Welcome to the 2027 UPCEA DT&L!
Digital Teaching & Learning Conference

February 3-4, 2027
Virtual

On behalf of the 2027 Digital Teaching & Learning (DT&L) Conference Advisory Committee, we are thrilled to invite you to this virtual gathering, taking place February 3-4, 2027. Our theme, “Designing What’s Next,” reflects the collective creativity, resilience, and innovation that continue to shape the future of teaching and learning in higher education.

After the incredible experience of helping launch this reimagined conference last year, we’re excited to return for one more year as co-chairs to continue building a vibrant, welcoming space for digital learning professionals to connect, collaborate, and inspire one another. #DTL27 continues the bold evolution of this UPCEA event—fully virtual, community-driven, and designed to meet the needs of instructional designers, faculty developers, online educators, and learning leaders across postsecondary education.

For more than four decades, this conference has served as a cornerstone for professional learning and community building. Today, DT&L remains grounded in those same values while embracing new ideas, emerging technologies, and evolving approaches to teaching and learning. Through peer-reviewed sessions, interactive workshops, lightning talks, roundtables, keynote conversations, and collaborative experiences, this year’s program invites participants to explore how we can intentionally design the future together.

We remain committed to accessibility and broad participation. By continuing in a virtual format, DT&L removes many of the barriers associated with travel and cost, creating opportunities for more voices, perspectives, and experiences to be part of the conversation. UPCEA institutional members can attend free of charge, and scholarship opportunities remain available to support participation from non-member institutions with limited professional development funding.

Whether you are joining us to discover new strategies, share your work, build community, or reimagine what’s possible in digital learning, we are grateful to have you here. We invite you to spend two energizing half days with colleagues from across higher education as we learn from one another and shape the next chapter of teaching and learning together.

Warm regards,

April Wolf
Senior Instructional Design Manager
Purdue University
DT&L 2027 Advisory Committee Co-Chair

Stevie Rocco
Director of Learning Design / Associate Teaching Professor
Penn State University
DT&L 2027 Advisory Committee Co-Chair

The 2027 Digital Teaching & Learning Conference (DT&L) is centered around the theme of Designing the Future. DT&L is a free* and virtual event dedicated to showcasing innovative practices, research, and digital teaching design and strategies within postsecondary education. Instructional designers, faculty developers, and technologists working in the field of teaching and learning are encouraged to attend. As a reconceptualized event in UPCEA’s portfolio, attendees will be encouraged to share their insights, lead meaningful discussions, and connect with peers shaping the future of learning design. By eliminating the time and cost associated with travel, UPCEA will provide a superior peer-reviewed teaching and learning community event while staying true to the guiding principles of the Distance Teaching and Learning Conference (1984 - 2024).

*Free for UPCEA members.

Not a member? No PD funds? We have options!
Through the generosity of our corporate partners and members, we have a limited number of scholarships available to individuals that would otherwise not be able to attend because their institution is not an UPCEA member (entitled to a complimentary registration) and lack the professional development funds to attend otherwise.

To request a scholarship, visit this page. There you will be required to submit an email/ letter from your supervisor, indicating there are no professional funds available, and select one or two activities you would be willing to participate in to qualify for the scholarship.

Need a justification letter for your manager or organization on why you should attend? Download a template here.