“Early in my career as a researcher & administrator of online learning , I was attending a giant session at OLC Accelerate (then called the Sloan-C annual conference) on the Community of Inquiry, which was coming up on a 10-year retrospective. Phil Ice was talking, and I asked a question about research I was doing on the effect of LMSs on the Community of Inquiry. Phil warmly suggested that I contact him about the upcoming special issue of Internet and Higher Education, even though my study was still in progress. That warm welcome in the middle of a session led to my first publication in the field, and changed my future. I found the most amazing, brilliant and engaged colleagues at OLC, open to new collaborators and eager to advance the field. OLC brings together a very special community, and has a special place in my heart.”

Beth Rubin, Campbell University – Data Analysis Advisor & Volunteer Mentor for OLC Accelerate 2019

HOW CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?

We know that we would not be where we are today were it not for your contributions over the last 25 years. With this in mind, we first invite you to share your own OLC narratives. You can join in our quest to story the past (so that we can better prepare for the future) by submitting one or more of the following to this GOOGLE FORM:

Share a visual memory

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and we encourage you to help us collect memories from the past. Scour your archives for photos, videos, documents, or other resources that tell a story. We’ll share them with the OLC community through our social media channels as our way of saying “thanks for being a part of the OLC”.(Remember, we’re hoping to build a history of the OLC for the last 25 years)

Share your story

We want to highlight you and your work or contributions to making OLC what it is today. Create a blog post, a twitter post, etc. that we can share with the other members of our community. Here are a few prompts to get you started.

• • How did you first get involved with the OLC?
  • 25 years (then and now): What kinds of technology were you using 25 years ago and what technology do you engage with now?
  • What is one of your favorite OLC experiences?
  • Who composes your OLC community (i.e. the people you have met along the way and always enjoy seeing)? Tell a story that shares about your relationship.
  • How do you support inclusion, diversity, equity, and advocacy in your teaching and learning and how has this evolved in the past 25 years?

We hope that you join us by following along with the series, as we articulate our shared commitment to a more inclusive, equitable, and humanizing OLC through engaging in individual and collective storytelling. Thank you for sharing your stories with us and for being an important part of our community. #WeAreOLC.