Day 1 AECT 2012: Ontology, TCL, and Opening Social

This post is part of a Multiple Part Series on the 2012 AECT Convention.

#AECT 2012

It is the end of my first day at the AECT 2012 International Convention. I've enjoyed the presentations and interactions thus far, despite the fact that I helped give one of the presentations... Here are some of my experiences at the conference today.

10:00 - 11:30 IDT Professors Forum
This morning I attended the IDT Professors forum. We talked about how our foundational beliefs about reality, what knowledge is, and how people learn have a profound influence on the way we teach and design instruction. The presenters shared the slide below:

Ontological Perspectives Comparison Table

It was a good discussion - got me thinking about my own underlying beliefs and how they influence my approach to teaching and design.

1:00 - 2:00 Co-presented with Greg Francom - What is Task-Centered Learning?
Dr. Greg Francom and I presented on a paper that we wrote on what task-centered learning (TCL) is. The purpose of the paper was to identify the common elements of several similar models of instruction. We also differentiated TCL from Problem-based Learning (PBL) and showed some of the fundamental differences in the underlying assumptions and applications of each theory.

Fundamental Components of Task-Centered Learning: 

• Learning Tasks
• Activation of Prior Knowledge
• Demonstration/Modeling
• Application
• Integration/Exploration

One will note that these principles align quite well with Dr. Merrill's First Principles of Instruction.

Greg during our TCL Presentation

One interesting discussion with the participants revolved around the question of whether or not we should try to synthesize theories together into a coherent framework. There were 2 camps - one thought we should, the other that we shouldn't. In my mind, I think that we should try to make coherence out of the theories and principles that have been discovered and researched by putting them together into a coherent, usable structure. However, this is not to say that we should try to combine everything that has ever been studied into one great ultimate theory of instruction; rather, we should clarify what works when and provide a structure that allows a person to use that knowledge in meaningful, contextualized ways.

Evening Social
After an interesting keynote address, I spent a couple of hours at the Evening Social event. Talked with lots of old friends, colleagues, and professors. It is always fun to get together with my particular brand of nerd (no offense, my fellow-edtech nerds) and talk instructional design and technology. Talked briefly with Dr. Merrill, who has been a great mentor and leader in the field.

Drs. Preston Parker, Joel Gardner, David Merrill, Greg Francom, and Max Cropper

Traveling to AECT 2012

This post is part of a Multiple Part Series on the 2012 AECT Convention.

#AECT 2012

Traveling to Louisville
Instead of flying, I drove to this conference. Louisville is only a 3.5 hour drive away, so I drove my beloved 1994 Toyota pickup down.(You can see the route I took by reading my previous post).

While on the drive, I listened to a great book entitled "The Power of Habit," a great book that summarizes some of the research on habit formation. If I have time, I may write a quick post about the book.

The Drive:
It was generally dreary weather on the drive down; still, Ohio and Kentucky are beautiful states, and I really enjoyed the scenic, relaxing drive. I've posted some photos of the drive below (though these are not necessarily of the best quality... remember, they were taken in the rain as I drove.)

Driving Through Cincinnati

Through the Kentucky Hills

Approaching Louisville

I am excited to be here - Louisville is a great town and I am glad to be able to reconnect with friends and colleagues. I am looking forward to a great AECT Conference!

AECT 2012 International Convention - Looking Forward!

This post is part of a Multiple Part Series on the 2012 AECT Convention.

#AECT 2012

In a week I will attend the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)  Annual Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. I attend AECT's convention every year and enjoyed attending in Louisville a few years ago.

I am looking forward to another outstanding experience, this year. In the past, I have enjoyed the following things about AECT's convention:

• The people at AECT are open, friendly, and willing to share ideas and research. This was particularly welcoming to me when I first attended as a graduate student, and I appreciate being able to approach people that I respect in an environment that is open and somewhat relaxed.
• The research and technologies that are discussed are often very timely, interesting, and useful. I find that working at the daily grind sometimes keeps me away from what is new in the field, and AECT's convention is a great way to familiarize myself with what is currently happening in the field.
• Many of my good friends and colleagues attend AECT regularly, and I find that the convention is a great place to reconnect with them and see how they are doing. I plan on meeting many friends at the convention and hope it will be a good way to create new opportunities for future research, work, and collaboration.

Travel to Louisville
I grew up in the western United States of America where the states are giant compared to states closer to the east coast. When I think of driving to another state, I think that it will naturally take at least a day to make the journey, but it surprisingly only takes 3 hours and 25 minutes to drive from Columbus, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky. I'll be staying with my good friend at the Galt House Hotel and I look forward to spending time with him.


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Reporting on the Conference
As with previous conferences I have attended, (for example the 2012 ISPI International Conference) I plan to write a daily report on what I learn, along with reflections on whether I find it useful or worthwhile. I am looking forward to the experience!