Education Committee

Mission

IFTF’s Education Committee promotes the teaching of IF in order to broaden its use beyond its cultural niche and to raise its profile in the gaming world.

The committee’s mission includes training and supporting educators (working at any educational level) who teach the programming and writing of IF. The committee defines the term “IF” most broadly to include IF as game, literature, art, simulation, as a tool for interactive digital presentations, tutorials, and interfaces, and as the interactive text component of a digital game or other software application.

The committee also seeks to advance digital inclusivity by promoting IF’s pedagogical use within racially, culturally, economically, and gender-diverse populations, and across multiple disciplinary fields.

Powers

The Committee shall be granted all powers granted to the Board of Directors relevant to these operations except:

  1. Those that are specifically denied under the IFTF Bylaws.
  2. The sale or purchase of assets worth greater than $500 per calendar year.
  3. Borrowing money or assuming any long term liabilities.
  4. Entering into any contracts or agreements worth more than $5,000 in total per calendar year.
  5. The Committee shall be restricted to only those activities that are consistent with IFTF’s tax exempt status.

Responsibilities

The Committee shall develop a set of tasks each year and report these to the IFTF Board of Directors. Generally speaking, these tasks should relate to:

  1. Organizing and developing the curriculum for, and facilitating the production and maintenance of, an online IF course or series of courses collectively authored by IF educators and other members of the IF community.
  2. Supporting IF curriculum development more generally, including facilitating the sharing of pedagogical materials related to IF programming and authorship, and curating these resources.
  3. Researching and then advising the IFTF Board of Directors regarding funding strategies for these activities, which might include monetizing the IFTF-produced coursework, and/or seeking grants, institutional partnerships, and donations. The committee will work with the Board in pursuing appropriate strategies.

The IFTF Board of Directors may add or remove tasks from time to time.

Membership

The Committee shall consist of at least one and at most 11 members. The Board of Directors shall always have at least one representative on the committee. The Committee shall ensure adequate membership to carry out the tasks specified in the section titled “Responsibilities”.

The initial membership of the Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors. Members shall serve for 1 year terms. There shall be no limit to the number of terms any member may serve.

One person shall be appointed the Education Committee Chair and will coordinate the activities of the other members. The Chair will be responsible for reporting activities to the Board of Directors.

Members of the Committee shall be nominated by the Committee. New members shall be elected by a majority vote of the Committee. Any member can be removed by a majority vote of the Committee. At any time, a member can be added, removed, or replaced by the Board of Directors. In the event of the death, resignation, or removal of a member, the Committee shall elect a new member.

Procedures

The committee must meet at least once per year. Meetings may be held through any mutually agreed-upon channel. The Committee shall provide a report of all recent operations at least once every three months.

Duration

The Committee shall serve until dissolved by the Board of Directors.