AECT RTD Newsletter: December 2013

Welcome Message from Dr. George Veletsianos (RTD President)

Dr. George Veletsianos is Canada Research Chair of Innovative Learning and Technology and Professor at Royal Roads University’s School of Education and Technology. Dr. Veletsianos is a past Fulbright scholar and was recently awarded one of seven early-career fellowships by the Network of Excellence in Technology Enhanced Learning, a European Union Initiative. His research interests focus on the design and study of emerging technologies and pedagogies in online and hybrid education settings, and their relationship to student and instructor experiences and practices. - See more at: http://www.veletsianos.com/about-2/#sthash.mT1Il5vc.dpuf

Dr. George Veletsianos is Canada Research Chair of Innovative Learning and Technology and Professor at Royal Roads University’s School of Education and Technology. Dr. Veletsianos is a past Fulbright scholar and was recently awarded one of seven early-career fellowships by the Network of Excellence in Technology Enhanced Learning, a European Union Initiative. His research interests focus on the design and study of emerging technologies and pedagogies in online and hybrid education settings, and their relationship to student and instructor experiences and practices. - See more at: http://www.veletsianos.com/about-2/#sthash.mT1Il5vc.dpu

Dr. George Veletsianos is Canada Research Chair of Innovative Learning and Technology and Professor at Royal Roads University’s School of Education and Technology. Dr. Veletsianos is a past Fulbright scholar and was recently awarded one of seven early-career fellowships by the Network of Excellence in Technology Enhanced Learning, a European Union Initiative. His research interests focus on the design and study of emerging technologies and pedagogies in online and hybrid education settings, and their relationship to student and instructor experiences and practices. - See more at: http://www.veletsianos.com/about-2/#sthash.emkPhgdu.dpuf

Dr. George Veletsianos is Canada Research Chair of Innovative Learning and Technology and Professor at Royal Roads University’s School of Education and Technology. Dr. Veletsianos is a past Fulbright scholar and was recently awarded one of seven early-career fellowships by the Network of Excellence in Technology Enhanced Learning, a European Union Initiative. His research interests focus on the design and study of emerging technologies and pedagogies in online and hybrid education settings, and their relationship to student and instructor experiences and practices. - See more at: http://www.veletsianos.com/about-2/#sthash.mT1Il5vc.dpuf

Dr. George Veletsianos is Canada Research Chair of Innovative Learning and Technology and Professor at Royal Roads University’s School of Education and Technology. Dr. Veletsianos is a past Fulbright scholar and was recently awarded one of seven early-career fellowships by the Network of Excellence in Technology Enhanced Learning, a European Union Initiative. His research interests focus on the design and study of emerging technologies and pedagogies in online and hybrid education settings, and their relationship to student and instructor experiences and practices. - See more at: http://www.veletsianos.com/about-2/#sthash.mT1Il5vc.dpuf

Dr. George Veletsianos is Canada Research Chair of Innovative Learning and Technology and Professor at Royal Roads University’s School of Education and Technology. Dr. Veletsianos is a past Fulbright scholar and was recently awarded one of seven early-career fellowships by the Network of Excellence in Technology Enhanced Learning, a European Union Initiative. His research interests focus on the design and study of emerging technologies and pedagogies in online and hybrid education settings, and their relationship to student and instructor experiences and practices. - See more at: http://www.veletsianos.com/about-2/#sthash.mT1Il5vc.dpu

RTD members,

As president of the Research and Theory division, I'd like to thank you for being part of our division!

Over the last few years, thanks to the efforts of board members and members alike, the Research and Theory Division has grown into a strong vibrant community of scholars. I'm excited for what all of us together have accomplished and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.

We live in exciting times. Discussions around educational innovation and technology abound, and for the past year or so our discipline and practice are in the spotlight. We have much to contribute to the conversations focusing on technology, pedagogy, and design. Opportunities to engage with emerging learning environments (e.g., distributed communities adapting MOOC content and reusing it locally), new forms of data (e.g., publicly available social media), and other emerging practices (e.g., open scholarship) provide much food for thought. The challenges are also numerous, ranging from debates questioning the need for theory to recurring debates on whether a silver bullet exists.

Research and theory matter, and we have a great opportunity ahead of us. Our opportunity is to work with educators, practitioners, designers, policymakers, and educational technology startups, to instigate change in education. We can achieve that through great design, rigorous and relevant research, applying theory to practice, applying practice to theory, and widely (and openly) sharing our successes and failures.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with the RTD board, We would love to hear your suggestions for the conference, future events, the newsletter, or anything else that you believe might contribute to our division and our collective understanding of research and theory.

I hope you have a great holiday season and may the new year be one of health, peace, and love.

Yours,

George Veletsianos (Victoria, British Columbia, December 18, 2013)

AECT Elections - Starting Soon!

AECT RTD members the elections will start in January! We have a very diverse group of candidates for the Research & Theory division. Please remember to vote!