SIG Meeting Minutes from ABAI 2009

For any members of the TBA SIG, here are the meeting minutes from the 2009 ABA Conference in Phoenix:

Who was there?
•Karola Dillenburger
•Brady Phelps
•Kate Kellum
•Inna Kanevsky
•Tim Weil
•Amy Scrima
•Eric Carlson (my apologies to anyone whose name I might have misspelled!)

What did we discuss?
Chris started with updates on the SIG, how many members we had to date, and the activities of the SIG such as updating the website and creating the social networking site on Ning. As people came in, we all introduced ourselves and discussed where we were from. It was a very diverse group! After the meeting, some people came up to Inna and Chris and expressed that they missed it.

What should we keep?
Everyone was in agreement that the listserv was stimulating and a great place to share ideas. Chris stated that the social networking site was not as successful as she had hoped; however, we will keep for the time being. It was also suggested that we keep up the symposia we put together on the listserv.

As an aside - we did not have a large attendance at the teaching technologies symposium, unfortunately. As discussed at the meeting, there seems to be a growing trend towards BCBA CEUs as a heavy contingency for attendance at symposia. Something to consider when putting together stuff for next year.

Charlie Catania talked to Chris after the Expo about possibly putting together a video tribute to Eliot Shimoff, his teaching partner who passed away a few years ago. He's interested in showing some tutorials he and Shimoff put together. He also suggested that Chris speak with the TBA area coordinators, something she'll follow up on.

What should we change or add?
This is a long list...

There was overwhelming support for upgrading the website so that it was more interactive. We have lots of teaching ideas - for example, Kate shared her idea for boxes based upon the shaping game, and Tim shared the clicker App on the Iphone. An interactive website with a "members only" feature (such as the one on http://www.contextualpsychology.org) will allow us to share. It will also allow us to share links and have a community of practice. As one person put it (I'm sorry - I didn't get your name!) - building in a proactive and immediate sense.

Inna offered to send along a link to the psych teacher.

While at first we discussed using a wiki, we felt as if that added too many different technologies, and would be too overwhelming. So, instead, we thought that a website based upon Drupal would be better.

We all committed to posting something up on the website - much like a newsletter. That way, the burden of one person creating a newsletter was not that great. We figured among the members that each person would need to write one short piece per year.

We also discussed a webinar halfway through the year to discuss SIG issues. For many members of ABAI, CEUs are a very powerful contingency. Finding a way to provide cost-effective CEUs online might be a revenue producer that would increase what we could do with the SIG.

Note that we did not discuss who would be responsible for revenue. Chris is assuming that it's her, but is open to nominations. If not, her husband will be the de facto treasurer with his degree in Economics.

Speaking of revenue, at least two SIG members are in the beginning stages of marketing products directly related to the SIG - Brady has created 3-term contingency pins that he gave out to attendees (thanks, Brady!). Mickey, Karola, and Chris are working together to produce the behavioral stream that Mickey unveiled at last year's ABAI.

As other companies and SIGs have done, we decided that we might create some merchandise and market it through Cafe Press. We were also discussing the possibility of a contest to see which member comes up with the best design. Kate is spearheading this project. With these two probably sources of revenue, it was decided that the SIG would remain free of charge for all members.

As far as technology is concerned, the group consensus was that we should add a Facebook site to increase our visibility. Inna has already done so (thank you, Inna!).

We talked about possibly looking at a journal, such as what Joe Cautilli has put together, but real work on that was tabled for next year. Karola suggested that if we do put one together that we put serious thought into the name of the journal as to reach a broad audience.

So what are our goals?
•revamp the website so it's more interactive and increase traffic
•create a Facebook group
•post links and teaching ideas and materials on the website
•possibly offer distance learning CEUs through the SIG to generate revenue
•Creating “swag” on Cafe Press – market Brady's stuff

Respectfully submitted by: Christine Barthold, Ph.D., BCBA-D