Cengiz Hakan Aydin
Anadolu University

Cengiz Hakan AYDIN, PhD, is a professor in Anadolu University of Turkey, which is considered as one of the mega universities of the world due to its 2.6 million distance students. Professor AYDIN offers Instructional Design course in undergraduate level and three graduate courses (Designing Open and Distance Learning, Research in Distance Education, and Trends in Open and Distance Learning). His research interest focuses on design and development of flexible learning environments, social aspects of online learning, evaluation of technology interventions, e-learning in workplaces, adult learning, and educational communications.

Professor AYDIN has just recently left the deanship position from one the distance education colleges of Anadolu University (Faculty of Economics that offers distance various undergraduate degree programs in the fields of economics and public administrations). He also served as the President of the International Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), as one of the board member of the International Council for Educational Media (ICEM), and as a board member of the International Division of AECT.

Professor AYDIN has been a member of editorial boards of the journals, the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL), and Educational Media International (EMI). He is currently serving as the editor of book review section of IRRODL, and as a member of the steering committee of OpenupEd, a MOOC platform based in Europe. Dr. AYDIN also co-chairs the Distance/Flexible Education Special Interest Group (SIG) of the SITE (the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education).  

Professor AYDIN, has also been working as a senior instructional designer in course book design team of Anadolu University, where he assists content experts to write self-study based textbooks for distance learners. Dr. AYDIN is, additionally, coordinating AKADEMA Project Anadolu University. AKADEMA is the MOOCs offerings of the University and the name of the platform where the University offers currently 42 MOOCs.  

STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY

There are several reasons for my candidacy for the AECT’s Division of Distance Learning (DDL). First of all, open and distance learning has been not only a profession for me but also a compassion. After having established the open education system in Anadolu University in 1982, the former president decided to launch these special degree programs to developing human resources for this system. I am one of the early graduates of one of these programs, back then it was called as Educational Communications and Planning. So, I first met with open and distance learning practices and theories in 1984 and since then I have been trying to learn what we can do to help different people learn in a flexible (open) way, and trying out new approached to provide quality learning opportunities particularly to those non-traditional learners. I have gained some experience in the field and would like to share it with global audience. So, I felt that the presidency of the AECT’s Division of Distance Learning (DDL) might be an opportunity to expand my experience and share the current experience with the experts who have the same compassion. In order to do so, I would like to organize online and face-to-face discussion/seminar sessions among DDL members and some other experts.

Second of all, the field and practice of open and distance learning has grown fast with quite a variety of approaches. For instance, the contexts, practices and research priorities in the field in Europe and Asia are different then U.S. As a person who has connections and insight about these various settings, I feel that I can be a moderator for the DDL members to develop better understanding and may be some joint projects. More specifically I would like to work on developing some joint research as well as publication projects among the DDL members and some European, and Asian (including MiddleEast) experts.

Third of all, there are many other organizations share the same interest as the DDL members. For instance, SITE is an organization focusing on technology and teacher education, and its Distance/Flexible Education SIG is mainly concentrate on distance learning in higher education. There is a saying in my culture, I believe it is true in all the others: one hand has nothing while two hands have a [strong] voice. So, since I am co-chairing this SIG, I feel that I can again serve as a mediator to bring experts who have the same interest (ODL) in these two organizations (AECT-DLL and SITE-D/FE) together to share their experiences mutually.

The forth reason is also related to my compassion about the field of open and distance learning. I strongly believe in that ODL should be considered as a mature field of study that has its own concepts, definitions, theories and implementations. It deals not only formal but also non-formal and informal learning, and is not limited to use technology into learning processes. So, I would like to start a professional development project for those who would like to learn more or gain some more experience on how to design, teach, manage ODL courses, programs, and systems. In other words, I would like to initiate a MOOC project in which we can offer several MOOCs to those who are interested in learning best practices of ODL.  
Finally, I would like to work on increasing the membership in the division. I will work on bringing not only U.S. experts but also internationals into the Division.

In sum, I am volunteer to serve as the president of the AECT’s Division of Distance Learning (DDL) to be able to create;
• more interaction opportunities among its members,
• several joint research and publication chances among its members and with especially international experts,
• more partnerships with sister organizations, and
• professional development opportunities.  
I strongly believe in that my previous experience as the president of the AECT’s International Division will help me a lot to complete my plans and other duties.
Contact Info:
Cengiz Hakan AYDIN
Anadolu University
Open Education Faculty, Office #608
Tepebasi, Eskisehir, 26470
T (o)  +90-222-335-0580 ext: 2458
T (m) +90-532-237-2821
chaydin@anadolu.edu.tr
@chaydin