New Session
Informal Learning: A Discussion with George Strawn; NSF CIO
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1:00-2:00; Cambridge Room

This discussion will address the potential impact of the informal learning on the formal learning process and visions for the future directions. The National Science Foundation supports many initiatives that study with informal learning settings. These settings offer fewer constraints for the use of emergent technologies but can be adapted to learning objectives. NSF is averaging around $17 million per year on interactive systems for learning. How do gaming, virtual environments or other interactive environments affect informal learning? Join Keynote speak, George Strawn, to discuss the impact of these new ways of learning.

Nate’s Notes on the Board Meeting:

• Second Life Acceptable Use Policy presented/approved and will be placed in the AECT building in SL (text below)
• A flier explaining AECT is under development. A revised version is pending, but the basic text was approved.
• Remember to Vote. The election will end in mid March.
• There are two webinars coming up.
• ESC is open for re-constitution
• About 650 proposals for 2008 Orlando
• ETR&D: There are additional pages and a reduction in delay to bring Development Section into a 12month window for publication
• TechTrends editor change process underway
• AECTNow hasn’t changed.

SecondLife Acceptable Use Policy

Access to AECT-supported buildings or activities imposes certain responsibilities and obligations that are granted subject to the association’s policies and to federal laws. Acceptable use always is ethical, reflects academic honesty, and shows restraint in the consumption of shared resources. It demonstrates respect for one another, intellectual property, ownership of data, system security mechanisms, and individuals’ rights to privacy and to freedom from intimidation and harassment.

Hello Distance Learning Division members,

If you haven’t submitted your Distance Learning proposal for the Orlando AECT Convention you will want to do so as soon as possible.

The Distance Learning Division encourages proposals of disciplined inquiry, best practices, and practitioner oriented proposals. Example paper topics range from virtual high schools and universities, blogging, podcasting, online gaming, effective instructional design, successful instructional strategies, research, theory, student success, faculty development, enhancing motivation, online collaboration, online social and learning interaction, mentoring and other importance topics of interest to DDL members.

Additionally, we are seeking paper presentations that will have a discussant within the presentation. If you are interested in presenting
with a discussant please make sure to describe this at the end of your proposal. If you are wanting a discussant, you will be required to
provide a completed copy of your paper to the discussant prior to the conference

Don’t forget that the deadline for proposals is February 16, 2008.

Chris Miller

Board meeting notes I took from today’s AECT Board. We started by accepting the minutes and agenda. I missed a couple of points in the discussion but this is the nut-shell version. I’ll refrain from editorializing on it here.

1. NCATE update. Kay Persichitte
- a discussion is shaping up about NCATE standards and the relationship between NCATE and AECT. there will be a survey to the membership on the subject in an attempt to try to resolve the ambiguity from the first survey. the process will be via web and phone.

2. Executive Director’s Report. Phil

Florida Educational Technology conference plans
- Phil’s going to talk to FET about some collaborative issues

Webinar next steps/registration fee.
- The SecondLife webinar had a lot of signed up people, but a substantially reduced number of attendees. The next webinar will have a nominal fee associated with it in order to cut down on the numbers of “signups who don’t show up.”

Orlando Convention “Super Early Bird” registration
- The rates are in. SEB rates will be available on the website soon.

“Seed” Award project update
- There will be some awards soon.

Changes to the AECT Job Center online
- We have a lot of resumes in the system and we are working to take advantage of that resource.

Anaheim Proceedings published
- Fewer papers but you had to register to be in the Proceedings. The assumption is that the reduced numbers are due to the increased limitations.

2. Projects updates.

FutureMinds Phil
- waiting on some information from participation

SecondLife Mary Herring
- initiatives are proceeding. new presentations are ongoing

Aectnow Phil/Pat
- the website work has fallen victim to time pressures. we have the ability to recreate the front page of AECT on AECTNow but no clear consensus as to what should replace that.

Membership Phil/Pat
(i lost this)

3. Summer Research Symposium update.
- planning is ongoing.

4. Orlando Convention update. Mary
- Good progress. Early bird rates are coming up. Mary will be in Orlando next week.

5. Elections update and leadership concerns. Phil/Pat.
- only 4 divisions have a slate. most are unopposed. (DL does NOT have a slate).

– long conversation about why nobody runs.
“If we give them something meaningful to do…”
“If we change the election time frame …”
“If we provide recognition…”
Adjourn.

Some significant issues for the division.

First, there is talk of planning a divisional showcase for the first Wednesday of convention. The divisions will have an opportunity to promote themselves and to show off what they have done. This is in discussion and development stage at the moment. Talk to Chris Miller about this.

Second, divisional candidates for office are needed at Home Office by DECEMBER 21, 2007. Name, photo, and brief biographical sketch.

I’ve posted the agenda for today’s meeting along with my (sparse) notes on the subject below. They’re sloppy, but you got them fresh! These are not official minutes but only my report to the division of what happened.

Board Meeting Notes: 11/28/2007

ACTION Call to order. (Pat Miller)
ADDITIONS:
- Special membership Campaign.

ACTION Approval of October minutes with correction. (Pat Miller)
- approved

REPORT AECT 2007 Convention evaluations (Nathan Lowell)
- Convention evaluations are running 3s and 4s. Verbal responses are evenly split between people who were happy with the convention and half were not.

REPORT Executive Director Updates (Phil Harris)
Second Life Webinar plans
- Thursday (11-29) at 3pm SLT
- good registrations. Paying attention to who signed up vs who attends.
- Fee or not? Cost $8/person for 60min webinar. They’re costing money. So how do we do it?

FutureMinds activity
- Wyoming visit pending.
- Considering a Summer Institute in 09 on the Future Minds Initiative run by Frank Duffy

Advertising in Tech Trends
- Policy? None that we know of. As much as we can get.
- Some new possibilities for ad revenue are pending

Early registration, 2008 convention
- Keep the same super-early and early bird rates

Special Membership Campaign
- Ideas from the membership committee
- Gift price for new members. One time only, short time.

REPORT AECT on Second Life update (Mary Herring)
- social after the presentation. (thursday, 11-29 around 4pm SLT) Looking for speakers

REPORT NCATE update
- progress on the the NCATE survey

DISCUSSION Electronic Services Committee activity
AECTnow purpose
New ESC tasks
- Decision to move forward and resolve in process or return to committee for refinement of job, staff, etc.?
- Much discussion about the purpose and goals of AECTNow
- Return to committee for refinement

REPORT Research Symposium 2008 update (Barbara Lockee)
- Call for proposals is going up “very soon”

DISCUSSION Leadership Development planning for summer meeting
Who should attend?
Leadership Development Committee responsibilities.
- tabled

REPORT Convention 2008 Orlando planning report. (Mary Herring)
Division elections
Other business as suggested.

- Call for papers opens on Monday
- Division showcase during the Wednesday night opener. It’s open for planning and feedback now. Contact division reps, DLD? What do we think? Channel thru Planner (Chris Miller).

ELECTIONS MUST BE ALIGNED WITH MAIN AECT ELECTIONS.
- Divisional Candidates by 21st of December.
- Name, photo, brief bio.

Adjourned: 4.35PM EST

I’ve just learned that I’m officially on the AECT Board as liaison for the Division of Distance Learning. I’m pleased to have accepted the post to complete the unfilled term of Susan Jones. My term expires in October, 2008, when the member we elect in January will start a new three-year term.

For those who don’t know me, I’ve been a member since 1998, and an intern at the last spring convention in Long Beach 2000. I’ve been president of DL and a member of several committees and task forces. I had a bit to do with re-establishing the Graduate Student Lounge at the Denver 2000 convention and, with a lot of help and a lot of work from a lot of people, that’s grown to be an excellent part of the larger AECT family. I’m probably most infamous for being a curmudgeon.

DL is my home in AECT because distance education is my specialty field and my passion. Having spent the last 40 odd years involved in computers, networks, multiplayer games, social environments, and online activities ranging from IRC chat to Second Life, from MUD game design to MOO role play, from IM to podcast, I’m firmly convinced of the value of the technology to aid in learning. The problem that I see over and over is that the focus seems to be on education.

Back in the dark ages of my master’s program, I used to think that Education was what Teachers do and Learning is what Students do. I’ve gotten a bit more cynical in my old age. Now I think that Education is what Schools charge for, and Learning is what people do when the teachers shut up and leave them alone.

Some recurring thinking about distance education that you’ll see over the next few months as I write about AECT, the Division, and the Field here:

• As good as the classroom isn’t good enough.
• All education is at a distance. The only difference is the technology you use.
• All learning is internal to the learner. (”The phrase ‘Distance Learning’ is an oxymoron.”)

So that’s a bit of an introduction and I hope that this coming year will give us all an opportunity to engage in some interesting dialog about the the field of distance eduation, the division in particular, and the association in general.

- NL

These are some notes from the AECT Distance Learning division member meeting, held today.
Discussed items:

1. Outgoing officers: Vance Durrington, former past-president; and Rick West (er, me) as former communications officer

2. Renewed collaboration with QRDE. Tony Pina has done a great job re-establishing our connection with the Quarterly Review of Distance Education. IAP (the publisher of the journal) gave Tony books to give away to members, free advertising in their website and journals for the division’s Crystal Awards, and money/sponsorship for the division’s Crystal Awards and other new division awards. So we will now have a great connection with QRDE.

3. Division awards. Joanne Bentley was nominated and accepted the opportunity to run the division awards for the next few years. These are the awards that will be offered (more details on how to apply will come from the division’s listserv in the future);
Crystal Award for excellence in DL practice
Research award for DL scholarship
Special issue in QRDE of the top six papers presented at AECT. There will be also special discussed papers as part of our convention next year.

4. There is a new DL website at http://www.aectnow.org/ddl. They are working with Larry Vernon to develop a way to have a database of best practices in distance learning, as well as a virtual mentoring system for new folks just getting started with online instruction. They are also hoping to have avenues for researchers to get together for collaborations.

5. There was a lot of discussion about the role of students in the review process, and it was proposed that each proposal to distance learning next year have at least three people with terminal degrees, or practitioners with the appropriate certification. Graduate students would be encouraged to review proposals, hopefully in tandem with a faculty member, and their comments could be taken into consideration by the program planner. This proposal would be similar to what is being done in other divisions for the upcoming convention in 2008. President-elect Chris Miller is continuing the discussion on this topic on his blog, so please offer your ideas to him there.

6. See you next year in Orlando, for AECT 2008!

Tags: AECT2007, distance learning

I think it would be great for anyone attending AECT this year to blog about some of the sessions they attend. If you would like to do so, please email me at rickwest [at] uga [dot] edu and I will create a username on this blog for you.

Along those lines, here’s a link to my post on my personal blog about a session I attended that debated the educational value of F2F, online, and blended learning:

http://www.the-wests.net/rick/2007/10/25/debate-between-f2f-and-online/

Notes from our board rep, Susan Jones:

SUPER EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION

The Super Early Bird Registration ends March 30th, 2006 for the 2007 AECT International Convention, “Learning Within the Kaleidoscope: A Culture of Technology.” October 23rd - 27th, 2007; Hyatt Regency Orange County
Anaheim, California.

NEW INITIATIVE SPONSORED BY AECT:

FutureMinds: Transforming American School Systems

We are pleased to announce that the AECT Board has voted to sponsor an initiative that we are calling FutureMinds¦Transforming American School Systems to provide substantial national-level leadership to assist state education agencies (i.e., state departments of education) to help local education agencies (i.e., school districts) with the challenging task of creating and sustaining transformational change in their schools, which includes a central role for technology and the use of learner-centered instructional resources. AECT will enter into contracts with SEAs (state education agencies) to furnish professional guidance and follow-up support for the SEAs to develop the capacity to help LEAs (local education agencies) transform their school systems from Industrial-Age beliefs and practices (the factory model of schools) to a much needed paradigm of learner-centered instruction. For more information, please see the full proposal (attached) that was approved by the AECT Board.

To succeed, this FutureMinds initiative will need expertise from virtually ALL divisions in AECT. This is an AECT initiative, not an initiative of any single division. Therefore, the first step is to create a kind of board of directors for this initiative, with Charlie Reigeluth and Frank Duffy as co-chairs. We are calling this the Transformational Change Team (TCT). If you are interested in being a member of the TCT, please contact the president of each division of which you are a member. Each division will be asked to nominate three people, one of whom will be chosen using a set of criteria that will maximize balanced representation across a variety of characteristics. The TCT members will need to serve on a volunteer basis until the first contract with an SEA is initiated, at which point, TCT members will receive an honorarium for their involvement. We roughly estimate a time commitment of two hours per week up to the signing of the first contract, which we hope to happen before the end of the summer.

Eventually, when SEAs have gotten past the initial stages of working with LEAs, we anticipate many AECT members from all divisions will participate in this project, as paid consultants, part-time staff, or even as volunteer researchers taking advantage of this project for conducting research in their focus areas. The kinds of expertise needed will encompass virtually all divisions, especially design and development, media production, management, school media and technology, teacher development, distance learning, and systemic change. However, the early stages of each contract with an SEA will involve relatively few AECT members. Similarly, the early stages of each SEAs work with each LEA will primarily entail building broad ownership in the change process, helping participants to evolve their mindsets about education, and building internal capacity for systemic transformation. Hence, relatively few AECT members will be involved in that stage as well. Each division’s representative on the TCT will provide regular updates on the progress of the initiative and information about what opportunities for broader involvement arise as soon as they arise.

We are excited about both the national visibility this initiative will provide for AECT and the opportunities it will provide to our members for consulting or part-time work and research. If you are interested in joining the TCT and are willing to invest the time in this exciting endeavor, please contact your division presidents before April 8, so we can get the ball rolling!

Ward Cates, AECT President

Phillip Harris, AECT Executive Director

Distance Learning Division Election Results

Congratulations to the following individuals:

President-Elect: Christopher Miller
Communications Officer: Kui Xie
Division Board Member-at-Large: Kathryn Ley

These notes are from our board rep, Susan Jones. Thanks, Susan

REPORT ON ELECTIONS
Mary Herring President-Elect
Kay Persichitte- Member at Large

TechTrends SURVEY
TechTrends survey results will be published in summer TechTrends publication

ISMF SUMMER CAMP STATUS & INTEREST
Exploring the possibility of moving it to a campus to reduce costs

FINANCIAL UPDATE
It appears that the bottom line will be OK by July 1.

IMPORTANT: DIVISIONAL ELECTIONS STATUS

DISCUSSION: Policy for divisions failing to submit officer slates: Ward

Divisions that have not provided a slate of candidates to the AECT office for their division elections by the January meeting of the AECT Board will have their current officers terms extended until the next election cycle

If a division fails to put up a slate of officers for two years, that division will be in jeopardy and will come before the Executive Board for discussion of dissolution or continuance.

For this year only, an extension will be given until March 11th to submit their slate of officers. If not done so, the division will come under this policy.

ANAHEIM CONVENTION UPDATE

The Call for Proposals is closed – 733 proposals were submitted; division planners are doing a great job. Discussion about what “peer” review means? Do graduate students qualify?

ESC REPORT/HELP WANTED:

Trey and others are in the process of moving everything off of the AECT.org. Announce (automatic for division members-communication officer is the only one who can post) and discussion (opt in) listservs have been set up for each division. Trey needs people to assist with cutting and pasting from one website to another, graphic designer; someone who knows Droupal. Volunteers are welcome!! If you are interested please contact Trey Martindale @ University of Memphis, email: treymartindale@gmail.com