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.

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

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

Ok, well, maybe it’s just exciting to me, but a
communications officer is SUPPOSED to get excited
about this kind of thing, right?

The news is that there are now TWO different listservs
for every AECT division. There is a required
announcements-only listserv that everyone will be
automatically subscribed to if they join our division.
The only person who can post to this listserv is the
communications officer, which is currently me. So if
you have an AECT-related announcement, please send it
to me and I will post it to this listserv. This will
be the only way to be certain that you have
communicated with everyone in the division. Email from
this listserv will come through the
DDLMembers@aect.org address.

The old listserv (DDL@aect.org) will now become an
opt-in/opt-out listserv. Because you can get the
necessary announcements through the other listserv,
this DDL@aect.org listserv will be able to accomodate
more discussion, requests for advice related to
distance instructional design, questions and mentoring
for newer members, and so on. The norms for this
listserv, and what should be posted to this listserv
we’ll have to develop ourselves as a community. It
will be moderated by the communications officer
supported by the division leadership. I think to begin
with, basic rules of consideration and respect apply,
as well as an understanding that if you are responding
to someone individually, please do so off the list.

But since this is an opt-in listserv now, and I know
there are many who would like to have an avenue for
talking through distance learning problems/issues, I
hope you will feel free to post some more
discussion-related questions and commentary on this
DDL@aect.org listserv. To post to this list, just
email DDL@aect.org.

Finally, the results are in from the survey I created
asking you, the DDL community, what kind of
communication strategy you would like. Thank you to
those who responded. Results show:

- People would like to see announcements and
asking/receiving of help or support through the
listserv. I wonder if today’s announcement would
change those views to include other kinds of topics,
since there is now a separate announcements-only
listserv?

- People also want to see the DDL blog used to
highlight summaries of conference presentations, and
archive audio/video recordings of presentations. To a
lesser degree, they would like to see more sharing of
best DL practices, webcasts about DL topics or
interviews with DL luminaries, and hosted discussions
around particular themes. That’s a lot, which is
great, so give us some time to work on it. We’ll try
to see what we can start to add to the blog to make it
relevant, and I appreciate anyone willing to help me
generate that relevant content.

- People are also interested in DDL forums focused on
many of these same topics. We’ll see what we can get
started in that regard …

So that will give us some idea of where to go with
communications in this division. Stay tuned, and
again, I’d be grateful for any help in making these
things a reality. To begin with, if you have
recordings of DL-related presentations that you have
given (even at other conferences), please send those
to me (rickwest- at- uga.edu), and maybe we can start to
create some audio content on the blog that is useful.

Thank you!

Summary of DDL communication outlets:
Communication Officer: Rick West rickwest- at- gmail.com
Member listserv: DDLMembers@aect.org
Subscribers listserv: DDL@aect.org
Blog: http://aectnow.org/dl/wordpress/

As communications officer this year, I put together a little survey (three questions–how’s that for brief?) to find out what kinds of messages/discussions people want to receive from us and AECT. Please take a minute and make your voice heard so that our DDL communication strategy can by YOUR strategy and not ours!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=534113066834

On the survey, one person gave the following response:

“What is the communications problem in AECT that needs to be solved? How do you define the terms used in this survey? Are we supposed to have a website because our colleagues do? Why? I don’t understand how forcing us to pick blog or forum or listserv is addressing a communications problem that is inherently a social issue and time issue with the members of this organization. Have you considered a questionnaire that forgets technology and focuses on whatever the communications problem is? If lack of communications is a problem, then why? What is it we are missing by not communicating? How do we encourage those things without assuming that blogs are the answer?”

I thought this was a good question, so I’ll try to address it briefly. No, we’re not saying there is a communication problem necessarily. It is true that there is not any discussion on the listserv right now, and there used to be a lot. For some people, that’s probably an improvement. But we have heard from others who miss the way the listserv used to be and who are afraid to post to the listserv because they might offend those who do not want that traffic. So what we are trying to learn is what do YOU, the collective members of the division, want to receive? Do the majority want discussion on the listserv? Or only on a blog? Do you not want any discussion at all? Or do you want only particular kinds of discussions? There are many technologies available to us, and we just want to know what our purpose should be for each one, so we can create a more serviceable communications strategy.

This person also wondered why the survey was so technology-centric. The reason for that is that it is true that we can have really no control over the social nature of communication, discussions, and interactions. People will either talk or they won’t. It’s not necessarily my job to get people to talk to each other if they don’t want to. But what is my job is to discover ways to use the technologies we have to enable the discussions that people do want to have. So that’s why the survey focuses on technology–because that’s the part we can control or work to improve.

Thank you for the feedback and we look forward to others!

Attached are the notes from the AECT board meetings attended to by our representative, Susan Jones (Thanks, Susan!). Below I’ll copy the text from the most recent meeting.

January 17, 2007

Notes from January 17, 2007 AECT Board Meeting

From Susan’s notes:
REMINDER: CALL Deadline coming up
The AECT proposals for the 2007 Conference in Anaheim are due February 15! Please visit the AECT website to get more information about submitting a proposal. This year’s convention theme is Learning Within the Kaleidoscope: A Culture of Technology. The kaleidoscope represents the moving parts, the individual and unique pieces of our profession which, in motion, create continuously changing yet always integrated patterns of practice. These patterns surround both teachers and learners with a new culture of learning, a society growing out of the practice of excellence in using technology and a shared commitment to pass this practice from generation to generation.
For information on how to submit, proposal deadlines, peer review process, notification of review outcomes, types of sessions and special technology enhanced sessions please visit: http://www.aect.org/events/call.

REVENUE-ENHANCEMENT BRAINSTORMING by the AECT Board
Yesterdays, board meeting included a revenue-enhancement brainstorming by board members to try and come up with suggestions, ideas, or approaches to enhance revenue for AECT. A number of ideas and approaches were suggested and are being considered.

POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE
In brainstorming, yesterday, one possible approach to enhance revenue was suggested. Please be thinking about this opportunity and be ready to respond if you would like to participate. It was suggested that AECT create specific task forces divided by interest areas that correspond to revenue areas (suggested: convention, membership/dues, ISMF, special events) to focus on revenue generation within those areas. AECT Board members would select area of interest among these choices and then solicit a co-chair from divisions (through divisional reps) and membership (general call). Task forces would be coordinated so that standing committees are also actively involved. (Board member for each area would serve as personal contact for those interested in co-chairing). If you think this is something that you would be interested in, please check back here and watch for the opportunity to participate. More will be coming about this opportunity in the near future.

Hope your New Year is off to a great start!!

Respectfully,
Susan L. Jones, Ph.D.
DDL Board Rep

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