@steelwagstaff Great, right?!
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@steelwagstaff I’ll have to go back and read that one too - thanks for posting @zoe
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Ok, last one from me: @autumm393, what do you see (if anything) as missing from the conversation around the intersection of open education and instructional design? Or is there anything in that conversation you’d like to shift?
Hi there! How can open textbook creators access instructional designers’ brains? @autumm393
I think the ultimate goal is equity for students toward meaningful learning experiences.
That’s definitely a goal that I think is shared amongst us all! :clap_tone4: 
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@apurva Virtually Connecting is a community of people - it is a network. Sometimes folks get confused thinking it is a technology platform or some kind of media - like a podcast; but no it is just a community. Our focus is access to social conversations at academic conferences for people who can’t make it to the conference. Think about the hallway conversations that you have in-between sessions when you go to a conference. How would you bring that to a virtual environment? We do it by organizing informal chats between people who can’t make it to the conference and those who can. Our focus in doing this is to work toward equitable and inclusive access for those who do not have the means to make it to expensive conferences.
I’ve gotten so much out of my work with Virtually Connecting. By participating in this community I’ve met (both virtually and in person) a ton of amazing scholars whose work has transformed how I think about the field of edtech and instructional design. I can’t afford to go to 20 conferences a year but with Virtually Connecting I meet and collaborate with people from around the world to get a peek into the global view on our work.
There are many people creating spectorial online experiences where you are mainly invited to watch - VConnecting does do this and you can just watch if you would like but there is more. Some others are creating participatory online experiences where you can interact some through conversation or text chat with hosts and guests - again VConnecting does this too but there is the possibility for more. I think the big difference with VConnecting is that, if you want it to, it can be an opportunity to become the host. You have to work up to this and become part of the community and learn how to do it (tech, hospitality, logistics, etc.) but the possibility is there if someone wants to take it that far. I did and so I’ve gotten a ton of connections from that work but it is not easy and it does take a lot of time and effort.
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@autumm393 Here’s my last question: “So many university teachers that I know have never received any specialized training in androgogy, learning science, or even basic classroom management and yet are expected to be professional, full-time instructors. It seems like a big ask. What are the biggest areas for improvement you see for teacher training and professional development for college & university instructors?”
@basak It does seem to me that most HE institutions have IDs these days but perhaps that is just my perception - I’ve not looked for research on this or done any research on this myself. I do think it is interesting that IDs can be in IT, the Library, in Pedagogy Centers, or Innovation Centers, - the list goes on and I think each of those environments are a little different. I think the best way to get inside an ID’s head is to get to know a few. How would you go about getting some IDs into your personal learning network (PLN)? There are a ton of ID conferences and resources out there - I’ll throw out the Pedago.me network at http://pedago.me - they are very grassroots but there are more formal ones too.
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@autumm393 Thanks Autumm! I’ve seen it making the rounds on Twitter mostly when conferences and events are taking place and had a similar misunderstanding about what it was. More communities, more access, more conversations – all sounds great.
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Wait, one more: We believe very much that creation and learning are collaborative processes. Are there any of your favourite collaborators who you’d like to shout out, who help you do this work?
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@steelwagstaff That is a great question Steel. The biggest areas I would say are ownership, equity, and agency. I just published an open access paper on it with Maha Bali in the International Journal of Educational Tech in Higher Ed.
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@autumm393 I met Suzannah Simmons in Denver last year and she introduced me to pedago.me: http://susannahsimmons.com/pedago-me/the-origin-of-pedago-me/. Our 5 year old son now has one of their monkey w/ headphones stickers on the frame of his bed–I always get a big chuckle out of seeing it when I read to him.
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@autumm393 @steelwagstaff This question strikes close to home for me and also ties in to what Başak (@basak ) had asked earlier. So many university/college teachers either don’t have the training or don’t know how to access those with the specialized skills and knowledge in these areas. Really hope to see areas for improvement and maybe will get some ideas/inspiration in the paper you and Maha @bali! 
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@autumm393 Downloading to read right now. You had me at ‘open access w/ Maha Bali’!
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@autumm393 thank you for your response and your time today!
@steelwagstaff said in I'm an instructional designer. Ask me anything (7 March. 2019, 2 pm-3:30 pm EST / 11 am-12:30 pm PST):
You had me at ‘open access w/ Maha Bali’
Preach!
@zoe I love this question!
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@zoe Yes! Maha Bali and I do a ton together and we just published a paper on faculty development. I co-faciliate DigPINS with Sundi Richard and Joe Murphy. My Co-Directors at Virtually Connecting (which includes Maha) are amazing - Rebecca Hogue, Helen DeWaard, and Christian Friedrich. I talk with Chris Gilliard a lot about issues of privacy and he often gives me feedback on my writing in that area. I’ve also just started working with erin glass in that area as well and she is super awesome!
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I know we’re over time here, but I wanted to say a huge thank you to Autumm (@autumm393 ) for this wonderful session today! Had such a great conversation with you and with all the others here! <3
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@apurva Thank you so much for having me - that was a blast!!!
