Lauren Cifuentes is an assistant professor in the Educational Technology Program at Texas A&M University where she teaches educational technology, instructional design, and computer graphics for learning. Her primary research interests are in design considerations for cross-cultural collaborative environments including distance partnerships and in the powers of shared multimedia for enhancing multicultural understanding and global awareness.
Brian Cameron is Senior Technology Architect and Instructor in Information Sciences and Technology for the School of IST at Penn State. He is the lead faculty member for the new online IST 220 Networking and Telecommunications course and is the lead faculty member for the new IST SAN 100 course. Prior to joining IST, Cameron was Director of IT for WorldStor, Inc., a storage service provider (SSP) in Fairfax, VA. As Director of IT, he was responsible for building the company's IT infrastructure. Cameron managed rapid growth and change as company grew from eleven to one hundred and twenty people located in five cities within five months. He designed and managed the implementation of the corporate network infrastructure and also managed the implementation of a $3.5 million ERP/CRM system. Cameron has a B.S. in Computer Science, an M.B.A. from Penn State and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Technology at Penn State. He has taught a number of networking, database, and systems development and integration courses and has taught in a number of executive education courses.
L.K. Curda has a Ph.D. in Instructional Psychology and Technology. She currently serves as an associate professor at the University of West Florida. She also held assistant professor positions at the University of Toledo and Florida State University. She frequently consults with military organizations and public schools. She has designed and developed multiple courses within an online masters program and teaches a variety of online courses in instructional technology, educational psychology, and research. Her current research focuses on change management, technology integration, and formative evaluation in ADL product development.
Stephen K. Curda is Vice-President of Beyond Design Inc. He has a Ph.D. in Instructional Psychology and Technology. He has in-depth experience in education and training, and performance improvement for the US Army Reserve and the active duty military where he is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. He continues to work with military institutions' distance learning and education initiatives. He has held numerous key positions as a Director of Distance Learning, Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology, and education consultant. His current research focuses on systemic implementation of DL programs in an organization, student support systems within ADL environments, and distance education pedagogy. He is currently deployed to the Middle East as an Education Specialist for U.S Army 352nd Civil Affairs Command to collaborate with ORHA, UNESCO, and USAID.
Kim E. Dooley has just been promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Education at Texas A&M University. She has conducted 50 professional presentations and numerous distance training programs around the globe. Her 83 publications include a chapter in Distance Training, which received the Wedemeyer Award from the Association of Continuing Education. She has served on many university/system committees and advisory boards, including the American Distance Education Consortium International Taskforce. She was also the 1999 recipient of the Montague Teaching Scholar Award and the 2002 International Excellence Award at Texas A&M University. She is an active member of the American Association of Agriculture Education and the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education.
Jane Hughey is Assistant Professor in the English Language Institute at Texas A&M University where she teaches English composition to ESL learners. She directs the nationally recognized and adopted Profile Approach to Writing Program and has recently authored the book Teaching Children to Write: Theory into Practice.
Tracy Irani is an assistant professor of agricultural communication in the University of Florida's Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. She has taught and developed distance education courses using instructional television, videoconferencing, and interactive media delivery techniques, as well as served as an instructional designer for the University's Office of Instructional Resources. She has also served as a consultant for the University's Warrington College of Business Administration's Internet MBA program. Irani received her bachelor's degree in journalism and communication from Point Park College, her master's degree in communication from Duquesne University, and her doctorate in mass communication from the University of Florida. She has extensive professional experience in video production, marketing, and public relations. Distance education is a major research interest, and she has authored publications and made presentations at professional conferences on student and faculty perceptions and attitudes toward their distance education experiences.
Kathleen D. Kelsey is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Education at Oklahoma State University. She was the 2003 recipient of the Southern Region Outstanding Young Agricultural Educator award from the American Association of Agricultural Education. She is responsible for leading a focused evaluation research agenda in the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at OSU to increase accountability in publicly funded programs. She teaches research methods and evaluation methods to graduate students and serves on numerous committees within the university.
Dave S. Knowlton is an Assistant Professor in the Instructional Technology program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. His research interests include asynchronous computer-mediated communication, cognitive learning theory, and writing-across-the-curriculum theory. You can learn about his teaching and research interests by visiting his Web page: www.siue.edu/~dknowlt.
James R. Lindner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Education at Texas A&M University. He has authored or coauthored over 100 refereed research papers and 2 textbooks. His research focuses on planning and needs assessment, management of human resources, and distance education. His article, “Understanding Employee Motivation,” was named the most frequently viewed Journal of Extension article. Within the Department, Lindner is helping to develop and deliver the Master's of Agriculture at a distance program and the “Doc @ Distance” program. He has received numerous honors and awards for presentations of research findings at international and national conferences and was recently named the Outstanding Young Agricultural Educator by the American Association for Agricultural Education.
Sue Mahoney is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Education at the University of Houston-Downtown in Houston, Texas where she teaches educational technology to both undergraduate and graduate students. Her interests include the design and development of online instruction, grouplearning contracts in the online classroom, online learning communities, and evaluation criteria for online instruction.
