Graduate & Undergraduate Mentee Contract

Hello! Happy New Year (sorry it is that awkward time of the year in which I am not sure if I should or should not say “Happy New Year”)!

I recently started a small research group with graduate and undergraduate students at my institution. Early in the Fall semester, a few students reached out to me (looking for research experience, mentorship, and collaboration) and I thought it would be a good idea. All of this students want to further their education and go on to doctoral programs. We are currently working on three to four projects together. Last semester was sort of my first time giving this “research group” thing a trial. I learned so much from the experience!

Consistent meetings are good
Have a meeting agenda
Set realistic deadlines
Understand each other’s skills
Understand each other’s expectations

Yesterday was our first meeting after the Winter Break. We talked about the upcoming data collections, IRB applications, conference proposals, conference presentations, and manuscripts we are planning to work on this semester (we are busy!). I also took time during our meeting to talk about this mentoring experience and what we should all expect. I shared the “Graduate Mentee Contract” to guide the discussion. It was passed on to me by an academic mama who works at a different institution. So I am paying it forward and sharing it in my blog just in case anyone else is looking for something similar.

View this document on Scribd

#AECTRTD is seeking nominations

Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)
ELECTIONS 2018

We are looking for candidates to serve in the AECT Research & Theory Division Board (2018 – 2019), in the positions listed below:

President-Elect [Three-Year Term]
Shall be responsible for chairing the division convention planning activities (first year). Shall conduct all business, meetings, and other tasks relating to division activity within AECT (second year). Shall be responsible for elections of officers and R&T division awards (third year).

Professional Development Coordinator Elect [Three-Year Term]
Commits to serving a 3-year term through the cycle of Coordinator-Elect, Coordinator and Past Coordinator. The Professional Development Coordinator Elect assists the Coordinator with professional development event planning and Early Career Symposium funding application.

Featured Research Coordinator [One-Year Term]
Responsible for reviewing, selecting and arranging featured research sessions for the AECT convention.

Secretary [One-Year Term]
Shall document meetings, prepare minutes and complete other tasks as assigned by the division president. The Secretary is elected from the division membership annually to a one-year term.

Member-at-Large [One-Year Term]
The Member-at-large may serve any number of consecutive terms, but must run for the office each year. Serves as the voice of RTD membership. Provides assistance, as needed, with professional development.

RTD Graduate Student Representative [One-Year Term]
Must be a current graduate student. The Graduate Student Representative acts as the liaison to the Graduate Student Assembly and provides a voice for graduate students to R&T leadership.

Communications Officer [One-Year Term]
Shall act as R&T Webmaster and run the division’s social media channels. The Communications Officer is elected from the division membership annually to a one-year term.

Self-nominations are welcomed. If interested, please send:
– Nominee’s full name and title
– Institutional affiliation
– Email address
– Short bio (300 words)
– Photo of nominee

The RTD Immediate Past President, Enilda Romero-Hall, will coordinate the nomination process. To submit a nomination, of yourself or a colleague, email the requested information to eromerohall@ut.edu by December 1, 2017.

Instructional Design Research Women’s Caucus #AECT17

Please consider joining us during this Research and Theory Division panel session at the AECT 2017 International Convention:

Lead Discussant:
Enilda Romero-Hall
University of Tampa

Discussants:
Zeni Colorado-Reza
Emporia State University

Ginger Watson
University of Virginia

Camille Dickson-Deane
University of Melbourne

Ayesha Sadaf
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Tugce Aldemir
Pennsylvania State University

See you in Jacksonville. Hope you can join us!

The official flyer: #UTampa Travel Course to Switzerland [Spring 2018]

#AECT2017 Early Career Symposium: Now Accepting Applicants

AECT’s Research and Theory Division will be hosting the 2017 Early Career Symposium this year sponsored by AECT. The symposium will be held as a half day online conference October 28th and at the annual AECT International Convention on Tuesday, November 7 (half day 1-6 PM starting with lunch) and Wednesday, November 8 (half day, 7:30AM – noon, ending with lunch together with the AECT Board), 2017, in Jacksonville, Florida. The symposium will thus engage participants in a day and a half of focused career mentoring and networking.

The symposium will reimburse Early Career faculty and Advanced Graduate Students with the conference fee ($395 for Early Career Faculty and $240 for Advanced Graduate Students). Reimbursements are pending submission of receipts after the symposium.

http://www.aect.org/events/mentor/CareerSymposium.asp

Faculty Led Experiential Education Abroad Program Approved [Destination: Switzerland]

Last week, I received notification that the faculty led short term experiential education abroad program I proposed to the UTampa Office of International Program was approved. So, who is coming with me to Switzerland? The name of the program is “Teaching and Learning in Switzerland.” The study abroad advisor from the Office of International Programs mentioned that alumni can join as “non-degree seeking students.”

Save the dates: May 6 – 15, 2018

More info coming soon!

Link to full-text: “Posting, Sharing, Networking, and Connecting: Use of Social Media Content by Graduate Students”

Here is a link to my latest publication: http://rdcu.be/qiVq

[This is a view only version. Unless you have a personal or institutional subscription to the journal]

Abstract:

The purpose of the present investigation was to better understand graduate students’ use of the content shared in the social media channels of their programs and the perceived impact that their participation in these social media spaces has on the graduate students’ transformation as professionals. Seventy-seven instructional design and technology (ID&T) graduate students completed an electronic questionnaire. The results revealed that although graduate students use social media for personal purposes, they are not always followers or members of the social media spaces of their ID&Tprogram. However, those who follow the social media of theirID&T program found tremendous benefits from the experience. These benefits range from feelings of belonging to acommunity of ID&T professionals, to career opportunitiesfor networking, and cross country interactions.

Learning from Las Vegas #AECT16 [Recap]

It has been a year of conference planning and work in preparation for #AECT16. I am happy with the outcome of the Research & Theory Division (RTD) division sessions and I am confident on the quality of the presentations. Since I had several president-elect commitments I was not able to attend many of the sessions but I received good feedback from those who attended the sessions. Thanks to all that helped and supported the Research and Theory Division before and during the conference.

The preparations for #AECT17 started already. RTD PD Professional Coordinators are already working on the grant preparation for the Early Career Symposium. Our RTD conference planner & research and theory coordinator had their first Convention Planning Committee meeting. Also, during the RTD membership meeting several topics related to research methodology and theoretical perspectives were mentioned as recommendations for the professional development coordinator-elect to consider. The RTD board, specifically our past president, has already started looking for potential nominees to serve in our division during the 2017-2018 service year. We are also preparing to launch several initiatives that will serve to connect graduate students and faculty members.

On a personal note, I am so grateful to be part of the AECT family and all my other sub-families (ESU IDT, ODU IDT, and UT IDT). I am very grateful that I was able to attend the AECT conference this year (since I was not able to attend #AECT15). I made new connections with first timers or individuals who I’ve never had the opportunity meet in the past. As usual, it was great to see and talk to those who I consider not only colleagues but also my friends. Hope to see everyone next year in Jacksonville!

For quick access to the #AECT16 hashtag tweets click here: #AECT16 Tweets

International Scholar, Hanspeter Erni, from @PHLuzern visits @UofTampa @UT_IDT

This week the UT Department of Education and UT Instructional Design & Technology Program hosted, Mr. Hanspeter Erni. Mr. Erni is the Director for the Center of Teaching and Learning and the Head of Computer Science and Media Education at PH Luzern. I met Hanspeter during my visit to PH Luzern last year.

During his visit to The University of Tampa, Hanspeter, did a presentation for the UT College of Social Science, Mathematics, and Education (CSSME) faculty, staff members, and current UT IDT students and alumni. It was a great presentation on the importance of informatics and computer science. He also discussed the project “Mini-Beaver.”

Music Room, Plant Hall [University of Tampa]

In addition to the presentation, I was lucky to have Hanspeter join one of the UT IDT classes. Other activities included: visits to local schools, meeting with the UT CTL Director, and meeting the UT Ed Tech department.

We are collaborating on a special project that will help internationalize the educational experience of UT graduate and undergraduate students. This includes the addition of a travel component (optional) in the curriculum for education graduate and undergraduate students (and potentially UT students with others major who find the topic interesting. More information on this coming soon!

Sneak Preview: #AECT16 Research & Theory Division Highlights

Yesterday, I purchased my plane ticket to Las Vegas (to attend the AECT 2016 International Convention later this year). This reminded me that I wanted to share a sneak preview of the AECT Research & Theory Division (RTD) sessions. As you know (if you read my blog posts regularly), I have the pleasure of serving as the AECT RTD Convention Planner as well as the Featured Research (FR) Sessions planner. The peer review process for all the sessions was earlier this year (it was not an easy process). The AECT RTD had a large number of good submissions and, at the same time, it had a limited number of allotted presentation hours (plus we had very rigorous reviewers). Now that the review process is completed and all accepted authors have been notified, all planners put together division highlights for the conference printed program. Below are the sneak preview or “highlights” for the AECT RTD and Featured Research Sessions. The full AECT16 schedule will be available in a few months.

Featured Research Sessions: https://cloudup.com/cZomjap6oqL

Research and Theory Highlights: https://cloudup.com/cs6T_t6JAID

For more info about the conference, visit the AECT 2016 website: http://www.aect.org/events/convhotel/