A Look Back at a Long But Exciting Process
Convention Chair Pat Miller Reflects on Anaheim 2003
Pat MillerJay, Phil, Lois and I started planning the AECT 2003 Anaheim convention over a year ago, thinking that we were surely ahead of the game. What a misconception that was! We used every spare minute of planning time and then some. The result was the experience we all shared starting October 23, four days packed with professional development opportunities, networking, and some well-deserved fun.
I find it impossible to choose highlights. I suspect that’s because, as the person who built the program grid, I tried hard to schedule so that every session could become someone’s highlight. Larry Vernon’s online scheduling program color-coded divisions and councils, thus giving me an instant visual impression of dangerous overlaps, where too many sessions of any one division were scheduled. It was also Larry's online scheduling program that informed webmaster Rick Xaver's brainchild, "MyAECT," another innovation which drew rave reviews. I found myself tweaking the schedule right up to the day it went to Ned Shaw, the designer/typesetter. In fact, I was still "planning" with the help of grad student volunteer David Miller as we published the daily convention newsletter throughout the convention. One of the nicest comments I heard several times was that a person could always find an interesting session to attend every period – there were no “down” times when nothing appealed to a participant. That was my goal.
We always planned with our theme in mind: Surfing New Waves. For keynoters and special invited sessions we looked for good speakers who could address the theme from different perspectives. The result was that our keynoters included a visionary, a designer/inventor, and a corporate executive. Special sessions addressed new copyright issues, brain research, systemic change and the NCLB, workshops focused on current production software, and, of course, screenings of the winning entries in the International Student Media Festival. I hope those attending found themselves frequently celebrating today, but thinking about tomorrow.
I tried unsuccessfully to check in on all the social events. It was sometime in mid-winter 2003 when the planning committee pointed out that the opportunity to network with colleagues informally in the social activities were an important priority. Scheduling those events was quite a challenge, handled most admirably by Lois Freeland, our event planner. As a welcome, we invited all attendees (but especially newcomers) to go to dinner with a group headed up by AECT leaders and informally organized at the opening reception. I think my personal favorite social event was the ECT Foundation Gala, with a great buffet and entertainment for participants of all ages. And, of course, that last evening at Disney encouraged all of us to play like children as we said our goodbyes.
Planning AECT 2003 was no small task, accomplished only through the collaborative efforts of the division/council planning committee, Phil Harris and other AECT staff, and Jay and me. Other folks critical to the convention operations were Dalinda Bond, who managed the equipment pool with the help of some 50 graduate students, and Apple computer folks, who created computer labs in ballroom foyers and provided the technical support necessary to make it all work.
Most of this work was done out of love for the field and for AECT. It is this spirit which will ensure that we’ll be saying similar things next year at this time after the Chicago convention. May the planning gods smile on Sharon, Ana, and Mary as we pass the baton to them!
