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.

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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