OLC Innovate 2017: Education Reimagined – A Joint Conference Presented by OLC and MERLOT
The second annual OLC Innovate conference, held April 5-7, 2017 in New Orleans, LA was a very exciting, festive and successful event. 18 countries were represented among the more than 1,275 onsite and approximately 750 virtual attendees. As the premiere conference on online learning, this year boasted a program consisting of an outstanding mix of more than 450 speakers. Attendees had many outstanding and diverse options to choose from, including 113 Emerging Ideas sessions, and many other presentations (Education sessions, Workshops, Conversations that Work, Research Highlights & Trends, Featured Sessions, Career Forum Roundtables, etc.), as well as features such as the Innovation Lab, PlugIN Lounge, and Innovation Installation. This event also featured some exciting new sessions, including Keynote Lightning Talks, Innovation Lab presentations, the Solution Design Summit and even a marching band, a jazz band, a brass band, contests and prizes!






We sincerely hope you will join us at next year’s OLC Innovate 2018, taking place April 18-20 in Nashville, TN, AND for OLC Accelerate taking place November 15-17, 2017 in Orlando, FL. Sign up for email updates of these events.





SAVE THE DATE! Join us in Nashville April 18-20, 2018 for OLC Innovate 2018.
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Photo Galleries
All photos are property of the Online Learning Consortium. If you would like a larger copy of any of the photos, or if you would like to use them for promotional purposes, please contact patricia.kungie@onlinelearning-c.org.
Thank you to our generous sponsors for the prizes below!
Booth Raffle Winners:
Sponsor Company | Booth Drawing/Raffle Prize | Winner |
AspirEDU, Inc | Tiffany & Co ballpoint pen | Harold Henry, Ashland Community and Technical College |
Blindside Networks | BAMBOO Slate | Jeanne Samuel, Delgado Community College |
EdgeMakers | $100 Amazon Gift Card | Maggie Murray, Rockingham Community College |
GoReact | Apple AirPods | Ann Musgrove, Florida Atlantic University |
IDSolutions | 7″ Fire Tablet | Sean Miller, Muhlenberg College |
ilos Videos | Amazon Echo | Michael Erskine, Metropolitan State University of Denver |
Intellify | $50 Amazon Gift Card | Armeda Reitzel, Humboldt State University Lori Swinney, University of North Dakota Michelle Williams, Bryant Stratton College – Online Education |
SmarterServices | $25 Amazon Gift Card | John Vivolo, New York University |
The Babb Group | $125 Amazon Gift Card | Rolando Mendez-Fernandez, Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus |
Vitrium Security | $150 Amazon Gift Card | Bridget Powell, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
OLC Stamp Card Contest iPad Winner:
- Meryem Udden, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Session Evaluation Winners ($25 Amazon.com gift cards):
- Dana Wilkie, Post University
- Krystal Hoefling, Silver State Charter School
- Nikki Schutte, The College of St. Scholastica
- Dee Thornton, Jacksonville University
- Damian Hinojosa, Saint Joseph Abbey and Seminary College
Complimentary Conference Registration Winners:
Name | University | Sponsor |
Deanna Weierholt | Utah Valley University | Canvas |
Adam Pate | ULM School of Pharmacy | Examity |
Jose Noguera | Southern University and A&M College | Intellify Learning |
Kelly Childs | Chippewaa Valley Technical College | Mediasite |
George Hudson | Metropolitan Community College | ProctorU |
Chad Marchong | Georgia State University | PSI/Software Secure |
Robert Bernard | Concordia University | Realizeit |
Angela Lee | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Remote-Learner |
Jennifer Irwin | University of Western Ontario | UCO-ILED |
Rick Lumadue | SkillsCommons | VoiceThread |

Social Media Contest Winners:
Sponsor | Prize | Category | Winner | Winning Tweet/Post |
The Babb Group | $125 Amazon Gift Card | Complaint Realness | Michelle Pacansky-Brock | http://bit.ly/2pneV8D |
OLC | $25 Amazon Gift Card | Most Romantic | Alexandra M. Pickett | http://bit.ly/2p0vms8 |
4MedPlus Corporation | $25 Amazon Gift Card | Most Prolific Commentary | Ida Jones | https://twitter.com/idaj |
SmarterServices | $25 Amazon Gift Card | Best Wrap Up | Alan Kinsey | http://bit.ly/2okM7Ox |
ProctorU | $100 Visa Gift Card | Most Appreciated Conference Tip | Jonathan Kulp | http://bit.ly/2p0I4XU |
Labster | Access to Labster’s 50+ simulations for six months | Most Joyful Pic | Dr. Ryan Straight | http://bit.ly/2o1pgH8 |
Remote Learner | Echo Dot | Most Innovative Hashtag | Tom Evans | http://bit.ly/2oZbDfe |
Canvas | Skullcandy Navigator Headphones | Most Enthusiastic OLC Dining Buddy | Rolando Mendez | http://bit.ly/2osNI75 |
Software Secure, a PSI Company | Sonos Play 1 | Most Honest | Matt Crosslin | http://bit.ly/2okJjkA |
OLC | $25 Amazon Gift Card | Best Virtual Reflection | Yin Wah Kreher | http://bit.ly/2pnfgbp |
Take a look at photos, videos, inspiring quotes, and more that were shared before, during, and after the conference by following the #OLCInnovate hashtag, here!
Solution Design Summit
Judges Vote Winner
Leveraging Instructional Technology To Enhance Learning In A Multi (- Generational, -Lingual, -Stratus, -Experience) Classroom
Lead Presenter: Frances Villagran-Glover (Northern Virginia Community College) Co-presenters: Kirsten Riddick (NVCC), Laura Franklin (NVCC)
Judges Vote Runner-up
Engaging Communities Of Practice Across The Disciplines And Generations To Promote Student Success: Inside Teaching MSU
Lead Presenter: Melissa McDaniels (Michigan State University)
Co-presenters: Reggie Noto (Michigan State University), Erik Skogsberg (Michigan State University), Patti Stewart (Michigan State University), Stephen Thomas (MSU)
Community Vote Winner
Supporting Collaborative Learning Design Experiences
Lead Presenter: Stacy Southerland (University of Central Oklahoma)
Co-presenters: Bucky Dodd (University of Central Oklahoma Institute for Learning Environment Design), John Gillmore (University of Central Oklahoma – Institute for Learning Environment Design), Michael Willis (University of Central Oklahoma – Institute for Learning Environment Design), Milissa Copeland (University of Central Oklahoma)
Whose Design is it Anyway?
Kirstin Riddick, accepting her 1 year OLC membership for winning “Whose Design is it Anyway?” contest.
Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite Events Team Live Streams OLC Innovate 2017
Mediasite Keeps Conversations from OLC Innovate 2017 Conference Alive with Dynamic Video
OLC Innovate 2017 is over, but thanks to the power of video the conversations that took place there are still going strong. Online Learning Consortium’s (OLC) selected Sonic Foundry to be the national webcasting partner for the event in New Orleans, La. earlier this month.
Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite Events team live streamed OLC Innovate 2017 to new online audiences. In the OLC Innovate 2017 Virtual Lounge, online attendees could converse with presenters and their peers and watch sessions in real-time.
Through the live webcasts of 96 conference sessions, OLC engaged 750 online attendees who were unable to make it to New Orleans. They posed questions to presenters and, along with the 1,200+ people who attended the conference on-site, can now re-watch these sessions on-demand on any device for the next 12 months.
OLC Innovate is a joint conference presented by OLC and MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching), a program of the California State University System that provides free and open online teaching, learning and faculty development services. Academic leaders, faculty and administrators came together to discuss education innovation, including emerging technologies, how to incorporate intelligent learning management systems and designing blended classrooms.
“OLC has been working with Sonic Foundry for the past decade to create dynamic hybrid events that involve a much larger audience around the world. It’s essential to offer an online experience where attendees can engage in real-time and on-demand, because a conference is only the starting point. The conversations that happen there continue. Having sessions available afterwards provides attendees with an opportunity to continue to glean insights from the sessions they can apply in their organizations. It’s impossible to do that without a powerful video platform like Mediasite that creates rich video libraries of the content,” said Karen Pedersen, Chief Knowledge Officer of the Online Learning Consortium.
Gerry Hanley, Executive Director of MERLOT, said: “Mediasite enables all those who could not attend the Innovate conference in New Orleans to participate as active members of the audience and learn from the expertise and experiences of the presenters and workshop leaders. We greatly appreciate Mediasite’s services and partnership.”
OLC Accelerate 2017 in November in Orlando, Fla. will also be webcast via Mediasite.
Mediasite Events is a leading provider of event webcasting for hybrid events and high-profile meetings. The team delivers worry-free video streaming and webcasting to hundreds of live and hybrid events of all sizes every year to Fortune 500 companies, university associations, sporting events and more worldwide.
Learn more about Mediasite at www.sonicfoundry.com/mediasite/.