Niki and I were both part of the first cohort of students in The University of Tampa's new Instructional Design and Technology Program. One of the many classes we took together was Principles of Learner Motivation. It was during this class that we began to discuss our joint interests in adult learning, andragogy and motivation. Niki approached me about collaborating on a proposal for the AECT conference and I was thrilled to do so. But in all honesty I must admit that I really didn't think our proposal would be accepted. (Intel from the grapevine said the review process was scary difficult to pass.)
So Niki and I put together a beautiful proposal that far exceeded the word limit. We edited. We discussed. We emailed. We imposed upon professors for guidance. We edited some more. Finally we had a proposal with which we were satisfied and we submitted it, some few hours sly of the deadline.
During this whole writing and editing process I decided it was great fun to submit proposals to professional organizations so I wrote another on a topic that was fast become my main ID specialty area; geriatric learners.
Both proposals were accepted. I was shocked and delighted. Luckily, the conference was in Jacksonville which is only about a 4 hour drive.
*Dr. Enilda Romero-Hall and Dr. Jonathon McKeown were also instrumental in encouraging all the IDT students to become involved with AECT and to attend conferences.
Image courtesy of Enilda Romero-Hall; www.facebook.com/UTIDT Geriatric Learner Ability and Educator Opportunities for Maximizing Positive Learning Experiences | Image courtesy of Enilda Romero-Hall; www.facebook.com/UTIDT Integrating Andragogical Principles to Increase Motivation in the Adult Learner |