The Association for Educational Communications and Technology is an academic and professional association dedicated to the effective use of technology to improve learning. Members provide leadership in the field by promoting scholarship and best practices in instructional technology. AECT's headquarters is in Bloomington, IN, moved from Washington, DC in 1999 for financial reasons. AECT publishes three journals: TechTrends (a bimonthly for "leaders in technology and education"), Educational Technology Research and Development (a bimonthly academic journal) and The Quarterly Review of Distance Education (a quarterly academic journal). AECT sponsors the International Student Media Festival (ISMF), and sponsors an annual academic conference[1].
AECT's membership has dropped considerably, from over 12000 in the mid-1980s, to about 2000 today. Like many nonprofit academic and professional associations, AECT's membership rolls have suffered through tough economic times and competition from newer organizations and technology conferences. The organization has its origins in traditional audio-visual design and development. AECT and its related academic fields place the emphasis on theory rather than on physical technology. This was symbolized with the removal of the production division of AECT in the 1990s, the division previously home to anyone who would produce or develop the actual technology used in application of theory. (The organization has re-instated this division recently, now named the MultiMedia Production Division.)
AECT is also home to one of the last organized efforts to write a 'definition' for an academic field, namely instructional technology. Most recently, ACM abandoned the 'definition' effort in computer science.
The flagship publication The Handbook of Research in Educational Communications & Technology is being prepared for the 4th edition. This resource is expected to be published by Springer Publisher in 2012.
The Association has a variety of activities including the FutureMinds initiative which is focusing on bringing about change in the nation's education system. This activity had its origin in the Change Division.
AECT also gives several awards to its members. A list of these awards can be found at the AECT website.