Online Learning Consortium Launches New Global Cohort to Advance Online Learning

NEWBURYPORT, Mass., July 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Online Learning Consortium (OLC), a nonprofit community of education leaders and innovators dedicated to advancing digital teaching and learning, today announced an open call for participation in the newly formed Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning Global Cohort.

IELOL Global began as a pilot in 2020 with a selective class of 28 participants from 8 countries. Due to the success and impact of the pilot, IELOL Global will now formally continue as an established offering from the OLC. Each year, the program will convene with the outcome of forging meaningful connections within a community of global changemakers as they work collectively to identify challenges and opportunities in online, digital, and blended learning. Up to 50 participants will be selected to answer specific challenges around digital learning leadership across global and local contexts, including strategies and operations for ensuring equitable and inclusive access to education.

"There has never been a better time to leverage our collective strength in the form of diverse communities of practice, particularly as educators everywhere are positioned to reimagine online learning as informed by the pandemic," said Angela Gunder, Chief Academic Officer at OLC. "I am excited to welcome our community to IELOL Global, and work together to turn our ubiquitous challenges into opportunities to enact critical change work at the hands of international coalitions of educators distributed across the globe."

The IELOL Global curriculum is offered as a three month facilitated experience with both asynchronous and synchronous online components, and is designed around three primary outcomes:

• Models: Develop and share exemplars of impactful cross-institutional/regional collaboration through global coalitions
• Communities: Building global communities of practice around transformative and sustainable digital transformation that collect and amplify international perspectives
• Networks: Curating and disseminating participant-created artifacts, uses cases, and other resources that contribute to connected and aligned global change work

Notably, in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), OLC is committed to convening global change makers around the advancement of online learning through storytelling and collaboration, leveraging the SDGs as a compass for supporting access to quality education for all learners and not just a privileged few. Additionally, the coalition building is amplified by several partner organizations that have committed their support to this program, including new partnerships with MERLOT and Tennessee State University, as well as The Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC). This collaboration builds upon the work of continuing partners, WeLearn and SARUA, who join the 2021 cohort with their participants and support.

Educators and technologists of all experience levels who are interested in advancing online learning globally should apply for the 2021 cohort by Aug. 13, 2021. Those selected will virtually convene beginning Sept. 13.

General registration is $750 and discounted OLC Member/Partner Affiliate Registration is $500. Fees include all learning activities facilitated by IELOL Global faculty, program materials, and access to an IELOL Master Class and Meetup. Those in need of financial assistance in order to participate in the program are invited to apply for one of five full scholarships provided by the OLC. Those interested in more information about registration, scholarships or the IELOL Global program are encouraged to reach out to the IELOL Program Director, Maddie Shellgren, at madeline.shellgren@onlinelearning-c.org.

About Online Learning Consortium:
The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is a collaborative community of education leaders and innovators, dedicated to advancing quality digital teaching and learning experiences designed to reach and engage the modern learner – anyone, anywhere, anytime. OLC inspires innovation and quality through an extensive set of resources, including, best-practice publications, quality benchmarking, leading-edge instruction, community-driven conferences, practitioner-based and empirical research and expert guidance. The growing OLC community includes faculty members, administrators, trainers, instructional designers, and other learning professionals, as well as educational institutions, professional societies and corporate enterprises. Visit onlinelearningconsortium.org for more information.

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SOURCE Online Learning Consortium