2014 AECT International Convention Proves Productive for IDT Faculty and Students

Jacksonville, FL – A trip to the 2014 Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) International Convention in Jacksonville, FL proved to be very productive for the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) Masters Program.  In November, faculty and students collaborated to give presentations, enjoyed other presentations about issues in IDT, as well as met and networked with scholars in the field.   

Dr. Jozenia Colorado, Chair and Associate Professor and Dr. Harvey Foyle, Professor in the IDT Department collaborated with students to give two different presentations, while one group of students presented on their own.  The following presentations were given:

• Creating Augmented Reality Applications for Educational Environments, presented by Dr. Jozenia Colorado and IDT Students Ning Liu, Xianyu Liu, and Heishan Luo.  IDT Alum Patrick Resa also collaborated on the content of the presentation, but was unable to attend the convention.
•  Cloud Computing: Reliability, Ownership, and Security, presented by Dr. Harvey Foyle and IDT Students Jingwei Chen, Lixiazi Lu, and Muxin Wang.
• 3D Printing Technology, presented by Lin Lin, Eva Gyawali, Weiwei Ji, and Minji Park.

Students enjoyed the convention atmosphere.  IDT student Weiwei Ji said it was a great point of exposure to the IDT field.  “We were able to interact with the top scholars in the field and authors of our textbooks.  To me, I met the IDT celebrities!”

IDT student Lixiazi Lu felt the AECT convention atmosphere was very supportive of graduate students.  Lu collaborated on a roundtable presentation and said, “It was a friendly atmosphere in which we could discuss different perspectives of our topic.”

As the most recognized association of information concerning a wide range of instructional and educational technology, AECT is the oldest professional home for this field of interest and has continuously maintained a central position in the field, promoting high standards, both in scholarship and in practice.  It provides an international forum for the exchange and dissemination of ideas for its members and for target audiences; it is the national and international spokesperson for the improvement of instruction.

As an international student from Nepal, IDT student Eva Gyawali was impressed with the representation from other countries.  Gyawali said, “AECT gave me the opportunity to meet people associated with my field from all over the world.”  While it was a little overwhelming to have met so many people from different countries and see their achievements in this field, Gyawali said, “it was a great learning experience and good opportunity to build national as well as international networks.”

Chinese IDT student Lin Lin agreed the experience was an opportunity to build international networks in the IDT field.  “I met the president of the AECT Affiliate of Hong Kong, China.  He is trying to establish a relationship between IDT professionals in China Mainland, Hong Kong, and the United States.” China Mainland is not very developed in the IDT field and Lin hopes her country can catch up with other countries.

Student travel was supported by funds from Emporia State University’s Graduate Office, the Associated Student Government in support of members of the Instructional Technology Student Association, The Teachers College Dean’s Office, as well as IDT Departmental funds.  Students volunteered their time working at registration and the technology support desk to off-set the cost of their registration fee. 

Dr. Colorado said the support given to these students was well worth it.  She enjoyed mentoring the students in preparation for their presentations.  “For most of them, this was their first professional presentation.  It is a wonderful feeling to watch them grow as presenters in the months leading up to the convention and then watch their final presentation in front of fellow IDT colleagues from all over the world.”

Dr. Colorado, who has been active in AECT governance groups over the last few years, had a few more accomplishments in addition to her presentation.  She began a new three-year appointment to the AECT Board (2014 -2017) as a representative of the Research and Theory Division.  She was also honored with a Special Service Award in appreciation for her dedicated service to AECT. 

The faculty in the IDT Department try to help students attend the AECT International Convention every year.  It is a valuable experience for both students and faculty alike.