Report+2008

REPORT Committee/Task Force/Caucus/Special Project: ** Technology Advisory Committee ** Submitted by: JoAnn Miller, Chair 2007-2008 Committee Members: Susan Gaer, Carol Wilson-Duffy, Steve Sharp, Aiden Yeh, Johanna Katchen, Buthaina Al Othman Board Liaison: John Schmidt Staff Liaison: Geoff Brehm The Technology Advisory Committee is a Committee of the Board of Directors. Its charge is to monitor policy issues related to the use of technology in TESOL; to recommend policy to the Board of Directors; to educate the Board of Directors periodically on technological innovations and how technology might be implemented within the organization; and to advise constituent committees, task forces, and ad hoc committees on issues related to appropriate uses of technology.
 * March 2008 **
 * 1. **** Background **

** 2. How does the work of this committee/task force/caucus/special project support the mission and strategic plan of TESOL? **
Through the communication possibilities that technology can give us, the TAC supports all the goals: Policy Promotion for the Profession through website improvements; Professional Development through the analysis of online platforms for educational events and courses; Research through investigation of appropriate technology for TESOL; Worldwide Professional Participation through development of technology to provide online involvement from international members and Organizational Sustainability and Growth through membership growth attracted by TESOL’s technological advances a. Completed projects 1 Recording Skype: In May, 2007 we received a request from Geoff Brehm on recording Skype calls to be used for podcast. The committee suggested various ways it could be done. 2 June Board Meeting In order to fulfill its charge of periodically educating the Board of Directors on technological innovations and on how technology might be implemented with the organization, TAC investigated various educational possibilities and it was decided to have a short segment of the June, 2007, Board meeting dedicated to technology. Board and Staff Liaisons carried out the introductory presentation and TAC member Steve Sharp participated through a Skype connection. A summary of the session is available in Appendix I. 3 Finance Committee report: In August, 2007 we received a request from the Board Finance Committee to comment on the concept and proposed budget for a proposal from the TESOL staff supporting the funding for “Social Networking.” (See Appendix 2) Further information was supplied by Geoff Brehm and after long deliberation, the final report was sent to the finance committee. b. Ongoing projects (include month/year of completion) 1 Explore creation of white papers. TAC is exploring the possibility of the creation of a series of White Papers describing popular uses of the Internet and technology in order to fulfill our charges of educating the Board and advising committees and task forces about new technology. Four have been created as pilots (See Appendix 3). They will be made available on the web (through the CALL Moodle) and be given out at the Electronic Village at the New York Convention. The project will be evaluated and a decision whether to create more will be made by June, 2008. a. 2008-2009 1. TAC will continue to advise the Board and other TESOL entities about technological issues. 2. New venues for Board training will be explored, including the possibility of live training during a Board meeting and possible on-line sessions. b. 2009 and beyond (up to 2011, if possible) 1. Continue examining technology that can help TESOL meet the goals of the Strategic Plan 2. Help discover technologies that can maximize member involvement in the organization at the most reasonable cost. a. Approval for activities or projects: none b. Changes to approved FY’08 budget: none We only had 45 minutes and 'introduced' an example or two of the following in this order: 1. Podcast; 2. Wiki; 3. Youtube; 4. Blog; 5. Skype. I prefaced the session by noting that the enthusiastic and dedicated committee members met in Seattle and readily volunteered to provide the Board with information, instruction, etc. related to technology and its application to TESOL in general. 1. Without any explanation or introduction, Geoff showed the TESOL website and immediately began to play President Sandy Briggs podcast that she had just recorded with Geoff a day or two to mark TESOL Advocacy Day. After hearing the podcast example, Geoff explained the concept. It was a good surprise for all to hear something brand new to them coming via podcast from somebody right there in the room. This was followed by about five minutes of discussion and questions. 2. Without any introduction, Geoff then went to the Wikipedia and displayed the TESOL (organization) entry. After the 'display,' Geoff gave an overview of Wikipedia and other Wikis. The major concern of the discussion was the surprise by many that virtually anyone could alter or tamper with the TESOL entry on Wikipedia. There was discussion as to how to monitor such, etc. 3. Geoff next went to Youtube, put in 'TESOL' to search, and then played a segment of a Youtube 'performance' describing Seattle and the recent TESOL Convention that was developed by a convention attendees from Argentina. Geoff then described in brief Youtube. Part of the discussion again centered around that anyone with any motivation or orientation could put up anything on Youtube about the TESOL organization. 4. Geoff then showed a couple of organizational blogs (from a health/cancer organization and from an educational organization. He went on to discuss the idea of blogs, in general. 5. Finally, Geoff connected with Steven in nearby Maryland via Skype for a short conversation, as an example of Skype. He briefly introduced the concept. After each of the five demonstrations/explanations, we invited discussion from the audience as far as possible applications that the given technology could offer to TESOL as an organization and/or entities of TESOL, such as its caucuses, interest sections, etc.
 * 3. Activities since the 2007 convention **
 * 4. Goals and Planning for the future **
 * 5. Requests for Board action **
 * 6. Any problems or concerns the Board should know about: ** None
 * Appendix 1: June Board Training Session (By John Schmidt, Board Liaison) **

A few days before the meeting, Geoff and I had brainstormed some possible applications. As not many ideas were brought up during the short discussions, Geoff and I offered a few very general examples as to how a TESOL entity or a TESOL committee or group might put any of these modes of technology to use. For the most part, most of the five modes appeared to be relatively new to most of the audience. A few noted that they had used one or another (at home or work). I believe only one (New York Convention Chair Valerie based in Israel) noted using one mode (Skype) for some TESOL planning meetings. As time was running out, I concluded by noting again the tremendous talent, enthusiasm, and support that the TAC is ready to share with TESOL through the Board, and Geoff and I invited further comments orally or in writing. I added that the Board could get further information or "instruction" related to technology, etc. from the TAC between this meeting and the next Board meeting in October. I also invited Board members to spend time next spring in New York in the Village--the Electronic Village, that is, in addition perhaps to Greenwich Village! After the meeting I did hear individually from several Board members that they found what was presented to be mostly new information and fascinating. Then indicated in general terms that they were indeed interested in learning more--perhaps some 'distance education'. In sum, I gathered from the discussion segments during the meeting and the individual conversations after the meeting that indeed, much of what was presented in a very basic and introductory approach, was fairly new to many and of potential further interest. I. Summary of Staff Proposal for “social networking system”: The Nielsen-Net ratings state “social networking is not a fad that will disappear.” Social networking sites grew 47% from 2005 to 2006. 45% of web users visit social networking sites. Other colleague associations (NSTA, ASCD, ALA) already use these tools to engage their members. 1. __Staying relevant.__ With each passing day, TESOL members are finding or creating for themselves a growing number of options to meet their professional needs. Associations that ignore this megatrend will be at a severe disadvantage in attracting and retaining members in an increasingly competitive online environment. 2. __To attract younger members to TESOL.__ Only 21% of TESOL’s members are under the age of 39; the age groups for Generation X and Y. If the TESOL Web site doesn’t draw them in initially, they will move on to other sites where they can get both social networking and ELL materials. These are people who would only give TESOL one chance to connect. 3. __To attract more global members__ through increased accessibility and ability to interact with other TESOL professionals around the world. As you know, this networking aspect of membership in TESOL is a key benefit to global members, especially those in the more isolated parts of the world. 4. __To aid developing relevant products and services__ based on tracking community participation and topics of discussion. The benefits of the social networking components are not quantifiable; they are assumed. The ISG Web Communities module being proposed provides several of the 11 types of social networking tools available. 3 of these are noted below as those that would be of most immediate interest to members and which staff and leaders could most immediately begin to use to our strategic benefit.
 * Appendix 2: Finance Committee Report **
 * Background**
 * Why are Social Networking Tools Important to TESOL?**
 * How Would These Tools Serve Members and Prospects?**
 * **Tool:** || **Benefit:** ||
 * __Threaded discussions__: through scheduled marketing efforts, threaded discussions and online chats would be set up by various departments to allow group chats on hot topics such as a chat with the TQ editor on a || Members interact on a more personal level with immediate feedback. The shared experience builds loyalty (retention) toward TESOL. The new tool is integrated provocative article with database with a unified log in ||
 * __Profiles__: message boards are a large part of social networking. These would be integrated into the TESOL Web site. Profiles allow members to personalize their interface with the TESOL Web site and establish contacts with other TESOL. || Much easier interface with Web site, unlike current model. Links members to each other, brings younger members to site. Builds identity and further loyalty to people. ||
 * __Blogging__: provides personal commentary or news on a particular subject with text, images, links. || Enriches the TESOL Web site with additional content and experiences. ||

II. Further clarification from Geoff Brehm: The biggest technology investment an association makes is its AMS, Association Management System. TESOL had selected and implemented iMIS, made by Advanced Solutions in Austin, TX. I was involved in the selection and implementation of our AMS at ASPPA, my previous employer. At ASPPA I selected iMIS, I believe it was also the best choice for TESOL. iMIS is built on MS SQL. iMIS is a modular product, allowing organizations to purchase the “pieces” they need. One of iMIS’ modules is E-Series. This is the module that allows members to interact with the database over the web. E-Series was built on Cold Fusion and was criticized for its inflexibility. I had E-Series at ASPPA, modification was indeed not trivial. A couple of third party vendors developed web interfaces for iMIS. One of these vendors was ISG, which happens to be TESOL’s iMIS “reseller”. Their product, I-Web, built on C# /.NET, was much more flexible than E-Series. Most modifications to its functionality is done by editing SQL scripts or procedures which is a skill most iMIS shops already have in place because of the SQL database. Since TESOL had not invested in implementation of the E-Series modules it made sense to go with I-Web instead. The product we would like to purchase is the Communities module for I-Web. It has the functionality of the Akiva WebBoard plus some. As an I-Web product it is also directly integrated with iMIS. With iMIS and I-Web, TESOL pays an annual “maintenance” fee. Part of the reason for this fee is to provide software updates for the products purchased for free. When we update to a newer version of I-Web or iMIS we do not pay for software, only for implementation support. Sharepoint came up on our long term plan radar when we were informed that ISG is working on an update to their I-Web package which would leverage Sharepoint. Sharepoint 3.0 has attracted a lot of buzz in the association tech world as the collaboration tool of the future. A big part of that is the ease of integrating it with most modern AMSs. We envision using Sharepoint as a social networking tool but also as a collaboration tool and as a Content Management System (CMS) replacement for our current outdated and very expensive CMS, Syscom:gm. Some links; ISG Solutions, I-Web http://www.isgsolutions.com/ ISG – Communities module http://www.isgsolutions.com/products/isgweb_imis_community.html ASI, iMIS http://www.advsol.com//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home A more direct link to iMIS http://www.advsol.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home6 A lot of thought has gone into our long time planning for a way for our database to integrate with what our membership is looking for. There are probably slicker products available and I am sure there are some that are lower cost. What we’ve considered here is a product that will integrate cleanly and simply with our existing architecture and AMS.

III. TAC Response: In response to the request for comments on the concept and the proposed budget the funding for “Social Networking” software, TAC has held long, detailed discussions and recommends the following:

(1) We feel there has been little recent research on member interest in this media and so we recommend TESOL start off slowly. We need to clarify the plan for web 2.0 use before investing in expensive software which is limited in what it offers and might be outdated before it is implemented. We suggest a survey of some kind at the 2008 convention where both members and interested non-members will be present. We feel buying and then trying is never a good plan.

(2) We believe TESOL should add a presence to existing social networks first. These are in existence on the Internet and, at the moment include Facebook, Friendster, Ning, Twitter and (to a certain extent) MySpace. Each site is directed at a different demographic audience. Participation in the sites is free and it would allow TESOL to measure interest both in our existing members who are interested in social networking and in the non-member community that is already using these sites and who might be attracted to joining TESOL once they find out what we can offer. We are quite willing to advise Central Office in how the presence could be implemented on the existing sites.

3) Once TESOL determines interest through the survey and the online presence, we can, if needed, find a resource that will allow TESOL to create a larger presence and/or maintain our presence in the existing sites.


 * Appendix 3: White Papers **