by Don Ely
Fall 1997
Winner of the International Division
Distinguished Service Award
Q1. What was your first international
experience?
My first international experience was a trip to several countries
in Europe in 1964. I traveled with a friend by car (a Volkswagen
"bug" that I bought in Germany from the factory). I truly learned
to drive in Paris and Rome--I think that experience prepared me
for all kinds of driving.
Q2. What was your first professional
international experience?
In 1972 my Turkish husband (now ex-husband) and I moved to Turkey
to live, preparing to remain there for the rest of our lives.
As I had been a teacher in the U.S. previously, I began my professional
career in Turkey by looking for a teaching position in Istanbul.
With a major in psychology and a minor in English for my undergraduate
degree, I was able to teach English as a Second Language (ESL)
at American and British private institutions in Istanbul. After
two years of teaching English, I taught kindergarten and ESL at
the International Community School in Istanbul for three years.
Q3. In what country have you concentrated
your efforts?
Most of my international efforts have
concentrated on Turkey. I had lived there for approximately eight
years since 1972, experiencing a variety of roles and living in
several places.
The first five years were spent teaching
in Istanbul. Then in 1981, I developed and administered International
Cooperative Education in Turkey, a six-year program that created
10-week summer internships in Turkish companies for American
college and university students, who stayed with local families.
During those years, I began my doctoral
work in educational technology at the University of Washington
(UW) and became interested in distance education. Simultaneously,
in efforts to improve my Turkish language competence, I took courses
at UW and was awarded a Fulbright-Hays "Group Project Abroad Grant
for Advanced Turkish Language Program" for summer study at Bogazici
University in Istanbul. My dissertation research on the motivation
of Turkish distance learners took place in 1987-88 at Anadolu
University in Eskisehir, supported by a Fulbright-Hays "Dissertation
Research Abroad Fellowship." Occasional returns to Turkey led
to my first international consulting experience for several months
in 1992-93. There I was the project manager for the Film, Radio,
and Television Center, part of the Ministry of National Education,
on an educational curriculum reform project in Ankara funded by
the World Bank.
Q4. Have you spent an extended
period of time in any other countries (beyond brief consultations,
conferences, workshops)?
I spent two years (1977-79) in Nicosia,
Cyprus, where I taught the British equivalent of second grade
at a private international school.
Q5. How has the international experience
influenced your professional work?
The influence of my international experience has been very powerful.
For example, a direct result of my dissertation study has been
research on the socio-cultural context of distance education,
particularly in Turkey. Not only have I written about this topic
but also have been invited to give guest lectures in other university
classes. Currently I am collaborating with one of my Texas A&M
University colleagues on a project "Cultural Connections,"
which involves electronically linking school classrooms in Texas
with schools in other states and countries. The teachers and students
use varied forms of telecommunications to conduct joint curricular
projects over distance. In this project we are studying the effects
of distance education on students' self-esteem, multicultural
understanding, and academic achievement.
Q6. Have you done collaborative
work with any international professional colleagues?
Collaborative work with international
colleagues has resulted in a number of visits to my university--visits
that included meetings with influential faculty and administrators
as well as seminars. Doing collaborative research with international
colleagues has been profitable on both sides. As the recent editor
of the International Review of ETR&D, I worked with a number
of international colleagues on their publications. In addition,
I edited a special issue of the journal (Vol. 44, No. 4, 1996),
which has inevitably added to the credibility of international
colleagues within their own countries.
Q7. What advice would you give our
AECT colleagues who have not had international experience but
are about to embark upon their first assignment in another country?
Get all the paperwork completed (e.g.,
passport, visas, letters of invitation, permission for computers)
in advance of travel. Ensure that you are healthy before leaving
your country. Talk with nationals of the target country as well
as those who are knowledgeable of the culture; one ideal spot
for networking is AECT's International Division. Once in the host
country, establish your network and rapport with local colleagues.
Be open to the differing ways of behavior and thinking,
remembering that although their ways of doing things may be different
from yours, criticizing them will not endear you to them. Be willing
to say no to requests that would compete with your own objectives
and requirements. Write judiciously about the experience.
Marina McIsaac and I both wrote articles
on our Fulbright experiences in Turkey in the International Review
of ETR&D (Vol. 38, No. 1, 1990). I believe our advice in those
articles would still be true today.
Thank you for your personal and
professional history. It is clearly apparent that the award you
received was well deserved.
