Top 17 IHEC Blog Posts of 2012

Long time readers of IHEC Blog have noticed a variety of changes here over the years.  One noticeable change has been in the way I post.  Like many, my life is crazy busy.  I have a family of three young children, a full-time job, trying to finish my dissertation, on the editorial board of the Journal of Studies in International Education, I edit and publish IHEC Blog as well as manage several related internet properties, and occasionally I try to find some time to relax.  As a result, my blog posts have changed over the years and often times I only have enough time to embed a video that may be of interest to readers.  I also have significantly decreased the number of times I post to IHEC Blog (from a high of 282 posts in 2009 to 61 posts in 2012).  Despite all of this, IHEC Blog had a good year in terms of readership and when analyzing the various analytic tools and data available to me (and factoring out SPAM, bots and other non-interested visitors) it appears to be a worthy endeavor.

Following are the top 17 most visited IHEC Blog posts in 2012.

Studying Abroad over Thanksgiving Break?

Future Conference Sites of U.S. Based International Education Organizations

Quotes by U.S. Presidents on the Importance of International Exchanges and the Fulbright Program

Tips for Getting into the International Education Field

Portrayal of Exchange Students in Movies and on TVin the U.S.

At What Age Can Someone Study Abroad?

Describing International Education in 134 characters

The Climate for Innovation

A List of all the Free International Education Resources I Utilize

List of Movies/Television Programs where the Characters go Abroad

How Studying Abroad in Florence, Italy and a Vacation in Mexico Lead Kevin Systrom to Start Instagram

We need students. For each student you bring us, we give you a 100 euros commission

The internationalization of Room 404 [a 3rd grade class at The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools]

Bibliography of Select Articles & Resources to Help International Educators Establish a New Media Presence

Question about Advanced Degrees for International Educators

French Fries, French Dressing, French Bread and to drink, Peru

The Middle, episode: “Foreign Exchange” (s02e05)

If you are interested you can link the top posts of 2011, 2010 and 2009 (didn't produce a list for 2008).  You'll notice some overlap between the years with popular posts.  Perhaps a Top 10 (or Top 23) all time most popular post compilation is due...but that won't happen until things slow down!

Senator Lugar talks about the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES)

(Transcription)

"In 2002, former Senator Ted Kennedy, of Massachusetts, and I felt it was very important, in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy in the United States, to get to know students in Muslim countries and for them to know us, so we worked with the State Department and others to institute this program. This is the tenth anniversary of that; the graduating class has grown from roughly 400 to well over 900 this year. We have had some very exciting students and experiences which we all celebrate. High school students are quick learners, they are well able to adapt to new conditions, and they are our future leaders. We are most hopeful that this experience will be a part of this leadership background. I have no doubt having this visit with six students who attended Indiana high schools that these students are destined to take on many more leadership opportunities, and eventually in their homelands will offer significant service to people. This will be a celebration of the YES program."

6,845 Student Participants over the 10 Years of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Follow Today's #NoMoreCuts to #InternationalExchange Twitter Campaign

Tweets about "#InternationalExchange"

Reminder: Tweet #NoMoreCuts to exchanges today!

Today is a day of action on Twitter to oppose more cuts to non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs, like international exchanges. 

Throughout the day, tweet directly to your Members of Congress, and ask them not to cut exchanges and other NDD programs any further. Encourage your members, volunteers, followers, and friends to do the same. Make sure to use the hashtag #NoMoreCuts.

Included below are sample tweets for your use. Include the Twitter handle of the Member you are tweeting in your message. This ensures that the Member will get a notification of being “mentioned” in your message and will see what you’ve sent. [For a complete list of Members and their twitter handles, please see these House & Senate lists. To find your Members of Congress, enter your zip code here. ]

Thank you for taking action on this important issue!

Sample Tweets

• Leadership, cultural learning, & lang study: #InternationalExchange prepares Americans for global economy, [insert member twitter handle]. #NoMoreCuts!

• #InternationalExchange enhances US natl security & smart power. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• A secure #America needs more than #military might! [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts to #InternationalExchange! #sequester

• #InternationalExchange is an investment in the future, expanding the vision of current & emerging leaders. [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts! 

• #InternationalExchange teaches Americans critical skills and enhances US global competitiveness. [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• Discretionary cuts to #InternationalExchange harm the #economy! [insert member twitter handle] say #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• #Sequestration means an 8.2% cut to #InternationalExchange funding in 2013. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts!

• Discretionary investments have already been cut by nearly $1.5 trillion. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• Remember [insert member twitter handle], over 3000 groups want you to say #NoMoreCuts to discretionary investments! #sequester

Members of Congress need to hear directly from YOU, their constituents about the local impact of exchanges in their home states, districts, and communities. 

Call for Proposals: International Education Research Poster Fair for NAFSA 2013

CALL FOR POSTER PROPOSALS, NAFSA 2013 ANNUAL CONFERENCE ST LOUIS, MISSOURI, MAY 26- MAY 31, 2013 

Are you working on a research project related to international education? If yes, why not share

 it with colleagues, receive their feedback, and develop new collaborations at a professional conference? Both qualitative and quantitative research projects are invited.

NAFSA deadline to submit a poster proposal is December 10, 2012. Proposal requirements can be found at www.nafsa.org/proposals.

For questions about International Education Research poster fair please contact Yuliya Kartoshkina, Poster Fair Organizer for 2013 Annual Conference, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, at: yuliya.kartoshkina@email.und.edu.

Tweet #NoMoreCuts to exchanges on Monday

The Alliance for International Educational & Cultural Exchange is engaged with a broad coalition (led by the Coalition for Health Funding) that opposes sequestration and further cuts to non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs, like international exchanges.

The NDD coalition is mobilizing a day of action on Twitter (using the hashtag #NoMoreCuts) this Monday, December 10, and we encourage you to be involved. Tweets are a simple but effective way of getting this message out to policy makers.

So what do you need to do? Simply tweet directly to your Members of Congress, and ask them not to cut exchanges and other NDD programs any further. Encourage your members, volunteers, followers, and friends to do the same.

Included below are sample tweets for your use. Make sure you include the Twitter handle of the Member you are tweeting in your message. This ensures that the Member will get a notification of being “mentioned” in your message and will see what you’ve sent. [For a complete list of Members and their twitter handles, please see these House & Senate lists. To find your Members of Congress, enter your zip code here. ]

Thank you for taking action on this important issue. We'll send a reminder on Monday, as well as begin tweeting ourselves!

Sample Tweets

• Leadership, cultural learning, & lang study: #InternationalExchange prepares Americans for global economy, [insert member twitter handle]. #NoMoreCuts!

• #InternationalExchange enhances US natl security & smart power. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• A secure #America needs more than #military might! [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts to #InternationalExchange! #sequester

• #InternationalExchange is an investment in the future, expanding the vision of current & emerging leaders. [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts! 

• #InternationalExchange teaches Americans critical skills and enhances US global competitiveness. [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• Discretionary cuts to #InternationalExchange harm the #economy! [insert member twitter handle] say #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• #Sequestration means an 8.2% cut to #InternationalExchange funding in 2013. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts!

• Discretionary investments have already been cut by nearly $1.5 trillion. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• Remember [insert member twitter handle], over 3000 groups want you to say #NoMoreCuts to discretionary investments! #sequester

 Members of Congress need to hear directly from YOU, their constituents about the local impact of exchanges in their home states, districts, and communities. 

With permission of The Alliance, this IHEC Blog post is a copy and paste job (with only slight modifications) of an e-mail message I received from them on Thursday, December 6th.  IHEC Blog thanks The Alliance for all of their advocacy efforts in the international education arena.