Travel – Design Goodiness

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

Academia, Distance Education, Education, Educational Technology, Higher Education, Instructional Design, Lucerne, Professional Development, Research, Teaching, Travel

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

March 28, 2017 eromerohall

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

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More info coming soon!

Academia, AECT, Educational Technology, Higher Education, Instructional Design, Professional Development, Research, Travel, Webinar

#AECT16 R&T Division Webinar [Convention Highlights]

September 9, 2016September 26, 2016 eromerohall

Please join the AECT Research & Theory Division for a Webinar!
2016 AECT Convention Highlights
Thursday, September 15, 12:00 Noon – Eastern
Register Here: bit.ly/2016RTD

Here is a copy of the slide deck for the webinar:

AECT 2016 RTD Highlights Webinar from Enilda Romero-Hall

Academia, AECT, Conference, Education, Educational Technology, Higher Education, Instructional Design, Professional Development, Research, Travel

Sneak Preview: #AECT16 Research & Theory Division Highlights

June 24, 2016August 16, 2016 eromerohall

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/

Academia, Education, Higher Education, Travel

Academic Momma Traveling with an Infant

June 21, 2016June 25, 2016 eromerohall

Recently travelled abroad for a professional development seminar and took my 6-month old with me. The trip was overseas (Miami to Spain with a layover in Lisbon on the way there and back. The layover on the way back involved an overnight stay in Lisbon). I want to share some advice and things to consider when engaging in this type of travel adventures. I know there are many academic mommas that have to travel to conference and other engagements. Hope these bits of information and advice help make your travel journey a bit less stressful. One more thing, this advice relates to all mommas traveling with an infant (academic or not).

Call the airline in advance. Let them know you are traveling with an infant. They can arrange a decent seat for you and your child, perhaps with close access to a bathroom (in case you need to change your child). I called the airline three weeks in advance my travel dates and they arranged to seat us in the first row of economy class. We were fairly close to the bathroom with the changing table and had a bit of extra room in front of us because we were in the first row. Also, the airline that we used (TPA Portugal) provided us with a small, detachable bassinet so that baby could sleep in it during the flight.
Let the hotel know that you are traveling with a baby. If you let them know in advance, they can arrange to give you a quiet room or put a crib in your room. Most hotels will do this for free. I have not come across a hotel that charges for a crib.
Make sure you carry enough diapers and wipes with you in your diaper bag. I did not see any stores selling diapers in the airport. I initially thought I had packed enough diapers for the entire trip and was in a bit of panic mode when I realized I could run out of diapers.
When you are in the airport, check for queue lines that are assigned for parents with children. In particular for security, passport control, or other lines. It will save you time and energy. I did not see queue lines for “parents with children” in the U.S. airport (Miami) but I did see and used them in Europe (Spain and Portugal).
Strongly recommend traveling with another adult to help you with the process. This person can be your spouse, parents, or a friend. It is doable for you to travel on your own with your infant but it will be a bit stressful. Having someone else to share the responsibility will ease the stress of dealing with paperwork, timelines, luggage, changing diapers, feeding, and everything else that comes with traveling with an infant.
Do not leave packing until the last minute. If you can find someone to watch baby while you pack, it will be very helpful. I recommend making a list of the things you must take with you (clothes, toys, food) and the things that you could buy at your destination.
Take time to think about traveling with your baby and proceed as desired. For some reason other people will feel the need to tell you their opinion on whether you should or should not travel with your infant. The reality is that you know yourself and your infant better than anyone else. If you feel that you and your infant are ready, do it.
Make sure you have a pacifier or bottle with food ready during the changes in altitude. During a flight, give you infant the pacifier or bottle as the plane takes off or lands to avoid pain in his/her ears: http://www.entnet.org/content/ears-and-altitude

So far, this is the initial list I have. I know I will remember other suggestions and advice in the future. I will just update this post as I remember them.