AECT
President Elect

Dirk Ifenthaler
University of Mannheim, Germany and Curtin University, Australia

www.ifenthaler.info  

I am truly honored to be a candidate for President of AECT. My major involvement in AECT began as graduate student and international member through the annual convention. I quickly realized that AECT is the organization providing me with multiple opportunities to build an invaluable network of international researchers and practitioners in educational technology. I am the past-president of the Design and Development Division, having served as conference planner as well as Vice-President of Communications and President for D&D. Since 2015, I am the awards chair for the D&D Outstanding Journal Article award.

Professional background

I am a Full Professor and Chair for Learning, Design and Technology at the University of Mannheim in Germany (http://ifenthaler.bwl.uni-mannheim.de) where I am teaching both undergraduate and graduate students in teacher education, instructional technology, and learning sciences. I am also an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University in Australia. My previous roles include Full Professor and Director for Digital Learning at Deakin University in Australia and Full Professor for Applied Teaching and Learning Research at the University of Potsdam in Germany. In 2012, I was a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Oklahoma.

My research focuses on the intersection of cognitive psychology, educational technology, data analytics, and organizational learning. My research outcomes span 20 (co-)authored books, over 80 book chapters, and more than 60 peer-reviewed international journal articles, as well as over 100 international conference papers – over a third of them presented at AECT International Conventions. I am the Editor-in-Chief of the Springer journal Technology, Knowledge and Learning (http://www.springer.com/10758) which offers AECT members free access to all published articles.

Being an AECT President

AECT is unique in being the only organization bringing together researchers and practitioners who are passionate about facilitating learning through technology. As President for AECT, I will work hard to attain the recognition of AECT being the leading organization in educational technology and providing unique opportunities for all our members. Therefore, the role of AECT president includes understanding and confirming the vision and goals of AECT and its membership, recognizing past and present plans, and developing future initiatives, collaborating with AECT key stakeholders, reviewing AECT’s internal processes and procedures, as well as analyzing possible risks for AECT as a learning organization.

The Divisions of AECT reflect the broad expertise of this organization. Utilizing this expertise in our divisions, AECT is in a prime position to be the leading organization in educational technology. Reaching out to researchers and practitioners through our divisions will help to grow the visibility of AECT. Therefore, I strongly believe that AECT is the only organization capable to react timely towards disruptive changes in the educational arena.

My vision for AECT is to achieve its goal of being the leading international organization in educational communications and technology. I am a member of the AECT International Symposium Coordination Team (with Feng-Qi Lai and Ana Donaldson), where we reach out to international researchers to organize global events. These symposia help to raise the international awareness of AECT. In addition, the symposia are a platform to produce invaluable research outcomes in our filed. As a President of AECT, I will help to further develop the international recognition of our great organization.

Being a co-editor of the AECT Books and Briefs series (with J. Michael Spector and MJ Bishop; http://www.springer.com/series/11824) and section editor of the AECT Major Reference Work (MRW; http://refworks.springer.com/mrw/index.php?id=7054) Learning, Design and Technology, my goal is to facilitate members of AECT to publish not only traditional research studies but also provide our members opportunities to publish research utilizing alternative methodologies and best practice design cases.

I would like to support AECT to further develop a connected and collaborative environment (online and face-to-face) beyond the annual conference. This may include additional mentoring initiatives and scholarships for graduate students who are the future of our organization. Further, I have developed a web-based research and practice repository which can include research findings, project insights, and best practice design examples – I am ready to offer this tool to members of AECT which will be a platform to connect and share resources and expertise of AECT members and beyond.

Conclusion

I do hope to have the opportunity to serve as President-Elect to plan and present the 2018 international convention in Kansas City, Missouri. Knowing many experts in designing learning environments in this organization, I strongly believe that we can further advance our future conferences toward a truly interactive and engaging experience. This may include short video abstracts showcasing the highlights of the accepted presentations or flexible session formats, suiting the needs of our divisions, like birds of a feather sessions or camp fire talks.

Please contact me via email (dirk@ifenthaler.info) or Twitter (@ifenthaler) if you would like to follow-up with a detailed conversation about my vision as AECT President. I look forward to your support and to serving you as AECT President - let’s share our passion for learning!




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