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January 2, 2007

IDT Certificate Clears Another Hurdle

The IDT certificate has been approved by the graduate school. However, in the process, two things happened. First, we had to turn it into two certificates: The  Instructional Design and Technology Graduate Certificate in K-12  Technology Integration, and The Instructional Design and Technology Graduate Certificate in Corporate Training & Performance. Second, because of policies at UND for how certificates are structured, we were forced to remove any flexibility in course selection, which means that each certificate HAD to be comprised of four (4) courses only. Given that requirement, we had to pick the two courses in each certificate that cover the most core competencies in each area. Both certificates require IDT 500 and 520. The K-12 one then requires IDT 510 and 540, and the corporate one requires IDT 530 and 570. Obviously, this will impact those who were planning to take the certificates but have not taken 510/540 or 530/570, expecting to be able to count other courses for the certificate. These changes still need to be approved at the Senate, Provost, Chancellor, and State Board levels, but they are expected to to do so very soon.

Dr. Van Eck Elected to the North American Simulation and Gaming Association Board

Late last year, Richard Van Eck was elected to the North American Simulation and Gaming board, where he will be helping to guide the future direction of the organization. His goals are to help NASAGA take a leadership role in establishing and supporting a research agenda for digital game-based learning (DGBL), expanding the membership of NASAGA, and broadening the conference scope to include more academic and scholarship activities and presentations. "NASAGA is one of the oldest and well-known organizations for games and simulations in training, but has always had a more corporate, soft-skills approach to games rather than DGBL (computer and video games for learning). This has been changing, and it is our goal to bring more academics into the mix so  that the conference and organization reach a broader market and  therefore have a larger impact." Dr. Van Eck will be working this year to plan the convention in Atlanta, and will keep everyone apprised of significant developments.

 

Dr. Van Eck a featured/Keynote Speaker at Several Events

Richard Van Eck will be a featured or keynote speaker at several conferences and events this year. His work on digital game-based learning has caught the attention of educational industries, schools, and organizations. "Every time Mark or I speak someplace or publish an article or book chapter, we put the UND and IDT name in front of key people in our industry, which may help with recruiting students and faculty, and securing grants for things like simulation and games studies here."Among scheduled events this year are:

  • Invited speaker for McGraw-Hill Key Leader Briefing, Columbus, OH
  • Consultant for McGraw-Hill Technologies Group for ESL Game Development, Seattle, WA
  • Invited speaker for American Society of Trainers and Developers (ASTD), Minneapolis/St. Paul
  • Invited speaker for game development project to get girls interested in technology, Winnipeg, CA
  • Panelist on for featured panel session (one of three) at the Serious Games Summit, Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, CA
  • Keynote speaker for the Educause ELI Focus Session on Immersive Learning Environments, Raleigh, NC
  • Keynote speaker for the Texas Association for Governmental IT Managers conference, South Padre Island, TX

News from Previous Years

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Instructional Design & Technology
Education Building
Box 7189
Grand Forks, ND 58202-7189
Office: (701) 777-3574
Fax: (701) 777-3246