Projects
My research is tightly coupled with my design and development work. I am a design-based researcher. You'll see that the majority of my projects are design-based. My ultimate goal is to meaningfully impact learning. I am particularly interested in the impact of technology-mediated learning on traditionally disenfranchised and under-represented adolescents with disabilities, especially in the area of autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
I've worked in disparate domains spanning STEM, second language acquisition, and disabilities studies. Since beginning my career in educational technology and the learning sciences over a decade ago, my research has focused on the science of socio-technical systems to mediate learning using primarily case-based and problems-based approaches. Most recently, I have been developing a research agenda that seeks synergies between free and open-source technologies, open educational resources, and design-based research. My goal is both to develop and test a theory of open learning and pedagogy in higher education and to impact the learning of traditionally disenfranchised learner populations. I'm currently working on integrating technology into a merged dual licensure teacher preparation program for general and special education teachers at the K-6 level.
Click the images below for further information about the listed projects.
Click the images below for further information about the listed projects.
Distance Supervision of Teacher Interns
Distance supervision is "Teaching that is guided and supervised from a distance using some form of digital communications technology/technologies" (Schmidt, ND, slide 13). For this project, I developed a flexible system for supervising teacher interns from a distance as they perform their field service teaching experiences. The system allows for real-time observation as well as for recording teaching experiences and watching them later, and all in a manner that is FERPA-compliant. The design of the system, the training materials, and all other related materials have been released as Open Educational Resources.
Design-Based Research YouTube Channel
I curate a YouTube Channel on and about Design-based Research (DBR). Below you will find a feed to all of the videos hosted on the Design-based Research YouTube Channel.
Project MODS (Mobile Online Devices for Successful Education)
Project MODS is the technology integration “arm” of the general and special education dual licensure curriculum that is being developed at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Forty pre-service teachers have been equipped with iPad Minis and apps consistent with curriculum goals. These iPad Minis are used by the pre-service teachers for the duration of the curriculum. The enhancements Project MODS is working towards by using these iPad Minis relate to infusing educational technologies and assistive technologies throughout the course sequence and spectrum of learning activities for pre-service teachers who are enrolled in the program. The goals of Project MODS include 1) to gain operating experience and develop expertise among contributing faculty members and students in effectively integrating mobile devices into pre-service teacher training, 2) to establish, refine, and disseminate practice-based heuristics and best practices regarding the use of mobile devices for teacher training, 3) to share how to implement mobile devices for teacher training in practice. To meet these goals, we are taking an iterative approach to implementation of iPad Minis in the curriculum in with three major iterations of the implementation over the course of 2.5 years.
The Holodeck@UH: Mixed Reality Teaching and Learning Environment
The Holodeck is a prototype, in-development 3D “mashup” that combines a real world space (a physical classroom where students meet in-person) with a virtual world (a three-dimensional multi-user virtual environment where students meet as avatars). By “mashup,” we refer to a hybrid environment that uses technology to creatively mix elements of the real world and virtual world to create a unified experience. Users are used to using their computer monitors as a “window” in to the virtual world. The Holodeck makes the connection two-way by providing a window from the virtual world back to the real world. Utilizing a completely free and open-source software (FOSS) design, development, and deployment ecosystem, we have developed the UH Holodeck as a testament to the promise of FOSS in higher education and the learning sciences.
iSocial
iSocial is a three dimensional virtual learning environment, developed using the Open Wonderland 3D worlds toolkit, for teaching social competence to youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The goal of iSocial is to provide learners with competencies that make social participation possible in both virtual and natural settings. To this end, iSocial enables social interaction and provides supports for the development of social competence in a safe, completely controlled environment.
Radiation Protection Technician ASK SystemGuest username: demo
Guest password: demo
The AECT-showcased radiation protection technician ASK system is an industry-recognized, case-based, problems-oriented online learning environment developed to support an Associates of Applied Science in Radiation Protection Technology curriculum. The system presents learners with an authentic work task in the form of a “scenario,” the scope and execution of which learners must ascertain by selecting from a constrained set of questions provided by the system. Knowledge is not constructed by the system or based on theoretical domain representations; rather, the learner actively constructs knowledge by interfacing with the system, thus affording a learner-centric mode of knowledge acquisition within authentic contexts of real-world scenarios. What the ASK system does, essentially, is to structure expert knowledge such that learners can access expert answers to questions much the same way as they would in the context of completing a real task, that is, by asking questions.
Utilization of Nuclear Technologies in Society Online Learning EnvironmentGuest username: demo
Guest password: demo
Utilization of Nuclear Technologies in Society is a problem-based online learning environment designed to support a university nuclear engineering course. The course is designed as an introductory level course in nuclear science providing an introduction to applications of nuclear science and technology and the radiation principles governing these applications. Students approach the course by solving realistic and relevant problems from multiple domains of nuclear science (e.g., elemental and content analysis, material modification, radiation gauging, etc.). These problems are delivered via an online learning environment which supports learners as they develop arguments to support their proposed problem solution.