ISfTE Newsletter 08 August 2011

August 2011 No. 31

Secretary General's Message Apologies for the “lateness” of this newsletter. Hope that your year is going well whether you’re teaching or travelling.

Recap of ISFTE 2011

Birte Simonsen and Petter Hangeland, convenors of the ISfTE Seminar at the University of Agder (above with Forrest), did an outstanding job of hosting the 31st meeting of the Society. Participants not only had an opportunity to exchange academic ideas and thinking but were able to experience firsthand the celebration of Norway’s national holiday on May 17th. Activities of the holiday began in the morning with school children parade and ended at midnight with a running parade (that Forrest participated in—“run, Forrest, run”) to the harbor area where there was jazz music and fireworks to cap off the holiday.

ISfTE Newsletter, No. 31, July 2011 2

Nominations for Executive Board members

The terms of service for Catherine Sinclair (Australia) and Hsun-‐Fung Kitty Kao (Taiwan) on the Executive Board came to a close at the end of the Norway Seminar. Thus, there is a Call for Nominations for two members to serve a 3-‐year term. Naturally, outgoing board members may opt to run for another term. All members are encouraged to consider serving on this very important component of ISfTE. Members of the Executive Board are representatives of the membership and assist in the operation of the organization. Board members do convene at least a day earlier to meet with the secretary-‐general and other ex-‐officio members to consider issues affecting the Seminar and the organization. Current voting board members include: LDM “Oupe” Lebeloane (South Africa) (2012), Marta Luz Sisson de Castro (Brazil) (2012), Ikechukwu Ukeje (USA) (2013), and Peggy Saunders (USA) (2013). Call for Nominations: Nominations of candidates and self-‐nominations are now being solicited. Go to the http://ISfTE.org website. You will be directed from there to the appropriate webpage to submit your nominations. Elections for the two board positions will commence on September 6, 2011 and end on September 13, 2011. Announcement of new board members will be made on September 16, 2011. All current ISfTE members will then be notified of the election and be able to vote online at the ISfTE website.

Update of Personal Profiles

Be sure to go to http://ISfTE.org, find your name in the ISfTE Directory, and update your information. Current email and mailing addresses are important if we are to keep in touch with you.

Also, if you haven’t renewed your ISfTE membership, be sure to do so at this time so that you will not miss an issue of JISTE and forthcoming information on future seminars.

Future ISfTE Seminar Venues

The 32nd annual seminar of ISfTE will be held at the Paro College of Education, the Royal University of Bhutan, Paro, Bhutan where participants will have an opportunity to experience Gross National Happiness as the medium of exchange. Phintso Choeden (recently named Executive Director of the National Commission of Women and Children) and Kezang Tsehring, convenors, have begun arrangements for members of ISfTE to attend. So, mark your calendar: 21 May 2012 — 25 May 2012. Information is available through the ISfTE website (http://isfte.org).


Hong Kong will be hosting the 33rd annual seminar of ISfTE in 2013. Jacky Pow and his colleagues are looking forward to planning an exciting and stimulating seminar.

Bahrain had been previously selected as the 2013 site. However, an Ad Hoc Committee on Seminar Sites in Norway recommended to the membership that Bahrain’s selection be postponed to allow the convening team time to prepare for our arrival given the country’s current issues and questions the membership raised.

Seminar Venues beyond 2013

As for future sites, informal oral statements of interest have been provided to the Secretary-‐General. However, such interests need to be formalized in the form of a letter of intent being conveyed to the Secretary-‐General as soon as possible. Furthermore, this needs to be followed by reviewing Guidelines for Submission of Proposals to Host and to Manage a Seminar found on the ISfTE website (http://isfte.org) by a current member of ISfTE who can access that information.

Election of Secretary-‐General

The ISfTE Constitution states, “The Secretary-‐General shall serve for three years….” My term as secretary-‐general will be coming to an end following the Bhutan Seminar in 2012. Therefore, I am encouraging you all to consider running for this prestigious honor. Candidates will be asked to submit their statements of interest to an appointed elections chair (TBA). Election for secretary-‐general elect will follow the Bhutan Seminar.

New JISTE Editors

With the 15(2) issue of JISTE, the editor, Sybil Wilson (Canada) and Anna Hugo (South Africa), assistant editor, will be completing their service. Beginning with Vol. 16(1), Karen Berg Petersen (Denmark) will be the editor with Peggy Saunders (USA) as the associate editor. Also, we are seeking individuals, with support from their institutions, who are willing to publish and distribute hard copies of JISTE. Cost of production and postage is covered by ISfTE.

Sponsorships for JISTE

For $1,000 US, your institution’s logo will be displayed prominently on one volume (2 issues) of JISTE. Furthermore, your institution’s logo will be placed on the ISfTE website along with a link to your institution. If your institution or organization is interested in a sponsorship, contact Forrest Crawford ([email protected]).


General Business Meeting Highlights of the General Business Meeting at the Norway Seminar:

• Colin Mably and Forrest Crawford provided a tribute to Cornel DaCosta.

• Because of the current financial situation with the ISfTE budget, there was a vote by the members present to not apportion the usual amount of the membership dues to the LeOra Cordis Fund for the current year. This will be reviewed annually.

• Ad Hoc Committee on ISfTE Emeritus status made a number of recommendations regarding the participation of ISfTE members who have retired at future ISfTE Seminars. (Chair Jo Agnew-‐Tally (USA), Helen Earles (USA), Ray Wong (USA), Doug Warring (USA))

• Ad Hoc Committee on Seminar Sites recommended to the membership that, following Bhutan, Hong Kong would be the site in 2013. Bahrain would be the potential site for 2014. (Co-‐chair Ann Ellis (USA), Co-‐chair Moklele Madise (South Africa), Jackie Malesela (South Africa), Geri Conlin (USA), Dikeledi Mahlo (South Africa))

• LeOra Cordis Committee convened to review the current status of the fund and the committee membership. The committee also reviewed the goals of the fund. (Helene Müller (South Africa), Marta Luz Sisson de Castro (Brazil), Johan Borup (Denmark), Anna Hugo (South Africa), Karen Berg Petersen (Denmark), LeeAnn Taylor (USA), Forrest Crawford (USA))

• ISfTE website: Ethan Quirt’s contribution to the establishment and maintenance of the website was noted and commended. Ray Wong (USA) (Communications Manager) will begin to assume a more active role in updating and maintaining the website.

JISTE Updates There is ongoing discussion on moving from hard copies of JISTE to online and/or eJournal or some combination.

If you have any recommendations, concerns, and questions as to the future format of JISTE, please email Karen Berg Petersen (Denmark) ([email protected]).

Note there is a Call for Papers for JISTE, 16(1) posted at http://isfte.org. The deadline is imminent. If you require additional time, please contact Karen ([email protected]).


Memories of Norway

Can you remember what we ate on the island of Bragdøya?


Oddernes Church (view from the choir and organist loft)


ISfTE Seminar 2012-‐-‐-‐Paro, Bhutan

21 May – 25 May 2012

ISfTE Newsletter 08 August 2011

Documents

Transcript of ISfTE Newsletter 08 August 2011