ESU IDT alum Ken Morrison selected as a 2013 Apple Distinguished Educator

Emporia State University Instructional Design and Technology alumnus Ken Morrison (MS, 2008) received a global award from Apple Computer when he was inducted to the 2013 global class of Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs). Morrison was one of 15 educators in Asia, Australia and New Zealand to be chosen by Apple for the ADE Showcase presentation at the 2013 Apple Education Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Ken was also named as the official facilitator of Apple’s “@pple Meetup” Korea group for the 2013-2014 school year. The group of educators gathers monthly at Apple’s Korea headquarters in Seoul to discuss the newest trends and ideas of integrating technology effectively in the classroom.

Morrison is beginning his 8th semester as a professor at Hannam University’s Linton Global College in Daejeon, South Korea. He teaches New Media Technology and Internet Media Production.

Ken curates a popular web site - “An Eye on New Media” http://www.scoop.it/t/new-media-technology

An explanation of the ADE program -
http://www.apple.com/education/apple-distinguished-educator/

Proposal Deadline Aug. 15 - KAECT,KSL, KASL Tri-Conference

Are you looking for an opportunity to show-off your skills and knowledge at a conference full of library/media specialists….and a handful of education technology folks?
 
KAECT is accepting conference proposals for the annual KAECT, KSL, KASL Tri-Conference to be held October 9-11, 2013 in Topeka at the Convention Center.

DEADLINE - August 15th (extended from July)

Go to http://kaect.org/?page_id=142 for more information and for the link to the online submission system.
This would be a fun, non-threatening environment for graduate students (and brave undergraduate students). Don't fee like going solo?  Ask your fellow students, alumni, co-workers, or faculty members/instructors to join in as co-presenters.
We just LOVE presenting WITH our students!!!

But hurry!  The deadline is approaching quickly. Hey, what else worthwhile did you have planned to do this weekend?  Yeah, that's what I thought! Get to work!

Help AECT craft a new mission, vision, and strategic plan. Here's how!

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

Get down on it! Enroll in Summer 2013 classes today!

IDT Students (and IDT alumni who need some professional development – yeah, I talking to you!):
 
Get down on it and enroll for your Summer 2013 courses!
Things are changing at ESU – for the better.  Our semi-new president Dr. Michael Shonrock is brilliant and full of energy. 

However, just like the new sheriff in town, there are some new rules for summer class enrollments.  These new minimum enrollments will assure that resources go where they are needed.
 
So, what does this mean for our IDT classes?  Although the formula is more complex than solving the US budget deficit, the ballpark enrollment number that we need for each graduate IDT class ranges from 8 to 11 (depending upon the rank and seniority of the faculty member).
 
When will we decide which classes make and which don’t?
On or around May 1st  - at that time, we will determine which courses have the best chance of being offered and courses may be cancelled.
 
What can you do to help?
Go ahead and get enrolled, as soon as possible!
 
Download Summer/Fall 2013 course offering flyers from - http://www.emporia.edu/idt/courseinfo.html
Search the class schedule here - http://www.emporia.edu/regist/schedule/
(You can even drill down to see the current enrollment)
You may enroll via Buzzin or by calling Distance Education at 877-332-4249 or 620-341-5385
 
So, GET DOWN ON IT!

Starts March 11 - Free MOOC-Project Management for Instructional Designers

Our free IDT MOOC - Project Management for Instructional Designers - begins March 11 (until May 10). The instructor for the MOOC is Dr. Rob Gibson, ESU's Associate CIO for Academic Technology and User Services. This is our first attempt at offering a MOOC, so I hope you can join us for this exciting FREE course offering and give us some feedback!
To gain access, go to - https://canvas.instructure.com/enroll/MWABMD
Try it out, you might like it!

Course Description -
“Project Management for Instructional Designers,” is designed for students with little or no background in formal project management.  It provides an introductory examination of the primary components involved with Project Management: Developing a Project Charter; Developing the Project Scope; Developing the Work Breakdown Structure;  Developing Critical Path and Gantt Charts; Determining Project Risks; Determining Project Success Criteria; Developing the Project Organization Chart; and Communicating the Project to the Organization.  Our goal is to understand what is involved in complex instructional design projects involving multiple personnel, such as graphic designers, video production specialists, subject matter experts, pedagogy specialists, web developers, accessibility specialists, programmers, multimedia developers, and other key personnel.

Study Abroad Opportunities for ESU IDT Students and Alumni

How about going overseas this summer?
At the link below you will find some summer study abroad opportunities and continuing education opportunities for those of you who are already in the workforce.
http://www.emporia.edu/oie/study-abroad/summer-programs.html
I HIGHLY recommend the CHINA study abroad with my colleague Dr. Luo.  He has conducted this for several years and has even scored $425 pay, free meals, and housing for teaching at the university.
Feel free to contact Dr. Luo for more information.

Chinese Education and Culture Experience
Dates:     May 17-June 09, 2013
Credits:     3 credits
Course:    ED343ZB: 3 undergraduate credit
                 ED743XK: 3 graduate credit hours

Program Description:   
This course provides an opportunity for ESU undergraduate and graduate students to learn about the education and culture in China and to experience the dynamics of globalization and international diversity. The content of the course prepares the students with skills of learning and teaching as a dynamic process and knowledge of ever changing educational needs of students living in a global society (The Teachers College Conceptual Framework).  China, a major player of international economy in the 21st century, not only upholds one of the world's oldest and most complex cultures, but also provides education to the largest population in the entire global society. The students will experience firsthand the education, culture, and society system in China by participating in lectures and seminars on Chinese education and culture, practicing English teaching in the Chinese classroom, visiting schools, and having field trips to the historical/cultural sites. In addition, the students will have opportunities to get involved in the local cultural events, and communicate and exchange ideas with Chinese scholars, students, and  local educators.

Methods and Activities: Lectures and seminars, classroom teaching, school and family visits, field, historical and cultural trips, Local Events and Culture Involvement.

Estimated Cost:   
The host university will offer each student:
A stipend of $425 for teaching,
Free meals on campus cafeteria for the teaching period (three weeks)
Free housing with air-conditioning and bathroom for the teaching period (three weeks)
Possibly free local traveling and sightseeing around Guangzhou area at weekends.
Students are responsible for $2,747 for the costs (estimated) of the program, including:

Round-trip airfare
Passport and visa fee
Health insurance
Tickets for cultural events or site visits if necessary
Local transportation
Immunization
Other additional personal expenses
(*) estimated amount and subject to change based upon airfare)

Not included in the program cost:
ESU tuition for 3 credits

For more information:    Dr. Mingchu (Neal) Luo
Department of School Leadership and Middle/Secondary Teacher Education
The Teachers College (VH 205, Box 4037)
Emporia State University
Phone: 620-341-5835

IDT Spring Kick-off Luncheon

IDT students, alumni, and friends in the Emporia area! (And of course any of our distance students who wish to travel many miles to lovely Emporia, KS for a covered dish luncheon).

You are invited to our IDT Spring 2013 Kick-off Luncheon!
12 p.m. (Noon), Friday, January 25th
Macintosh Lab, Visser Hall 22

Bring a favorite covered dish to share with IDT faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other IDT friends. It’s a chance to catch-up with your professors and instructors and make connections with other IDT students and alumni!

Not sure what to bring?  Try a meat dish, vegetable or fruit dishes, salads, chips & dip, cookies, various types of desserts, beverages, etc.  International dishes are ALWAYS appreciated! - YUM! Please bring serving utensils for your dish.

IDT will provide the plates, silverware, cups,  napkins & ice.  If you plan to attend, please send an RSVP to jschneid@emporia.edu, just so we know how many to expect.