M. J. (Mary Jean) Bishop is associate professor and program coordinator for teaching, learning, and technology in the College of Education at Lehigh University. Her research interests include instructional media and ways it can be designed to improve learning. Bishop received the 2001 Educational Technology Research and Development “Young Scholar Award” from the ECT Foundation of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology; the award was given for her doctoral dissertation, titled “The Systemic Use of Sound in Multimedia Instruction to Enhance Learning.” Bishop teaches courses in instructional design, interface design, and Web site and resource development. She was project director and coprincipal investigator of the Clipper Project, a research project aimed at evaluating the short- and long-term costs and benefits associated with offering Web-based courses to high-school seniors who have been “preadmitted” to the university. Bishop earned a doctorate from Lehigh, a master's degree from Millersville University and a bachelor's degree from Lebanon Valley College.
Alejandro del Carmen, PhD, is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at Arlington. Del Carmen has published four books and more than 25 academic manuscripts in nationally and internationally recognized journals. He has served as editor of ACJS Today, the official newsletter of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Del Carmen was an editorial board member of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.
Rhonda R. Dobbs is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at Arlington. She earned her PhD in criminology from Florida State University. Her research interests include fear of crime and punitive attitudes.
Tracy Irani is graduate coordinator and associate professor of agricultural communication in the University of Florida Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, where she has been a faculty member since 1999. Irani earned a BA degree in journalism and communications from Point Park College, a M.A. degree in corporate communications from Duquesne University, and a PhD in journalism and communications from UF. Her research interests include public attitudes toward science and technology, including distance education, new and social media, as well as consumer behavior/marketing, and critical thinking and decision making. Irani teaches courses in campaign strategies, managing and leading change, and applications of communication theory in the field of agricultural communication. Irani is coordinating development of the new Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Serçin Karataş is an assistant professor at Gazi University, Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies. She was the vice chairman of Atatürk Vocational Higher School in charge of distance education and was the distance education coordinator in Informatics Institute at Gazi University. Presently, she is the project coordinator of Distance Education Vocational High School at the same university. Her research interests are theoretical foundations and applications of e-learning; online learner engagement; interactivity and interaction in e-learning; storyboard and course content development for e-learning; creative instruction via ICT; and e-learning leadership.
Glenn Kleiman is executive director of the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the North Carolina State University College of Education. A cognitive psychologist by background (PhD, Stanford, 1977), his work in education has spanned basic and applied research, curriculum development, software development, providing professional development for teachers and administrators, policy analyses, and consulting for school districts and state departments of education. Prior to joining NC State in July 2007, he was, since 1985, vice president and senior research Scientist at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) in Newton MA, where he most recently directed the Center for Online Professional Education and was codirector of the Northeast and Islands Regional Education Lab. He was also on the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Education from 1995-2007 and was educational chair of the Harvard/EDC Leadership and the New Technologies Institutes. Kleiman has also been a faculty member in psychology and in education at the University of Illinois, the University of Toronto, and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education; a senior researcher at the National Center for the Study of Reading; and founder and president of Teaching Tools Software, Inc.
Sue Mahoney is an associate professor at the University of Houston-Downtown in the department of Urban Education. She received her doctorate from Texas A&M University. She teaches educational technology courses to both undergraduate and graduate students. Her research interests include online learning environments, the design, development, and evaluation of online instruction, teacher dispositions, and effective technology integration in K-12 and higher education classrooms.
Hayley Mayall is an assistant professor of Instructional Technology at Northern Illinois University. Mayall's research focuses on the use of technology and the impact of self-efficacy and learner characteristics in diverse instructional environments including preservice teacher education, in-service teacher professional development, and corporate training.
Kevin Oliver, PhD, is assistant professor of instructional technology in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at North Carolina State University and coprincipal investigator on the state-funded evaluation of the North Carolina Virtual Public School. His research interests include distance education and virtual schooling, particularly the integration of emerging Web-based tools in support of student-centered learning.
Jason W. Osborne, PhD, is associate professor of educational psychology in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at North Carolina State University and senior research fellow for evaluation at the William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. His research interests focus on best practices in quantitative research methods, scientifically rigorous evaluation of instructional technology initiatives, and identification with academics and stereotype threat. He is active in evaluation, serving as primary investigator on several large-scale evaluations of instructional technology in the public schools, and on many projects on health care and nursing practice.
Ruchi K. Patel, MA, is a doctoral student in industrial/organizational psychology at North Carolina State University and a graduate research assistant at the William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. Her current research interests include leadership development, computer mediated work behavior, and counterproductive work behavior, as well as the measurement and evaluation of related initiatives.
Emily Rhoades, PhD, is an assistant professor of agricultural communication in the Department of Human and Community Resource Development at The Ohio State University. Her research interests and expertise includes the usage of new media technologies by rural media and audiences to share agricultural information as well as the cognitive processes involved in using such media. Emily is a graduate of Ohio State University and the University of Florida.
Grady Roberts is an associate professor of agricultural education in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida. Prior to joining this department in 2008, Roberts was a faculty member in agricultural education at Texas A&M University for 4 years. He holds BS, MAg, and PhD degrees in agricultural education and communication from UF, with a program emphasis in teaching and learning and distance education. His research interests include experiential learning and teaching and learning in university settings. He is author/coauthor of 39 refereed journal articles and 43 refereed conference research papers. Roberts has been recognized on six different occasions with outstanding conference paper/poster awards and has served as PI or Co–PI on five externally funded grants totaling nearly $875,000. Roberts teaches courses in experiential learning, teaching methods, and college teaching. He also serves as coordinator of the Teaching Resource Center in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Nurettin Şimşek is an associate professor at Ankara University, Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies, and director of the Distance Education Center at Ankara University. He is also the vice editor of the Semiannual Journal of Educational Sciences & Practice. His research interests are foundations of educational technology, instructional design, distance education, and instructional software design and evaluation.
Courtney A. Waid is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Political Science at North Dakota State University. Her primary research interests include the effectiveness of inmate treatment programs on female recidivism, the reform of juvenile detention practices, and factors impacting the fear of crime/victimization. She holds a BA in psychology from the University of Kentucky and an MS in criminal justice from the University of Alabama, and is currently a doctoral candidate in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the Florida State University.
Rob Weidman earned his BA in Greek from The College of William and Mary and his MS in library and information science from Simmons College. He is pursuing a doctorate degree in learning sciences and technology at Lehigh University, where he holds the position of digital library technical coordinator. In this role, he contributes to the development of Lehigh's digital library, while providing and improving access to other electronic resources. His research interests include the application of collaborative tools in digital libraries and the development of intelligent tutors for information literacy.
Sandy Wilson is an associate professor of environmental horticulture at the Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce, where she maintains a 50:50 research:teaching appointment. Her research focuses on characterizing the invasive potential of ornamental plants, and native plant physiology, propagation and production. She teaches courses in plant propagation, native landscaping and plant identification that complement her research expertise.
