Honored and Grateful: A Journey of Collaboration and Impact in Teacher Education

Thank You
I am honored and deeply humbled to be recognized as this year’s recipient of the “Scholarly Advancement of Teacher Education and Educational Technology” award from the Teacher Education Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). This award is a reflection not just of my work, but of the collaborative efforts and support I have received from so many remarkable people.

In the six years since publishing my first peer-reviewed article, my journey has been shaped by collaborations with researchers from 19-20 different universities and partnerships with over 70 P-12 teachers, whose transformative practices have inspired my work. I’ve had the privilege of helping 20 of these teachers become authors, sharing firsthand accounts of their innovative teaching methods with others, broadening our collective understanding of educational technology in P-12 classrooms. My scholarly contributions have been cited over 750 times in the last five years, and I recognize that this pale's in comparison to the citation metrics obtained by previous winners of this award. However, I am glad that my impact is being measured beyond my research to also include my service.

Among the key highlights of my career thus far are serving as Co-Chair of the K-12 Online Learning Special Interest Group for the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) during the pandemic. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to have been a founding contributor and planner of the SITE Interactive conference. I have also gratefully been elected Vice President of Communications for the Teacher Education Division (TED) of AECT. This position also allowed me the opportunity to be a proud part of the team that facilitated AECT's transition to High Logic, increasing AECT's ability to work beyond division walls and more continuously connect members around the world. My work with TED also led to me being a founding member and Co-editor in Chief of the Journal of Technology-Integrated Lessons and Teaching and this year, has allowed me to be the lead conference planner for AECT’s inaugural Teacher Mini Conference.

I want to express my deepest thanks to the many people who have supported and guided me thus far in this journey. My colleagues in the field of educational technology, the amazing P-12 teachers I’ve collaborated with, and the leaders at AECT and SITE have all played a vital role in helping me achieve this milestone.

For help in Research:
My mentors and blended teaching co-authors: Dr. Charles R. Graham and Dr. Jered Borup
Past TED Presidents and co-authors: Dr. Craig Shepherd, Dr. Kalianne Neumann, and Dr. Jacob Hall
K-12 Online Learning Expert and Co-author: Dr. Michael Barbour
Former Scholarly Advancement Award Winner and Co-Author: Dr. Royce Kimmons
OER Scholar and All-Around Great Guy: Dr. John Hilton III
OER Scholar and AECT Past President: Dr. David Wiley
Amazing Graduate Students, Peers, and Co-authors: Dr. Karen Arnesen, Dr. Michelle Jensen, Dr. Emily Pulham, Instructional Designer Douglas Archibald, and Researcher Courtney Hanny

For help in Service:
For their guidance in leadership: Dr. Jered Borup, Dr. Leanna Archambault, and Dr. Michael Barbour
For their guidance in conference planning: Dr. Jake Cohen, Dr. Liz Langram, and Planner Extraordinaire Sarah Benson
For their collaboration in Higher Logic: Linda Wiley, Kristin Herman, Dr. Laura Stapleton, and Dr. Beth Oyarzun
For his partnership in launching and leading a new practitioner-focused journal: Dr. Craig Shepherd
For her faith to plan an entirely new AECT mini conference: Dr. Tonia Dousay

For the Nomination
I am especially grateful to those who nominated me for this award and provided such kind words of support, such as:

“Dr. Short is most worthy of this award for his scholarly contributions’ widespread impact on the blended learning practices of K-12 teachers, the theoretical innovativeness of his personalized learning framework, and his tremendous leadership through many edited teacher education publications.”

and

“Dr. Short continues to successfully lead our field to create and sustain scholarly spaces that better recognize and authentically empower the voices of K-12 teachers.”

Thanks Most of All
I would not be able to work with any of the above collaborators if not for the amazing and blessed partnership of my wife and bride, Shelby Short. It is her support that allows me to have the energy needed to share my time with so many wonderful colleagues. She is the person who deserves the most thanks in all of this. So thank you, wife!

In Conclusion, I Do Not Think This Is About Me
This recognition is not simply about my personal accomplishments, but about the incredible impact we can have when we work together to push the boundaries of teacher education and educational technology. It is an honor to be at this part of my academic journey, and I look forward to continuing to contribute to this field in ways that empower P-12 educators and learners.

I invite you to please watch the video below, where I share my thoughts and gratitude for receiving this award. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey—I wouldn’t be here without your unwavering support and belief in the work we’re doing together.