John T. Burns, Senior Lecturer, Department of Information Systems, James Went Building, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
Pamela Havice is an Assistant Professor of Counseling and Educational Leadership at Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina. Dr. Havice coordinated and directed distance learning continuing education opportunities for health professionals prior to her arrival at Clemson University. She is currently teaching students in the Masters of Counseling in Student Affairs program and is an integral part of developing distance learning courses for the Counseling program. Dr. Havice's research and publication record focuses on distance education and presentation skills.
Atsusi Hirumi is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the Instructional Technology program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. His work focuses on developing systems to train and empower educators on the integration of technology and the systematic design of interactive distance learning environments. His research concentrates on interactivity in distance education and training and the development of electronic performance support and knowledge management systems. Recent citations include a 2nd place award for the development of an electronic performance support system for distance educators and awards for two international studies on exemplary on-line coursework for a Web-based graduate course on the systematic design of instruction.
Dr. Tiffany A. Koszalka spent more than 12 years as an instructional designer creating and implementing a variety of paper-, classroomand technology-based training for adults in the corporate world. Then, she turned her attention over the last four years to investigating the use of information and human Internet resources in K-12 science classrooms, by both teachers and students. She currently teaches instructional design and technology integration courses both in the classroom and through distance education and is the Director of Assessment and Research for NASA-sponsored research integrating NASA web-based aeronautics mission resources with problem-based learning for middle school science lessons.
Lya Visser is a Program Professor in Nova Southeastern University's Instructional Technology and Distance Education (ITDE) program (http://itde.nova.edu/). She specializes in distance education needs in developing countries and has conducted extensive research in the area of learner motivation in distance education. The outcome of this research was a model for motivational support in distance education, using the applications of Keller's (1983) principles for motivational design. She is currently doing international research on the perceived and actual student support needs in distance education. In addition, she is coauthoring (with Yusra Laila Visser) the Handbook on Student Support, to be published in early 2001.
Yusra Laila Visser is the lead instructional designer for the Master's in Instructional Systems program being developed by Florida State University's Office for Distributed and Distance Learning. She is also vice president of the Learning Development Institute (www.learndev.org). She has a diverse research agenda, currently focused on three main areas: the design of effective student support systems in distance education, the development of instructional interventions supporting the acquisition of complex problem solving skills, and the analysis of barriers to the implementation of situated instructional strategies in K-12 educational settings.
