My scholarship focuses on the ways in which educational technologies influence teaching and learning within the contexts of K-12 education and post-secondary environments. In particular, I am interested in leveraging technology to meet the needs of all learners. I have been fortunate to secure support for some of my research through the University of Florida Research Professorship, the Irving and Rose Fien Professorship, and grants. More important, I am extremely fortunate to collaborate with amazing colleagues here at UF as well as at other universities, K-12 schools, and other educational institutions. My colleagues in UF’s Educational Technology program are wonderful collaborators who continually push my thinking and make the process of studying within the field of educational technology a fun and rewarding endeavor.

I tend to think of my work related to using technology to meet the needs of all learners in three related and sometimes overlapping categories: (1) technology use in teaching and learning; (2) in-service, pre-service, and professional education; and (3) technology and individual differences. Below, I describe two of the current initiatives with which I am involved within each category. If anything sounds interesting to you, please feel free to contact me.

Technology use in teaching and learning

Digital learning study: I recently spent three months observing how technology is being used at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School with the goals of providing a snapshot of current use and providing data to guide future planning and professional development efforts. Collaborators: Dr. Albert Ritzhaupt and doctoral students Matthew Wilson, Julie Henderson, and Christy Gabbard

Teacher perceptions and technology use: I recently analyzed survey data from more than 1,300 teachers in a Florida district who responded to the Technology Use and Perceptions Survey as part of a district-wide grant. Survey results will be used for baseline data and to inform district wide planning and professional development. Collaborator: Dr. Albert Ritzhaupt

In-service, pre-service, and professional education

Personalized learning environments (PLEs) in early childhood education: I supervise a course titled Integrating Technology in the Early Childhood. We completely revised the course this past semester and included a large component on PLEs that we belief can support pre-service teachers in being life-long learners who engage in the professional community. We are in the process of analyzing the PLEs and associated journals created by these early childhood pre-service teachers to learn more about their perspectives and conceptualize of PLEs. Collaborators: Dr. Wendy Drexler and doctoral student Elizabeth Kenney

Technology integration field experiences for elementary pre-service teachers: I also supervise a course titled Integrating Technology in the Elementary Curriculum. The lead doctoral instructor for this course, Krista Ruggles, has developed a collaborative partnership with Kids Count that allows our pre-service teachers to have authentic experiences using technology with elementary students. We are currently studying how these experiences influence pre-service teachers’ perceptions of technology use, elementary students’ content area learning, and the ways these pre-service teachers use technology during their pre-intern and internship experiences. Collaborator: Krista Ruggles

Technology and individual differences

Converging behavioral and psychophysiological measures: Evaluating the effectiveness of multimedia learning conditions with dyslexic learners. This is a newly funded study involving collaborators from a multiple disciplines.

Conceptions and misconceptions: A content analysis of mobile apps for dyslexic learners: We recently conducted a systematic analysis of the ways educational technology developers conceptualize dyslexia and design apps for dyslexic learners. This study arose from a concern I had about the quality of apps I was finding for dyslexic learners and involved analysis of more than 350 apps. Collaborators: Dr. Pasha Antonenko and doctoral student Shilpa Sahay.