President's Farewell Message

As we begin our 2013 AECT International Convention in Anaheim, the end of my term as president of AECT approaches. This has been an eventful year for our association, its leadership, and most importantly its members. AECT could not exist without its many dedicated members who faithfully serve AECT each year.

In an effort to update you on all the work that was carried out this year, I have compiled a list of the things YOU accomplished during the past year. And please forgive me, if I fail to mention some of your accomplishments, as there are so many:

1. Formed a Strategic Planning committee, conducted town hall meetings and (with input from our divisions and members) drafted a new AECT Strategic Plan that members will have a chance to further vet at our Anaheim convention.
2. Initiated a web site partnership with MultiView that generates $1,000 per month in revenue.
3. Established a credit card convenience fee and encouraged members to use checks and other methods to pay for membership/convention registration, creating potential savings of $16,000 for AECT.
4. Celebrated a productive 1You/New2 member drive adding over 350 new members to AECT.
5. ectFoundation sponsored another successful auction and continued its support of AECT convention interns, scholarships, and other activities.
6. Developed a new AECT Leadership Intern policy manual.
7. Updated the AECT Division Officers Handbook.
8. Updated the AECT Policy and Procedures Manual.
9. Revised the AECT Employee Handbook
10. Hosted a successful 2012 International Convention in Louisville, KY
11. Discontinued sponsorship of the International Student Media Festival (ISMF), saving AECT approximately $35,000 per year. 
12. Drafted and approved a Certificate Endorsement Plan.
13. Facilitated numerous GSA and division webinars.
14. Formed a new partnership with Wiley Learning Institute to produce and deliver webinars highlighting AECT members/authors.
15. Created the new division, Culture, Learning and Technology (formerly MIM affiliate).
16. Created a web editor position, providing support for the AECT web page and increasing AECT's social media presence.
17. Appointed a Special International Affiliate Emissary.
18. Modified accounting from a fiscal year to a calendar year.
19. Relocated the AECT office to a new and improved office.
20. Created a monthly consolidated budget report.
21. Conducted a successful Summer Leadership Conference and Leadership Development Day in Bloomington, IN.
22. Sponsored AECT's first overseas conference - AECT-ICFER Conference in Taiwan.
23. Created a partnership with ASTD to trade publicity for each others' conferences in newsletters and web sites.
24. Approved ICEM as an affiliate of AECT.
25. Created our first Convention mobile app with Crescerance, saving $8,500 in printing costs.
26. Introduced the use of Google Hangouts for our 2013 Convention.
27. Developed a new title, procedure, and application for selecting AECT convention interns.
28. Announced the AECT book and briefs series "Educational Communications and Technology: Issues and Innovations" with Springer.
29. Conducted a member survey.
30. Accepted proposals for the 2015 AECT Summer International Symposium.
31. Accepted a proposal for the 2014 AECT Summer Research Symposium.
32. Welcomed META (Malaysian Educational Technology Association) as an international affiliate.
33. Composed a Procedure for Investigation of Allegation of Violation - AECT Code of Ethics.
34. Transformed ETR&D's International Review section into Cultural and Regional Perspectives.
35. Approved the ICEM convention internship.
36. Crafted an Affiliate Sponsored Convention Intern Policy.
37. ETR&D, TechTrends, IJDL, and JAID maintained their reputation as high-quality, high-impact journals. (TechTrends topped 100 pages).
38. Published the 2012 AECT International Convention Proceedings.
39. Announced the publication of the 2013 Media Yearbook and a new book by the Division of Distance Learning.
40. Published the Fourth Edition of the Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology, Proceedings for the 2010 and 2012 Research Symposia, 2013 Media Yearbook, and
    Encyclopedia of Terminology for Educational Communications and Technology.
41. Four AECT past-presidents edited Learning, Problem Solving, and Mind Tools:Essays in Honor of David H. Jonassen.
42. AECT past-presidents and members traveled the world, representing AECT and extending AECT's international presence.
43. Documented 13 new interviews for the AECT History Makers project.
44. Approved a $10 dues increase for regular and retired members (effective January 2014) that will help fund AECT initiatives and member benefits.
45. Increased convention University Reception participation to 18 universities.
46. Introduced the AECT Member Book project providing space in AECT publications for promotion of member-authored books.
47. Introduced the AECT Position Paper project.
48. Introduced the AECT Member Video project.

Indeed, an impressive list. You are to be congratulated for yet another exceptional year! Normally, I would mention your accomplishments at our general membership meeting in Anaheim.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to join you for that meeting, as I will be leaving LAX for Beijing on Tuesday evening (October 29) to represent AECT at the 10th Anniversary of the Beijing Forum, hosted by Peking University. As much as I looked forward to enjoying our convention in Anaheim as past-president and as difficult as it was for me to make this decision, the opportunity to represent AECT at such a prominent international forum outweighed all other options. I will surely miss seeing my many AECT friends and colleagues Wednesday through Saturday. However, I hope that I can return from Beijing with some new opportunities for AECT and its members. 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as president of the finest association of its kind. It has been an honor to serve and work side by side with such amazing individuals.  President-Elect Steve Harmon, convention co-planner Zeni Colorado, division/committee planners, and AECT staff have organized another outstanding convention. I wish you all a great time in Anaheim and a successful year under the capable leadership of President Harmon.

With appreciation,
Marc

Top Five reasons to attend this year's convention

The 2013 AECT International Convention is only two weeks away and there's much to celebrate! I have developed my own .................

TOP FIVE reasons to attend this year's convention:

5. Where else can you enjoy a $40 luncheon and $70 per gallon coffee?

4. Incoming President Steve Harmon and the convention planning team have organized another outstanding convention experience.

3. AECT members gather yet another year to catch-up with old friends/colleagues, meet new friends, and attempt to impress each other with their research prowess and PowerPoint skills.

2. This is our LAST convention in Anaheim....at least for a while. (Call me crazy, but I kind of like Anaheim. But then again, I live in Kansas....enough said.)

1. This is our LAST Halloween convention!  (Last year's signed pumpkin petition did the job).

Do you have some more reasons to add?  Post them in the comments section below or on our AECT Facebook page!

Check out the schedule at - http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aect/aect13/

Don't forget that we've got an app!! 

Apple iOS Devices: http://bit.ly/11DstzJ
Android Devices: http://bit.ly/12iuUmd
Windows Mobile Devices: http://bit.ly/18O8D71

With our app, developed by Crescerence (http://crescerance.com/), you get access to all the important facts and information about the convention anytime, anywhere.

Features of the 2013 AECT International Convention App:
 
• About the convention - Access information about the convention
• Schedule –Events-at-a-Glance are available, integrated with your device calendar
• Maps - Get directions to the convention hotel and within the vicinity
• Click and Share AECT – Snap photos and share them on social networks
• Featured Speakers – Get to know more about the speakers
• AECT Membership - Learn about AECT and its membership benefits

AECT Books and Briefs Series - Educational Communications and Technology: Issues and Innovations

An important publishing opportunity for AECT members! 

AECT, in collaboration with Springer, has created a new series of books and monographs entitled "Educational Communications and Technology: Issues and Innovations.” The series editors are J. Michael Spector (University of North Texas – mike.spector@unt.edu), M. J. Bishop (University System of Marlyland – mjbishop@usmd.edu), and Dirk Ifenthaler (Open Universities Australia – dirk@ifenthaler.info). 

To submit a proposal for a book or brief/monograph, complete the proposal form and send it to lead editor Mike Spector.

The purpose of the series is to extend AECT's ongoing book publications with Springer (e.g., the Educational Media and Technology Yearbook, the Handbook on Research on Educational Communications and Technology, and the AECT Research Symposium edited volumes), and to offer the Springer Briefs innovative format to AECT authors and contributors. Briefs are short monographs (typically 50 to 100 pages) on a tightly focused topic of current interest by one (or possibly two) authors (for more detail, see http://www.springer.com/authors/book+authors/springerbriefs?SGWID=0-1720013-0-0-0). Contracts for books and briefs will be negotiated between AECT and Springer.

AECT Briefs Series

A monograph in the AECT Briefs series (a refereed publication by AECT) will provide an introduction to a focused area in educational information science, technology and communications, or provide an overview of theories, research, issues, core concepts, emerging technologies, or an analysis of key literature in a particular field; a typical source for such a work is a recent dissertation; a monograph could also provide one or more of the following:

· A timely report of state-of-the art analytical techniques and instruments,

· An overview of a testing and evaluation method,

· A snapshot of a hot or emerging topic or policy change,

· An in-depth case study,

· A detailed report of a program evaluation,

· A review of research/literature,

· A report/review study of a survey, or

· An elaborated conceptual framework pertinent to educational information science and technology.

Brief authors will receive a divisional concurrent session and one night of free hotel accommodations at the AECT International Convention (maximum of 2 authors, but if series editors agree to more, then the first author will decide how/if to split). 

AECT Books Series

A volume in the AECT Books series may be by one or more authors or editors. Edited works are accepted as well as those authored by one or two individuals. Edited volumes may be developed based on panel presentations at the annual AECT convention or other such prominent venues; or they might be based on recent collaborative research and development efforts. Books in the series should be on a topic of interest to the disciplines and groups of professionals represented in AECT. Members of an AECT division are especially welcome to submit proposals for such works.

Book authors will receive a Presidential session at our AECT International Convention and free convention registration (maximum of 2 authors/editors, but if series editors agree to more, then the first author will decide how/if to split). 

Authors will be restricted to AECT members or those who become members upon acceptance of a manuscript so as to preserve the AECT brand associated with this series. Wide circulation is guaranteed, thanks to the efforts of Springer.

December 6-7, 2013 TAECT International Conference, Taipei, Taiwan

AECT international affiliate, the Taiwan Association for Educational Communications and Technology (TAECT), invites you to visit Taipei, Taiwan for the 2013 TAECT International Conference, December 6-7, 2013 at the Taipei campus of Tamkang University.  The theme for this year's conference is Educational Communications and Technology in New Educational Policies.

Our very own AECT president-elect designate Dr. Robert Branch will be the featured keynote speaker for the conference.  Soon to be AECT past-president Childress will be there, too; finishing-up his AECT farewell world tour.

More information about the conference.

I hope you can join TAECT in Taipei and spend a few additional days exploring the rest of beautiful Taiwan and sampling Taiwan's magnificent cuisine.

More information about what to see and do in Taiwan.

AECT 2013 Member Drive - The Final Countdown

Our association is in the final month of its 2013 member drive. We are poised for our final new member push and we look forward to sharing some exciting news at our 2013 International Convention in Anaheim!

Help us reach our new member goal!

With AECT, connections are made that foster networking, offer you the finest publications, expose you to new technologies, and allow you to tap into professional development opportunities. These are the very things that emerging professionals are looking for. Helping them find these things is where you come in. This campaign enables faithful members to become stewards in creating a stronger future for AECT.

Sponsor two new members: a graduate student, a beginning educator, or a colleague. While we are offering incentives to you in this campaign, the real motivation is turning someone new onto the same benefits and professional collegiality you have with AECT.

Take 10 minutes, contact some prospective members and help build AECT’s sphere of influence, impact, and visibility.

http://www.aect.org/join/

Adding a link to Europe's version of The Final Countdown would be too easy. As a reward for those who made it to the bottom of this entry, I give you The Final Countdown: Kazookeylele version - 

 

2013 Conference - Korean Society for Educational Technology (KSET)

AECT international affiliate, the Korean Society for Educational Technology (KSET), invites you join them in vibrant Seoul, Korea for their international conference on November 23, 2013 at Sejong University. The main theme of the conference is "Toward smart approaches to education: bridging learning theory, technology, application, and teaching practice”. The conference will provide theoretical insights and instructional solutions in the emerging paradigms of advanced learning technologies and media. 

Proposals are being accepted for concurrent sessions and student papers.

Proposals due: September 10 - Submit online
 
Notification of acceptance: September 20
 
Early registration: October 1
 
Paper submission: October 20
More conference details can be found here.

Invited speakers include:

• John Sweller School of Education, University of New South Wales, Australia
• Tzu-Chien Liu, Graduate Institute of Learning and Instruction, National Central University, Taiwan
• John Marshall Reeve, College of Education, Korea University, Korea
• Shengquan Yu, School of Educational Technology, Beijing Normal University, China
• Atsushi Hiyama, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Japan 

I hope you will consider submitting a proposal and attending the November 23, 2013 conference.  Be sure to schedule some extra "study tour" days to explore the wonderful country of South Korea. I am sure that you won't be disappointed!

Convention Schedule, Convention App, New Publications

The 2013 AECT International Convention schedule is here!  
AECT members are as excited and enthusiastic as Navin R. Johnson (right) was, when he first saw his name in the new phone book.  










Check out the schedule at - http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aect/aect13/

If you have questions about your presentation schedule, email inquiries to convention planner Zeni Colorado at jcolorad@emporia.edu

We've got an app for that! 
That's right. We have launched our very own exclusive mobile app for our 2013 AECT International Convention. Download to your mobile device now!

Apple iOS Devices: http://bit.ly/11DstzJ
Android Devices: http://bit.ly/12iuUmd
Windows Mobile Devices: http://bit.ly/18O8D71

With our app, developed by Crescerence (http://crescerance.com/), you get access to all the important facts and information about the convention anytime, anywhere.

Features of the 2013 AECT International Convention App:
• About the convention - Access information about the convention
• Schedule –Events-at-a-Glance are available, integrated with your device calendar
• Maps - Get directions to the convention hotel and within the vicinity
• Click and Share AECT – Snap photos and share them on social networks
• Featured Speakers – Get to know more about the speakers
• AECT Membership - Learn about AECT and its membership benefits 

Handbook and Encyclopedia - available online

The long-awaited Fourth Edition of the Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology is now available online at our AECT web site (another valuable benefit available only to AECT members). Edited by our very own J. Michael Spector, M. David Merrill, Jan Elen, and M.J. Bishop, the 1005 page Springer Publishing behemoth (according to Phil Harris, the print version weighs over 7 lbs.) can be accessed at - http://aect.site-ym.com/?page=handbook_of_research (AECT member log-in required).

Another rich resource, the Encyclopedia of Terminology for Educational Communications and Technology is also available online at our AECT web site. Edited by AECT member Rita C. Richey, this landmark publication can be accessed at - http://aect.site-ym.com/?encylopedia_ed_tech (AECT member log-in required).






JAID and IJDL - Two important AECT journals

We all know about our AECT journals ETRD and TechTrends (available in print and online). However, I want to remind you of two other important AECT journals that are available exclusively online -  

Journal of Applied Instructional Design

Edited by AECT member Les Moller, JAID bridges the gap between theory and practice by providing reflective scholar-practitioners a means for publishing articles related the field of Instructional Design. JAID’s goals are to encourage and nurture the development of the reflective practitioner as well as collaborations between academics and practitioners as a means of disseminating and developing new ideas in instructional design.




 


International Journal of Designs for Learning

Edited by AECT member Elizabeth Boling, IJDL provides a venue for designers to share their knowledge-in-practice through rich representations of their designs and detailed discussion of decision-making. The aim of the journal is to support the production of high-quality precedent materials and to promote and demonstrate the value of doing so. Audiences for the journal include designers, teachers and students of design and scholars studying the practice of design.

Check out the above publications and many other publications available to AECT members at - http://aect.site-ym.com/?publications_landing

AECT Strategic Plan: Your Input Needed at our Town Hall Meetings

Strategic Design: Mission, Vision, and Thinking about Our Future
As I mentioned in last month's AECT President's Blog, we had a productive time at our leadership conference, working on a draft of our AECT Strategic Plan. I have asked AECT leaders to gather feedback from divisions, affiliates, and committees and I anticipate lots of input.  In addition, the planning committee wanted to give AECT members another channel for feedback on the strategic plan. So that everyone's voice can be heard, we have organized a series of Town Hall Meetings on strategic planning and more specifically addressing each of the 3 outcomes identified in the draft.  

Town Hall Meeting
Dates/Times (all times Eastern):
 
Outcome 1: Wednesday, August 14, 3 p.m.


Outcome 1: Monday, August 19, 11 a.m.

Outcome 2: Wednesday, August 21, 3 p.m.

Outcome 2: Thursday, August 22, 4 p.m.

Outcome 3: Wednesday, August 28, 3 p.m.

Outcome 3: Friday, August 30, 11 a.m.

We will use AECT's conference call number for the town hall meetings (download dial-in instructions below).

Going into our upcoming town hall meetings on strategic planning, we want you to know some foundational information about our new mission, vision, and the value of the strategic planning process. It will help prepare you for those conversations.

Mission and Vision

Mission statements and vision statements are the inspiring words your leaders have chosen to clearly and concisely convey the direction of our organization. By crafting a clear mission statement and vision statement, we can powerfully communicate our intentions and motivate our members to realize an attractive and inspiring common vision of the future.
"Mission Statements" and "Vision Statements" do two distinctly different jobs. For a nonprofit organization, a mission statement is the most important planning document a group could construct. A well-crafted mission statement helps the organizers, patrons, donors, employees, and volunteers know exactly what the nonprofit does, who it works to help, why it exists, and how it goes about doing work. A mission statement defines the organization's purpose and primary objectives. In essence it is WHAT we do and HOW we do it.

The vision statement communicates both the purpose and values of the organization. For board and staff, it inspires them to give their best. Shared with others, it shapes the community's understanding of why they should work with the organization. The vision statement is a snapshot or summary of what the organization's end goal or final product should be and should be a clear, motivating message about what our organization wants the future to look like. In essence it is WHY we do WHAT we do.

AECT Values Strategic Thinking

AECT has embarked upon strategic planning because we value strategic thinking. Group strategic thinking creates value by enabling a proactive and creative dialogue, where individuals gain other people's perspectives on critical and complex issues.

From a big picture point of view, we want you to be aware of a few of the value and benefits of strategic thinking:

The value of strategic thinking:
1.    enables us to stay at the front or leading edge of change
2.    optimizes the ability to shape and leverage change to our advantage
3.    eliminates complacency
4.    creates a sense of unity for our organization
5.    facilitates proactive leadership

The benefits of strategic thinking:
1.    improves guidance on actions to achieve our vision and mission
2.    acts as an early detection system to warn of changes
3.    identifies our allies
4.    eliminates reactive decision-making
5.    agility and capacity to respond positively to change

From a practical perspective, your review of the strategic plan will help you see how it can bring us more funding and financial security; put our staff to their highest and best use; get our board, staff, and members both excited about the big picture and committed to their role in making it happen; and, most importantly, ensures we create change.

A strategic plan should not be solely an incremental list of current activities, but it needs to have new ideas. We want to do more than just maintain the status quo. Thus, think new ideas, explore them, and align them with the purpose of the organization.

Here are the questions you can think about to prepare.
1. What are the trends in our field?
2. Given the trends, what are some new ideas we should be addressing?
3. Given the trends, what products or services should we change or  eliminate and what new products or services should we consider?
4. If we take action on any specific idea, what will be the impact (both positive and negative) for taking action? What if no action is taken? Any impact?
5. What beliefs and assumptions underlie our ability to make our vision come true?
6. Are our mission and vision aligned with the answers to these questions?

Why Are We Involving You? A Successful Implementation… 

When key stakeholders are invited to a creative thinking step, it engages and energizes all participants. This is where new ideas are generated, where innovative possibilities are visualized, and where the stage is set for implementation success. The more stakeholders are involved in the thinking and exploration, the more emotional and intellectual energy they have invested, the higher the probability that implementation will occur successfully.

While many organizations let their strategic plans gather dust on the shelves (and many of you have probably experienced this), we want to ensure you that we have been thinking about implementation. Here are some of our cursory plans for implementation:
•    Infuse organizational "working life” with the strategic goals—incorporate into staff work plans, board committee, and meeting agendas, etc.
•    Align board structure (committees, task groups, etc.) with plan goals.
•    Share plan highlights on web site.
•    Delegate action steps and accountability at smaller "unit” level—e.g., task groups from board, staff, and other volunteers.
•    Use goals as our "anchor” to ensure ongoing ownership, buy-in (When we get stuck, ask "Is what we’re doing furthering our goals?”).
•    Let strategies drive the resources rather than the other way around.
 
We want to be a highly successful organization. Highly successful organizations report that strategic planning has a high impact on overall organizational success. We are asking you to join us at our upcoming town hall meetings to provide you with the opportunity to offer your perspective. Help us succeed by becoming involved in our strategic planning!

*Download the Strategic Plan Draft

*Download Dial-in Instructions/Passcode

*Note that you will need to log into our AECT portal with your AECT credentials to download the strategic plan file and dial-in instructions.  (And while you are logged in, feel free to update your profile!)

AECT Strategic Planning Committee
Committee Chair: Rob Branch
Committee Members: Marc Childress, Steve Harmon, Phil Harris, Trey Martindale, Kay Persichitte
Facilitator: Michael Shermis

2013 Summer AECT Board Meeting and Leadership Conference Update

After concluding last week’s AECT Board of Directors meeting, strategic planning meeting, and leadership conference, members of the board and division/committee representatives left the beautiful Indiana University campus feeling exhausted, yet immensely satisfied. The week's activities included two days of productive meetings and strategic planning and another day of presentations on leadership in our field.

Monday Recap

Steve Harmon shares the new convention app

Monday’s board meeting entailed a long agenda with over 8 action items.  More details on board decisions will be shared in the coming weeks. Most importantly, our organization is fiscally healthy and thriving with energy!

Working on the strategic plan

Tuesday Recap
Tuesday’s full day of strategic planning was facilitated by Michael Shermis and our strategic planning committee (Rob Branch, Chair; Steve Harmon; Kay Persichitte; Trey Martindale; Phil Harris; and Marc Childress). The committee has worked all summer long on the draft of the strategic plan that was shared on Tuesday. Attendees at Tuesday’s sessions shared a wealth of input on our AECT mission, vision, and draft strategic plan. The committee will jump right back into the document this Friday and will have another draft of our strategic plan to be shared with division leaders and their members in the near future.  This strategic plan will guide all AECT activities for the next 3 years, so we will want to hear YOUR voice.
 
Wednesday Recap
Our time in the impressive Indiana Memorial Union concluded on Wednesday with a leadership conference featuring keynote speeches by David Wiley and Curtis Bonk.  

Chris Miller and John Curry talk about leadership

Concurrent sessions included:

• Getting Professionally Published—Donovan Walling
• Considerations for Moving into Leadership—Chris Miller, John Curry
• Transition of Knowledge—Charlie White, Ward Cates, Wes Miller, Hans Eric Wennberg
• Women in Leadership—Sharon Smaldino, Ana Donaldson, Kay Persichitte
• K-12 Leadership—Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Leslie Blatt, Michael Grant, Krista Glazewski
• Trimming Your Sails with Academic Service—Marty Bray, John Curry, Jennifer Bauman, Kathryn Ley

Many thanks to all of our dynamic presenters, Cindy York, the AECT Leadership Committee, and the AECT staff for putting together a terrific week of professional development.

AECT Leadership Day - Member Survey - Strategic Planning

 July 17, 2003 - Bloomington, Indiana

This year's AECT Summer Leadership Conference in Bloomington, Indiana concludes with an AECT Leadership Development Day on July 17th, and YOU are invited to attend. 

The Leadership Day is open to members and non-members and begins with Dr. David Wiley's keynote address, Leadership in the Context of Open Education. The keynote and concurrent sessions are designed around leadership topics for individuals interested in leadership within the field of educational technology. 

The schedule for the day:
    • 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast
    • 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Keynote 'Leadership in the Context of Open Education'
    • 10:00 -10:30 a.m. Networking / Q&A
    • 10:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m. Session 1 (Three choices)
    • 12:15 -1:15 p.m. Lunch
    • 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. Session 2 (Three choices)
    • 3:15 ­ 4:45 p.m. Session 3 (Three choices)
    • Dinner ­ on your own 


When? Wednesday, July 17th, 2013 
Where? Indiana Memorial Union Building, Bloomington, Indiana
How much? Registration fee: Only $40.00 (Members and non-members may register. Hotel reservations in the beautiful IU Biddle Hotel are not included.)   Space is limited, so register now for this enriching professional development opportunity.
More Information and Registration

The response to our 2013 AECT Member Survey has been outstanding. However, there's still time for you to help inform our AECT leaders' decisions and mold our new strategic plan that will be addressed at this summer's AECT leadership conference in Bloomington, Indiana.

Click here to take the AECT Member Survey

 

With your survey input, a small Strategic Planning Committee is formulating goals, outcomes and strategies, and sharing them with our AECT Board of Directors; all in preparation for this summer's meeting. Help us formulate a strategic plan for and by the AECT membership by completing the member survey.

June 1st AECT-Divisional Awards Deadline Approaches - Internship Deadline Extended to June 30th

Awards

The June 1st deadline for AECT and Divisional Awards will soon be upon us.  AECT and its divisions are filled with an abundance of brilliant, skilled, talented, and award-worthy individuals. I hope you will take a few minutes to reflect upon those who are deserving of recognition and nominate them for one (or more) of our many AECT and Division Awards. (Remember, most of our awards permit self-nominations)

Nominations for the following awards are now in progress:

• AECT Annual Achievement Award
• AECT Distinguished Service Award
• AECT Special Service Award
• DDL-IAP Awards
• ect Mentor Endowment Scholarship
• Immersive Learning Award
• James W. Brown Publication
• McJulien Minority Graduate Scholarship Award
• Masters Scholarship Award
• Nova Southeastern Award for Outstanding Practice by a Graduate Student in Instructional Design
• Outstanding Book Award
• Outstanding Journal Article Award
• Outstanding Practice Award
• Richard B. Lewis Memorial Award
• Robert deKieffer International Fellowship Award
• Robert M. Gagne Award for Graduate Student Research in Instructional Design
• Qualitative Inquiry Award
• Young Researcher Award

AECT Leadership Internships - Extended to June 30th

The 2012 AECT Interns (and one old guy)

On a similar note related to recognition and leadership development, the application deadline for our new and improved AECT Leadership Internship Program has been extended to June 30th. Stay tuned for announcements at the AECT web site and at this blog for a link to the updated application.

AECT Member Survey 2013

Below, you will find a link to our 2013 AECT Member Survey. The primary goal of the survey is to collect feedback from you, the members, to ensure that our association is the organization YOU want it to be. In addition, we are soliciting feedback that will guide our strategic planning that will take place at this summer's AECT leadership conference in Bloomington, Indiana.

Click here to take the AECT Member Survey
 
I hope that you will take a few minutes from your busy schedules to reflect upon your experiences with our association and share your feedback that will help us develop a new strategic plan and inform our leadership's future decisions. 

To give us time to analyze the results before our leadership meeting, we would like to have your responses before July 1, 2013.

Change in AECT Credit Card Policy - Convenience Fee

Effective March 1, 2013 AECT joined the large number of small businesses who add a convenience fee for all credit card transactions.  This became necessary, as the banks that issue credit cards continue to increase their fees.  During 2012, AECT paid the banks close to $16,000 in credit card fees.

In July 2011, The AECT Board of Directors voted to add a convenience fee once new regulations permitted us to do so.  After years of litigation, those regulations have now changed, thus the policy can now be implemented. AECT’s bank charges currently exceed 4%, but only by a small bit.

The Board made the decision to add the charge in lieu of increasing fees for convention registration and AECT membership.  Fortunately, there are several ways to avoid incurring this additional charge.

1. Pay by check.
2. Use a purchase order from your organization.
3. Pay with online banking. If you are already using online banking with your financial institution, this may be one of your quickest and simplest options.
4. Process an electronic transfer through your bank’s system.  

We regret that we must take this step during these tough economic times; however the Board of Directors believes this is the best way to handle the increasing cost of doing business via credit card.

If you have questions about this new policy feel free to contact us.

Cordially,
 
Marcus Childress, President
Phillip Harris, Executive Director
Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)