Liberty online scholars visit Harvard for IETC Conference

A group of online doctoral students and one adjunct professor from Liberty University attended the International Educational Technology Conference (IETC) at Harvard University Aug. 23. 

The IETC was a conference held by Harvard’s Faculty Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts that brought together educators, scholars and students from around the world to present their research findings in front of an academic crowd. According to the IETC webpage, presenters were given the opportunity to “submit proposals for oral, poster, online and video presentations” with the intention of furthering the “advancement and innovation in learning and teaching.” At the annual conference, each presenter was given a time slot to display their research.   

The eight doctoral students and an adjunct faculty professor from Liberty presented on a wide variety of research topics, ranging from the use of AI technology to the influence educators have on their students.

“I presented on the lived experiences of educators leveraging educational technology and connectivism for fostering academic achievement in higher education,” Cynthia Plueger said.

One attendee, Diem Nguyen, presented on the academic experience of Asian Americans who choose to pursue education in non-STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Nguyen said she was surprised to get as many interested participants as she did when she first began her research.

“I didn’t expect that within 24 hours, I got more than 100 emails telling me that, ‘I’m qualified. I want to participate in your study,’” Nguyen said. “So, it was a surprise for me, but I think that … a lot of Asian students didn’t have a chance to share their experience (before) and raise their voice.”

Prior to the conference, the group of Liberty doctoral students and the adjunct faculty member came together as a cohort and held virtual meetings every Tuesday night for almost a year to brainstorm ideas and give updates on their research.

“We are all online students, and we had been through this journey face-to-face as a cohort for almost a year, meeting every Tuesday night and in between as needed to support each other,” Allison Crum said.

The first time they all met in person, aside from Traci Eshelman and Farima Sami, was the day of the conference.

“It was a special time for us to get together in person because … this was the first time we’d ever been together in-person,” Crum said. “We really built strong bonds online, and we just wanted to reinforce and grow those emotion bonds in that relationship by meeting in person, and we were able to do that.”

Eshelman said that by presenting their research at the conference, all participants are given the opportunity to have their work published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal, the Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology (TOJET). Eshelman, whose research was focused on “AI applications in education,” also said she was invited by the editor of the TOJET to be a keynote speaker at the 2025 IETC in Marrakesh, Morocco.

By the time the conference rolled around, five of the eight doctoral students, who had not yet earned their Ph.D., defended their dissertations and earned their Ph.D. One of the attendees actually defended her dissertation a couple days before the conference. The five students then experienced, for the first time ever, being called “doctor” in an academic environment.

“It was the first time that many of us were called doctor because we had just recently defended,” Crum said. “I think Aimee defended like the day before or a couple … before attending the conference.”

Sami said attending the conference was an unforgettable experience.

“Going to Harvard and presenting your research and then talking to people who have such an interest in your study really solidifies the importance of your research and makes you feel like a true academic doctor, and it is unforgettable,” Sami said. “I owe a great deal of my gratitude to Liberty, … my department chair and my cohort for making this dream a reality.”

The group said that the best part of the conference was being able to share their findings with researchers from around the world.

“I think overall, the (best part) was the experience to be able to go and share information from a lot of data collection with others,” Aimee Lintner said. “(It was) a good experience to be able to present … as well as to be able to listen to other people’s presentations and to get to know people from different parts of the world.”

The next IETC will be held in Marrakesh, Morocco March 19, 2025.

Sturek is the campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.