About Us
Global Online Learning Development and Extended Network (GOLDEN) (c)2021
Who is GOLDEN?
The Global Online Learning Development and Extended Network (GOLDEN) is a global panel of experts in instructional design, online pedagogy, diversity/equity/inclusiveness (DEI) concepts, accessibility, and teaching with technology whose mission is to provide professional development support on a global basis for those educators who are new to online teaching with technology.
Ultimately, a global community of practice will be formed speaking to the mission of the initiative, “To support online educators
everywhere with online learning knowledge and skills and create a community of practice containing online learning experts.”
The Board currently has over five hundred experts committed to the initiative from forty-eight countries. There are several directorates created based on areas of expertise including online pedagogy, instructional design, alternative audiences (adult learners, special education learners, young learners, ESL, etc.), DEI concepts and culturally responsive teaching, accessibility, innovative tools and technology, and edupreneurial leadership. The initiative launched during the second week of July 2021.
The group is open to anyone in any discipline or workforce area (especially learning and development/design) interested in providing guidance and support to educators teaching online.
Who should be a member?
- K-12 teachers & administrators in traditional & non-traditional institutions
- Higher education professors & administrators
- Edtech professionals & aspiring educators
- Education recruiters
- Any educator who is new to remote teaching and learning
- Anyone who has an interest in adding to the body of knowledge within online teaching and learning
We will begin with a pilot study centering on a group of diverse educators in a secondary school for gifted students collecting data on their needs for online teaching improvement. As we form a collaborative community of practice, our outcomes will focus on scholarship in the form of conference presentations, manuscript submissions and publications, development of professional webinars and recordings, an asynchronous micro-learning experience, a massive open online course (MOOC), and the eventual publishing of an evolving e-book.
The board will be considered an “Online Learning Think Tank” and focuses on cutting edge and innovative ways of providing culturally responsive online learning experiences for students in many sectors. The advisory board members will be empowered to drive the initiative based on their expert experiences and perspectives. Grants, partnerships, sponsorships, and research are all part of the longer-term plans in this learning laboratory.
The time commitment is flexible and entirely up to each board member based on their schedule. If a contribution can be made to the initiative, all are welcome to participate. Join the movement here to support online educators and create a global community of practice for the online community. Sign up for directorates here.
Anyone interested in GOLDEN may request further information directly from Dr. Rich Schultz at [email protected]
For a description .pdf of GOLDEN, visit this link.