Saturday, August 23, 2008

Welcome to ITFORUM!

Welcome to ITFORUM! We hope you will find this to be a useful and
interesting professional resource. ITFORUM is a list that discusses
theories, research, new paradigms, and practices in the field of
Instructional Technology. The list is open to anyone interested in
instructional technology (a special invitation is extended to
graduate students in IT programs).

ITFORUM is a little different from most forums in that specific
discussions are conducted throughout the year. Throughout the year,
leaders in the field are invited to write a short paper or essay that
is posted on the list prior to discussion. This guest discussant
remains available electronically on the list for a period of one week
to discuss, debate, or answer questions from subscribers. It is a
long standing ITFORUM tradition to refrain from sending unrelated
messages during the week we are discussing a paper.

Bev Ferrell, the moderator for the list, assists with organizing and
facilitating discussions.

Lloyd Rieber, the manager of the list, handles the day-to-day affairs
of the list. (Subscribers can contact either Bev or Lloyd if they
have questions or problems.) After the one week discussion period
the list remains open for further discussion on the topic without the
guest discussant participating (unless they choose to).

It's useful to compare discussions on ITFORUM with those of a hallway
chat between colleagues after hearing a really good presentation at a
conference. Our hope is that ITFORUM will be a place where people
feel free to make more casual comments about issues confronting the
field rather than the usual hardcore (and often stuffy) academic
rhetoric. One important distinction between ITFORUM and these hallway
chats is that everyone has the chance to discuss the talk with the
speaker/s and with colleagues from around the world (especially those
without doctoral degrees). In fact, rank has little meaning on
ITFORUM).
You should not feel you have to labor days on a comment or question
before you post it. We also feel that 'lurking' is a perfectly
acceptable form of participation. We like to think of ourselves as a
friendly bunch who are willing to share our ideas and knowledge of IT
with one another.

Please visit the ITFORUM Home Page on the World Wide Web

http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/