Volume 56, Number 3 TechTrends • May/June 2012 7

One of the ECT Foundation’s most rewarding endeavors is our support of the AECT Convention Interns. Mr. Till-man’s article is the third in our series that spotlights the 2011 AECT Interna-tional Convention Interns. Mr. Tillman is a student at the University of Virgin-ia and is one of four Cochran Interns for 2011. You will find this column a bit different. It is a great discussion of the AECT HistoryMakers video series. We think that you will find it both interest-ing and informative!

The Cochran Internship was named for Lee W. Cochran. Dr Co-chran began his career rewinding films in the Visual Services at the University of Iowa in 1923. During World War II Lee served in the Training Aids Division of the armed forces. This Division pro-vided visual material and films to help teach essential skills in various service branches. In 1945 the National Educa-tion Association created the Division of Audiovisual Instruction (DAVI). Lee served as president of DAVI from 1955-56 during which time he orga-nized the Education Media Leadership Conference at Lake Okoboji, Iowa. Af-ter a major reorganization of DAVI in 1969-70 DAVI’s name was changed to the Association for Educational Com-munications and Technology. Dr. Co-chran retired as Director of the Audio-visual Center at the University of Iowa in 1966. The Lee W. Cochran estate provides the funding through the ECT

s a Cochran Intern at the AECT 2011 Conference in Jackson-ville, Florida I felt privileged to

partake in the many opportunities this position afforded. Doors were literally opened for me and the other five con-ference interns as we witnessed the in-ner machinations of the organization’s dealings. It seemed fitting that Steph-anie Moore and Heather Tillberg-Webb — who as former AECT interns themselves had been incredibly help-ful in facilitating my winning of the 2011 internship — introduced me to the organization several years earlier via an exciting video project named AECT HistoryMakers.

AECT HistoryMakers Beginnings

The AECT HistoryMakers video series was the brainchild of Stepha-nie Moore who recognized the power of video to capture a side of a person that doesn’t necessarily come through in scholarly writing. The first video that was completed for the AECT HistoryMakers series was of Stepha-nie’s mentor Roger Kaufman, whom I video-recorded in his home office in Tallahassee, Florida in 2009 while she interviewed him. In the introduction to the video, Stephanie described why she felt it was important to interview her mentor for the HistoryMakers se-ries: “With Roger of course he’s very well known for needs assessment in

Foundation for the AECT Convention Cochran Internships.

The ECT Foundation is the inde-pendent charitable arm of AECT. We exist to aid the organization in many ways particularly through awards and scholarships to our members. We know that this is a particularly difficult time for all of us. Any and all donations are fully tax deductible [501.(c)3] and deep-ly appreciated by our organization, the Foundation and ultimately the recipi-ents of your gifts. During these tough times we especially urge you all not to forget us. Foundation Board mem-bers serve on a voluntary basis and accept no honorariums, stipends or sup-port of any kind.

— Don Descy, editor

Daniel Tillman

ect Cornerstone

Future Directions for the AECT HistoryMakers Video SeriesDaniel Tillman, 2011 Cochran Intern

A

8 TechTrends • May/June 2012 Volume 56, Number 3

the field, but in this interview I want-ed to bring out some of the things that I’ve had an opportunity to learn with him that may not necessarily always come out in a book or something like that. So I really wanted to create an opportunity where people could get to the know the Roger that I’ve gotten to know and have a chance to learn some of the things from him that I feel have been invaluable for me and my per-sonal development as well.”

Roger Kaufman being interviewed in his home office in 2009.

AECT HistoryMakers at the AECT 2011 Conference

The AECT HistoryMakers video series continued to have an active presence at the AECT 2011 Confer-ence. Barbara Lockee chaired a full session that presented a HistoryMak-ers project report where team mem-bers detailed previous and ongoing collaborative activities as well as dem-onstrated the web-based HistoryMak-ers library. In the session description Barbara invited all AECT members to: “Be a part of AECT’s future by help-ing to shape this important initiative.” This article echoes this message, en-couraging you to get involved in help-ing to grow and cultivate the AECT HistoryMakers video series.

Also at AECT 2011, Dave Jona-ssen and Richard Clark were both kind enough to join me for indi-vidual interviews that will be added to the AECT HistoryMakers video series web-based library. Each spoke at length about the ideas and experi-ences that were influential in shaping their own careers and scholarship. While sharply contrasting in philoso-phies and opinions, what they have in common is an undeniable legacy of contributions to our professional field. I am personally grateful to each of them for the openness they exhibit-ed during the interviews and I am still left pondering a question I asked each of them directly: How can I, or any of us, succeed in our striving to achieve the enormous level of service to the

instructional design and technology profession that they represent? Roger Kaufman, Dave Jonassen, and Rich-ard Clark are three real life examples of what it takes to reach the apex of our profession, and we thank them for their leadership.

Roger Kaufman

AECT HistoryMakers into the Future

It will be interesting to watch the direction of AECT HistoryMakers continue to evolve as further men-tors are added to the web-based li-brary. This is a path that has not yet been written, and I warmly encourage you to become a voice in the process of determining the future of the AECT HistoryMakers project. If you feel your mentor deserves to be in-ducted into the AECT HistoryMak-ers series, or if you just want to learn how to get involved or receive more information, please do not hesitate to contact any of the AECT History-Makers team members mentioned in this article. In her session description Barbara Lockee described the AECT HistoryMakers project as “focused on sharing the voices and insights of the leaders in our field” and this shar-ing can’t occur without the support of AECT members. We eagerly await hearing from you and adding your viewpoint to the growing AECT His-toryMakers project.

Educational Technology

By Alan Januszewski andMichael Molinda

Pub. by Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.ISBN 0-8058-5861-X369 pages, paperback

Sponsored by AECT, this book presents a definition of the field of study and practice known as educational technology or instructional technology. The volume covers key terms and concepts, historical context, ethical considerations and the ramifications of the current definition for academic programs in educational technology.