Briju Thankachan
Ohio University

It is a great honor to have this opportunity to be a candidate for President-Elect of the International Division. Since 2009, AECT and the International Division has been my professional home. I am proud to be a member and look forward to the opportunities to collaborate with others, develop strategic plans and be a part of the AECT’s expanding impact internationally and increasing numbers of international affiliations.

Briefly about myself, I earned my doctoral degree in Instructional Technology at the Ohio University under Dr. David Richard Moore. I am currently a practicing instructional designer in the School of Nursing at Ohio University. As a certified Quality Matters peer reviewer I am responsible for designing programs, which has over 5000 online students.

I also serve as a Technology Advisor to the Gopikabai Sitaram Gawande (GSG) College in Maharashtra, India. I took a major lead in implementing new technologies at GSG college including Google Apps for education, Intra campus Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) and Microsoft DreamSpark.  

As an adjunct professor, I teach advanced Instructional Design and Technology Application in Education classes at Patton College of Education, Ohio University. As a graduate student, my team won first place in the competitive AECT PacifiCorp award. On the given scenario we designed an instructional strategies including web-based asynchronous or synchronous training modules with free web-based technologies. As an International graduate student, this competition was a unique experience in my life - overcoming the communication challenges and working collaboratively to solve problems.    

My research interest includes: Concern-Based Adoption Models (CBAM), Secondary Orality and Indian Culture, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Education, and Dynamic Digital Learning Environment (DDLE).

My commitment to the International Division and AECT is reflected in these activities and awards:

• Facilitator - AECT International Division (2012- Present)
• Awards Committee member - AECT Research & Theory Division (2012).
• Representative to India - AECT International Division to India (2010 - present).
• Campus liaison - AECT Graduate Student Assembly Division (2011-12).
• Reviewer - AECT – Research & Theory Division (2012-14) and International Division (2010-Present).
• Jenny Johnson International Hospitality Center volunteer (2011-2012)
• AECT international division dinner volunteer (2013 & 2016)
• AECT bookstore volunteer and supervisor (2010-2015)
• AECT International Division “Stories from Home” presenter (2015 & 2016)
• AECT Summer Leadership Development Attendee (2015)
• First place in PacifiCorp AECT International Design and Development competition (2012).
• Recipient of Early Career Symposium Grant Sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF) Awarded by AECT’s Research and Theory Division (2012)
• Recipient of Outstanding Liaison Award by AECT – Graduate Student Association (2012)

My vision for the International Division in the next three years is to expand AECT’s impact internationally by strengthening and building new connections with international affiliates through its members. I believe the international division has the potential to bridge diverse researchers and practitioners from around the globe who are in the educational technology filed. In addition, I will work with the AECT leadership to organize 2020 AECT Summer International Research Symposium in India.
  
Thank you for the opportunity to be considered for the International Division’s President-elect position and the opportunity to serve AECT in the years to come.