e-Learning Professional Organizations

Joining e-learning professional organizations and bodies is a good way to stay informed about what is going on in the world of technology and education. Below is a list of some of the organizations in the field.

• Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

• American Communication Association (ACA)

• American Educational Research Association (AERA)

• Association for Educational Communications Technology (AECT)

• American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)

• International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI)

• Commonwealth of Learning (COL)

• Educause

• International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

• SALT: Society for Applied Learning Technology

• The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group

• The International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS)

• United States Distance Learning Association

• World Association for Online Learning

Most of the organizations are focused on educational principles that incorporate technology in various forms, whether online or off line. The list above does not contain all the organizations, as they are quite a number, and vary in their missions and visions. The key is to identify the ones that best fits your academic and professional goals.

Many associations also hold conferences and annual conventions to get the members together. The links below provide calendars of events. You can do a search to find out what is going on in different parts of the world.

The Conference Calendar of the T.H.E. Journal provides information on conferences with both a technology and education track.

Conference Alerts brings together conference organizers and participants. Listings are in all academic and professional areas. To find information on e-learning or education-related conferences, select either e-Learning, higher education, or Teaching and Learning links. You can also conduct a search to locate a conference.