. The OLC Presenter Services team has gathered resources to help you shine, including Submitter FAQs and other excellent materials to support you in developing your strongest proposal.
Above all, Innovate is about connection. It is about learning from one another and carrying bold ideas back to the real classrooms, real faculty, and real learners who make this work meaningful. Innovation matters most when it reaches them. Thank you for bringing your energy, your expertise, and your passion to this space.
Here’s to an inspiring, collaborative, and unforgettable OLC Innovate 2027! We cannot wait to see the innovation you will bring to the table.
See you in April!
Program Chair
Jessica Higdon, Ed.D.
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina