By Haley Sampson and Amy Johnson, University of Arizona Global Campus, Innovate 2025 Engagement Co-Chairs
At OLC Innovate 2025, we’re not just celebrating our 10th anniversary; we’re redefining the art of connecting. As we embrace “The Rhythm of Innovation: Hitting the High Notes in Digital Education,” we invite you to join us from April 1-3 to challenge conventional teaching paradigms and reimagine the learning experience.
Creating Connections Through Engagement:
One of the most valuable elements of attending conferences is the opportunity to create connections while learning about best practices and current research in the field and sharing your insights. This year, as Innovate moves fully virtual, we’re crafting even more opportunities to connect through an array of fun and engaging activities. From meditation sessions to creative storytelling and interactive discussions on learning analytics, there’s something for everyone. Throughout all three days of the conference, OLC has set aside time to laugh, be creative, reflect through meditation, and just have some fun. Whether you’re diving into emerging education technologies or exploring leadership strategies, remember to take a brain break and enjoy the fun side of Innovate!
You Are Invited to Engage and Transform:
As you build your conference schedule, search for Engagement activities in the session type and be sure to leave room to create these vital connections with colleagues. Whether you’re a first-time attendee or a seasoned participant, our formal and informal networking sessions are designed to help you engage, collaborate, and ideate with colleagues in online education. Engagement activities are curated to ensure that participants leave with a network of peers who share their enthusiasm for digital education. We invite you to join us virtually to connect at engagement sessions designed to be a catalyst for conversation and community building.
Some Engagement Session Highlights:
- First-Time Attendee Welcome and Onboarding: Before the conference kicks off, join us for the First Time Attendee Welcome and Onboarding session designed to make sure you are prepared to immerse yourself in learning, sharing, and collaborating over the next three days. The First Time Attendee Welcome and Onboarding session will introduce key program offerings, provide tips for navigating the virtual experience and highlight engagement activities throughout the conference.
- Meditation, Breathwork, and Mindfulness: Each morning, take a moment to center yourself with guided sessions focusing on mindfulness and breathwork, setting a calm tone for the day’s events.
- Laughing Through the Chaos: Sharing Virtual Work Horror Stories: Have you experienced some unusual, interesting, and surprising interactions while working in a virtual space? Can you laugh about it now? Whether it was your family, your pets, or someone or something else who was a surprise guest on an important virtual presentation, or stories from your colleagues – join us to share, reminisce, and laugh about the unexpected experiences working in a virtual space has brought to our lives.
- Classroom Chronicles: Truth or Tale? Flex your creative writing and storytelling muscles and join us to share your unusual and intriguing experiences in the classroom and ask attendees to guess what is true and what is not!
- Knit and Crochet Meet-Up: Bring your yarn and needles, and relax with fellow craft enthusiasts while discussing your conference takeaways.
- Swiftie Showdown: The Ultimate Online Learning Challenge: Calling all Swifties! Need to shake it off? Join us for Swiftie Showdown, a Taylor Swift-themed game show that’s all about fun, music, and a little friendly competition. Test your knowledge of Taylor’s albums, lyrics, and Easter eggs as we play rounds of Jeopardy, Name That Tune, and more. No work talk – just pure Taylor Swift magic!
- The Collaborative Story of Online Education: Are you yearning to make connections while learning? Join us to do both! Connect with fellow colleagues while taking turns contributing one sentence at a time to build a shared narrative about online learning.
- Innovate 2025 Closing Celebration: Cap off an inspiring week with our vibrant closing session, featuring games, community storytelling, and a celebratory atmosphere as we reflect on a week full of learning and connection.
Enjoy this sampling of engagement sessions and more!
As we embark on this virtual journey together, we invite you to engage deeply, share your experiences, and enjoy every moment of innovation. OLC Innovate 2025 is more than a conference—it’s a community coming together to celebrate a decade of transformative digital education. Join us as we explore the rhythm of innovation, embrace new possibilities in digital education, and recharge ourselves through creating connections. We can’t wait to connect with you and create new possibilities in online learning. See you in April!
