Online Learning Innovations Summit Held at Surry CC

The 2023 Online Learning Innovations Summit was recently held over the course of three days at Surry Community College. The theme of this year’s summit was “Achieving Student Success in a Digital World.”

The event was hosted from July 26 through July 28 by the Virtual Learning Community (VLC) and drew over 145 attendees representing 42 different North Carolina community colleges. Attendees also represented the VLC and the Distance Learning Team from the North Carolina Community Colleges System’s Technology Services and Distance Learning Division.

The first day of the summit focused on the future of online learning, breaking down data from online enrollments at community colleges, preparing North Carolinians to enter the workforce, the rise of Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT, and Open Educational Resources for faculty to use. A tour of the Surry Cellars winery, located at SCC, was provided for attendees.

Guest speakers included: Bill Schneider and Dr. Emily Smail of the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS); Dr. Candace Holder, Senior Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs at Surry Community College and Director of the VLC Quality and Assessment Center; Cynthia Liston of myFutureNC; Preston Roseboro of Piedmont-Triad Prosperity Zone; Caroline Sullivan of the North Carolina Business Committee for Education; and Michael Vaughn of OpenLMS; Joanna Schimizzi of Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME).

The second day of the summit highlighted student success and retention, learning analytics, learning management systems, Quality Matters courses, and how to harness creativity when dealing with real-world challenges.

Guest speakers included: Dr. David Shockley, President of Surry Community College; Dr. Robert Talbert of Grand Valley State University; Liz Simpson and Dr. Tonya Riney of IntelliBoard; Dr. Alan Mueller of Adaptive Change Consulting; Shannon Creighton, Jason Miller and Luvon Hudson of Anthology; Kara Conger and Michael Vaughn of OpenLMS; Gavin Henrick of Brickfield Education Labs; Darrin Evans of Wake Technical Community College and the VLC; and Colleen Galan of Fayetteville Technical Community College and the VLC.

The third day closed the summit with intense focus on accessibility in online courses and websites, as well as on campus. State authorization licensure and requirements were also covered in detail.

Guest speakers included: Terrence Scarborough of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement North Carolina (SARA NC); Kathy Davis of NCCCS and the VLC; Dr. Candace Holder, Senior Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs at Surry Community College and Director of the VLC Quality and Assessment Center; Judith Risch, J.D., Ph.D, of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education; Laura Bracken of Surry Community College; and Karen Duncan of Gaston Community College.

The Virtual Learning Community (VLC) is a collaborative effort of the North Carolina Community College System for developing online course content and providing support services for the benefit and success of distance learning students, educators, and eLearning administrators. The VLC’s mission is to support local colleges’ distance learning initiatives through developing and editing resources for curriculum and continuing education online and blended courses, offering faculty training, and best practice trends and new technologies.

To learn more about the VLC, go to vlc.nccommunitycolleges.edu.