Preston Parker, one of the interns at last year’s AECT conference, asked me to present to the graduate students at this year’s conference about how to get involved in the AECT organization. I can only speak about my experience, so I wondered if anyone has some ideas of their own they can contribute to this topic? Please add them as a comment! Tell me how you got involved in AECT, and what kernels of wisdom you might leave behind for other grad students. The following are some of my thoughts, organized around three areas: getting involved with service, presentations, and publishing (along with a couple of “in general” tips).
Getting involved with Service
• Attend division meetings. Sign up for any committees or things that need to be done
Teacher Ed, International Division, DL, Systemic Change have all seemed pretty open to student involvement.
• Sign up for division listservs. Pay attention if they ask for help for committees
• Run for office. You don’t have to be the expert to be a communications officer or a board member, you just have to be willing to help out and serve.
• Volunteer at least once. Try to do most of your hours the first or last day. If you must do it during the week, volunteer for assignments that will get you out meeting people (such as setting up their lab equipment, working the vending booth)
• Offer to review proposals. Most divisions will let you. If they won’t, or if you are nervous, do shadow reviewing.
• Attend the summer leadership conference if possible.
Getting involved with Presentations
• How many are presenting this week? Are you nervous? If you aren’t presenting, why not?
• Try submitting a proposal. Do your best, have buddies review it first, but then when you’ve done your best, submit it. You may surprise yourself and get accepted.
• Tip: have your data analysis already done
• Tip: grammar and spelling matter.
• Tip: Make sure it makes sense. Have a buddy read it first.
• Collaborate with each other. One of my best experiences was working on a presentation with some folks I only met briefly at AECT
Getting involved with Publishing
• TechTrends is a great journal to get a refereed experience for the first time, and is a journal that will get read by everyone in AECT.
• Pay attention if your division is doing a special issue of TechTrends and offer to collaborate with someone on an article
• Suggest an article for the non-refereed section to the editor.
• Enter the ETRD and ECT awards competitions. Who knows, you might win? If not, you’ll get great feedback. Of course, only submit things that you have worked hard on and represent your best work and that others have already reviewed.
In general
• Don’t eat alone. Get a group to go out at night! Come eat with me if you want! Attend all social functions at night.
• Ask your professor to go with you to the PIDT conference in May, where you can get to know many of the AECT folks in a laid-back setting.