Transitions in the Emporia State IDT Program

It is hard to believe an entire summer has gone and we are over a month into the Fall Semester!  First
let me take a moment to express what a privilege and honor it is to serve the Emporia State University (ESU) Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) Program students, faculty, staff, and alumni as Department Chair.  During the month of June, I worked closely with Dr. Childress and our administrative assistant, Janet Schneider on transitioning into the new position.  In July, we said farewell to Dr. Childress as a faculty member, but I can assure you, he remains an advocate for the ESU IDT program and a continued member of the IDT family.  We will continue to see him at various gatherings and professional events in the IDT field. I look forward to building upon the solid foundation Dr. Childress laid in his 11 years as department chair and advance the ESU IDT program to the next level.  Thank you, Dr. Childress!

We have been working on quite a few things over the last few months! Soon after this post, I will post these updates.  If you prefer to receive these via email, please subscribe to our email list at http://eepurl.com/ZB2v1.

I hope to send/post similar updates on a more regular basis throughout the year.  If you have news to share, or perhaps would like to author a guest post on our IDT blog, please contact me!

Sincerely,
Zeni Colorado
jcolorad@emporia.edu
Associate Professor and Chair
Instructional Design and Technology

Leaving ESU and moving to Baker University (a note from Dr. Childress)

Earlier this year, I announced that I will step down from the IDT department chair position at ESU. The plan was to teach 3 master's level classes each semester, research, do some writing (and perhaps grants) and just fade away, like an old soldier (see General Douglas MacArthur, 1951) -
http://youtu.be/M87s_I-c-Xw?t=7m42s

That was the plan ..... until I was approached with a rare opportunity at Baker University.....

On July 1, I will be be leaving Emporia State University to begin work at Baker University as Professor and Director (and creator) of a new doctoral program in Instructional Design and Technology.  The Baker University undergraduate programs are housed at the beautiful Baldwin City, KS campus. My office and doc program will be housed at the Baker University School of Education/School of Professional and Graduate Studies facilities in Overland Park, KS (8001 College Boulevard). I am sad that I will be leaving my wonderful ESU IDT faculty colleagues and master's students.  However, I am happy that I may be able to help many of my former and current ESU IDT students achieve their goal of advanced graduate study (think Ed.D./Ph.D. in IDT degree) at Baker University.  Although the actual doc program will likely begin in fall 2015, interested individuals may be able to begin as early as fall 2014 by taking some of the common research courses that are already in place with the existing Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership. It's a bit early to give too many details, but I foresee an online and/or hybrid program that can be delivered online and at the Baker - Overland Park, KS location.

I have no doubt that ESU IDT will continue to be a world-class program, producing the finest master's degree graduates; and I am counting on it. Hopefully, many of our outstanding ESU IDT graduates will take the next step with me at Baker University!

Dr. Childress

Will it play in Emporia?

Will it play in Emporia?

When discussing how tech will change higher ed, don’t forget small state schools.

An interesting piece (and title) in Slate by Paula Krebs, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Bridgewater State University.

She makes some valid points about the importance of small regional universities to our society and how regional universities will need to embrace new technologies (and most importantly methodologies) to survive.

The problem, according to Krebs -

"While so many of us have been defending the value of a liberal arts education against the desire for us to deliver “skills,” we’ve too often been holding out against change in general—and technology in particular."

The forecast -

"The schools that don’t figure out what technology can do for their institutions and their students, who relay on their current methods of instruction and assessment, will be left behind over the next decades."

The outlook for instructional technologists/designers working in higher education is bright -

"....the kind of instruction we need will depend on faculty development, on faculty members being trained by their institutions to teach differently with tech."

Thoughts?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Post your comments below or on our IDT Facebook page.

See China this Summer! Study Abroad Opportunity with Stipend and Free Accommodations

The Teachers College and the Office of International Education (OIE) is offering an exciting three-week study abroad opportunity to all ESU graduate and undergraduate students in China (Guangzhou), this coming summer 2014. Students who participate in the study abroad will be offered a stipend of about $500 for teaching, free meals and housing, and some free local trips and sightseeing.

Students will experience Chinese lectures and seminars, classroom teaching, school and family visits, historical and cultural field trips and sightseeing, local events and culture involvement.



For more detailed information:
http://www.emporia.edu/oie/study-abroad/summer-programs.html#China           
If interested, contact Dr. Neal Luo: 620-341-5835 or mluo@emporia.edu

ESU IDT Team Presents Winning Instructional Design Solution at International Competition

Anaheim, CA – For the 5th consecutive year, a team from Emporia State University’s Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) master of science program was chosen as a finalist in the PacifiCorp International Design and Development Competition, sponsored by Pacific Power and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT).  The IDT team of Ziang Wang and Yun Lauren Liu (L/R in photo) presented their winning instructional design and development solution at the AECT 2013 International Convention in Anaheim, CA. The 2013 PacifiCorp design and development competition involved having teams of two students design and develop a detailed written solution and oral report in response to a complex instructional design case study.  During the year-long competition, over one dozen international doctoral and master’s degree teams competed in the first round of the competition with 6 teams moving forward to the second round. Three teams were selected as winning finalists and invited to present their solutions at the AECT convention.  ESU IDT teams have achieved finalist status 5 years in a row (6 out of the last 7 years of the competition). 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. 

Recent ESU IDT history in the competition:
2007 - Sandy Valenti and Steve Harmon -  finalists
2009 - Liz Ermis and Jennifer Gibson - finalists
2010 - Michael Schwind and Rob Ervin - finalists
2011 - Jason Baker and Michael Stewart - finalists
2012 – Qing Zhang and Daniel Baldwin; Seung Gutsch and Daphne Tseng – finalists
2013 – Ziang Wang and Yun Lauren Liu – finalists

IDT-KAECT Conference Program is set. Register to attend, before it's too late!

The program is set for our ESU IDT-KAECT spring conference “Technology Integrated Learning & Kansas College Career Ready Standards” at Emporia State University on Friday, February 21 from 9:00 - 3:30. 

View a PDF of the program listing our outstanding presenters and abstracts of their presentations.

Information regarding registration.

We hope to see you on Friday, February 21st.

KAECT Conference

There’s still time to submit a presentation proposal and register for the upcoming “Technology Integrated Learning & Kansas College Career Ready Standards” KAECT Spring conference to be held on the campus at Emporia State University on Friday, February 21 from 9:00 - 3:30. A correction to previous correspondence, there is a modest conference fee that includes lunch. Information regarding the conference and pricing can be located at the following site: http://kaect.org/conferences/2014-kaect-spring-conference/2014-kaect-spring-conference-description/

The keynote speaker will be Doug Christensen, known as the ‘Assessment Maverick’ by Edutopia.http://www.edutopia.org/douglas-christensen