INTERNATIONAL

 SOCIETY  FOR  TEACHER  EDUCATION  

ANNUAL  GENERAL  MEMBERSHIP  MEETING  
BRAZIL,  15  APRIL  2010  
 
Dr.  Forrest  Crawford,  Secretary-­‐General  conducted  the  meeting  which  began  at  2:55  p.m.  
 
1. It  was  moved  by  John  Hansen  and  seconded  by  Ikechukwu  Ukeje  to  approve  the  
minutes  from  the  2009  general  membership  meeting  conducted  at  Weber  State  
University,  Utah,  USA.  The  motion  passed  unanimously.  
 
2. Forrest  began  by  making  two  announcements:  (1)  A  reminder  that  the  book  with  articles  
from  the  2008  seminar  held  in  Armidale,  Australia,  and  edited  by  Warren  Halloway  and  
John  Maurer  is  available.  Please  contact  Peggy  Saunders.  (2)  There  is  a  paper  currently  
be  circulated  to  sign  up  for  transportation  to  the  airport  on  Saturday.  Please  sign  up.  
 
3. Report  summary  by  Forrest  Crawford  of  the  Executive  Committee  meeting  held  on  11  
April  2010.    
 
• Revised  Organizational  Structure.    An  overview  of  the  revised  organizational  
structure  that  was  ratified  at  2009  General  Membership  meeting  was  presented  
by  Forrest.  The  new  structure  is  meant  to  strengthen  the  infrastructure  of  the  
executive  committee  by  providing  more  clarification  to  roles  and  stability  in  the  
event  of  a  resignation  of  a  board  member  or  executive  officer.  Part  of  the  
restructuring  was  to  add  six  (6)  at-­‐large  executive  board  members.  As  a  result  of  
those  changes  a  general  election  was  held  in  late  2009  to  seat  four  new  
members  to  the  Executive  Board.  The  four  elected  by  the  membership  were:  
LDM  “Oupa”  Lebeloane  from  South  Africa  and  Kitty  Kao  from  China  (each  for  
three  [3]  year  terms)  and  Catherine  Sinclair  from  Australia  and  Marta  Luz  Sisson  
de  Castro  from  Brazil  (each  for  two  [2]  year  terms).    
• Election  Cycle  #2.    The  last  two  (2)  members  will  be  voted  upon  in  an  election  to  
be  held  in  June,  2010.  Both  of  these  members  will  serve  a  three  (3)  year  term.  
The  voting  will  take  place  online  through  the  ISfTE  website.  The  cycle  will  then  be  
that  the  general  membership  will  elect  two  new  representatives  each  year  as  the  
former  board  members  rotate  off  the  Executive  Board.  
• Newsletter/Communications.  Ray  Wong,  the  newsletter  editor,  reported  that  
the  newsletter  would  be  used  to  keep  the  membership  and  other  people  
interested  in  ISfTE  informed.  It  will  be  sent  to  everyone  via  email  and  will  also  be  
accessible  through  the  website.    
 4. Committee  Reports/Updates  
• JISTE—Sybil  Wilson,  Editor  
i. Issue  14.1  came  out  in  early  April  and  Issue  14.2  is  in  process  with  a  guest  
editor.  
ii. Current  issue  was  sent  to  members  in  a  hard  copy,  but  is  also  accessible  
by  the  members  via  the  website.  Past  issues  are  accessible  on  the  
website  by  anyone.  
iii. First  issue  is  always  from  the  previous  year’s  seminar.  The  papers  
presented  are  works  in  progress  which  should  then  be  reworked  and  
edited  for  submission  for  publication.  
iv. All  papers  submitted  to  JISTE  are  peer-­‐reviewed  before  publication.  Sybil  
asked  (and  a  paper  was  sent  through  the  room)  for  volunteers  to  be  
reviewers.    
v. Sybil  asked  for  nominations  for  the  editorial  board.  She  then  announced  
that  Karen  Bjerg  Petersen  from  Denmark  will  be  the  new  editor  and  
Peggy  Saunders  from  the  United  States  will  be  the  associate  editor  
beginning  with  the  16.1  issue.  They  will  each  serve  four  year  terms.  
vi. Cornel  DaCosta  stated  two  concerns  that  he  has  with  JISTE.  One  that  we  
need  to  be  sensitive  to  older  members  who  are  on  fixed  incomes;  two,  
that  all  articles  for  JISTE  should  be  peer  reviewed  and  that  we  should  not  
let  down  the  rigor  for  publishing.  Sybil  assured  that  all  articles  are  peer  
reviewed  prior  to  publication.    
• Budget/Financial  Status—Johan  Borup  
i. See  attached  budget  report.  Highlights  include:  
1. Good  sponsorship  for  JISTE  
2. Budget  at  US$45,880  as  of  December,  2009  
3. US$10,800  was  paid  for  five  (5)  issues  of  JISTE.  Because  Johan  had  
an  account  at  the  university,  he  did  not  need  to  pay  for  the  issues  
at  the  time  of  printing,  but  paid  for  five  at  the  end  of  2009.  
4. We  are  a  non-­‐profit  organization  with  a  total  of  94  memberships  
in  2009  for  a  total  of  US$9,016.    
ii. Johan  announced  his  impending  retirement.  He  is  retiring  from  his  
current  job  at  the  university  in  May,  2010.  Therefore,  after  the  
publication  of  the  Bhutan  journal,  we  will  have  to  find  a  new  place  to  
house  the  printing  of  JISTE  as  well  as  the  various  banking  accounts.  The  
Executive  Board  is  discussing  various  options.  
 
 
 Le’Ora  Cordis  Trust—Johan  Borup  
•
i. Funds  used  to  support  developing  nations  scholars  to  attend  an  ISfTE  
seminar.    
ii. Normally,  the  funds  distributed  to  the  conveners  are  based  on  the  
interest  from  the  trust;  however,  interest  lately  has  been  very  low  
because  of  the  global  financial  problems.  Therefore,  the  Executive  
Committee  has  allotted  US$3,000  for  the  Norway  seminar.  
• ISfTE  Website—Craig  Kissock  
i. Updating  the  membership  database  is  important.  After  each  seminar,  
attendees  will  be  sent  an  email  so  that  they  can  set  up  their  user  name  
and  password  to  have  access  to  the  “members  only”  portion  of  the  
website.  
ii. The  system  is  ready  for  the  Executive  Board  member  election.  
Nominations  will  take  place  in  May  with  final  voting  in  June.    
iii. JISTE  as  stated  before  is  now  available  online.  
iv. Registration  for  the  Norway  seminar  (and  subsequent  seminars)  will  take  
place  online  through  the  ISfTE  website  using  Paypal.    
v. Ray  Wong  from  the  United  States  will  serve  as  the  Communications  
Director  replacing  Craig.  Ethan  Quirt  will  continue  as  the  webmaster  as  
he  has  done  such  an  excellent  job  for  the  Society.  
vi. The  Society’s  Constitution  is  online.  Roles  for  various  leadership  positions  
are  defined  there.  
5. Secretary  General’s  Report—Forrest  Crawford  
• Leadership  Opportunities.  There  are  numerous  leadership  opportunities  within  
ISfTE  that  go  beyond  the  Executive  Board  and  JISTE  Board.  We  want  to  use  your  
talents  and  service  to  ISfTE  would  be  a  great  opportunity  to  put  on  your  
Curriculum  Vita.  
• Seminar  Evaluation/Feedback.  The  evaluation  form  was  passed  to  each  person  in  
attendance  with  the  reminder  that  it  is  important  to  fill  out.    
• New  Members  Orientation/Mentor  Program.  Begun  at  the  Weber  2009  seminar,  
Forrest  would  like  to  see  this  continue  as  a  way  to  introduce  ISfTE  to  new  
members  and  seminar  attendees.  New  members/attendees  are  partnered  with  
more  veteran  members  so  that  the  new  members  feel  welcomed  and  have  
someone  to  answer  questions,  introduce  them  to  others,  and  talk  to  when  the  
need  arises.  
• Developing  Nations  Distance  Papers.  Forrest  offered  encouragement  for  DNG  to  
send  in  papers  for  feedback.  It  is  important  for  ISfTE  to  keep  this  door  open  so  
that  DNG  can  have  their  voices  heard.  Cornel  DaCosta  asked  if  distance  papers  
 should  be  allowed  from  all  who  wish  to  submit  who  may  not  be  able  to  travel  to  
a  seminar.  Forrest  will  discuss  that  idea  with  the  Executive  Board.  
• ISfTE  Emeritus  Status.  This  is  an  idea  to  help  those  long-­‐time  members  who  are  
no  longer  actively  involved  at  a  university  or  doing  research  to  still  be  an  active  
member  of  ISfTE.  Forrest  is  considering  creation  of  an  ad  hoc  committee  to  study  
the  viability  of  such  a  level  of  membership.  
• Seminar  Future  Sites.  Norway  (May,  2011).  There  is  information  on  the  ISfTE  
website  about  this  seminar.  Please  check  it  out.  Bhutan  (2012).  Bahrain  (2013).  
Hong  Kong  (2014).    
• Secretary-­‐General’s  Goals  and  Planning.  
i. Goals  on  the  website.  Please  check  for  updates  there.  
ii. Aim  is  for  having  a  sustainable  infrastructure  to  ISfTE.  
iii. Continue  to  push  inclusion  of  indigenous  peoples  as  a  goal.  
iv. Look  for  opportunities  to  participate  in  several  ad  hoc  committees  which  
will  investigate  various  aspects  of  ISfTE  and  how  to  sustain  it  for  the  next  
30  years.  
6. Questions/Concerns/Issues  
• Concerns  were  raised  about  the  cost  of  the  upcoming  seminar  in  Norway  
presented  earlier  by  Birte  Simonsen  and  Petter  Hangeland,  co-­‐conveners.  Petter  
responded  with  the  following  comments:  
i. Norway  is  an  expensive  country.  
ii. Time  for  the  seminar  can  be  shortened  by  a  day  or  more  which  could  
reduce  the  costs.    
iii. There  is  very  little  private  funding  available  in  Norway.  
iv. Unfortunately,  the  use  of  a  hotel  for  housing  in  a  must  because  there  are  
no  student  dormitories  on  campus.  
v. However,  Birte  and  Petter  will  do  their  best  to  keep  the  costs  as  low  as  
possible.  
vi. Ina  Borup  (Denmark)  offered  two  suggestions:  one  to  shorten  the  
seminar  by  a  day  or  two,  and  two,  to  send  papers  to  participants  prior  to  
the  beginning  of  the  seminar  to  be  read  before  they  get  to  Norway.  That  
way  time  will  not  have  to  be  allotted  during  the  seminar  for  reading.  
 
The  meeting  concluded.