Our Faculty

Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko is an Associate Professor of Educational Technology and Director of the NeurAL Lab in the School of Teaching and Learning. His research has been funded by state and federal agencies and focuses on developing, implementing, and studying technologies for scaffolding learning. His most recent project, “LENS: Leveraging Expertise in Neurotechnologies to Study Individual Differences in Multimedia Learning”, is a NSF-funded Science of Learning project that focuses on understanding learning with multimedia by a wide range of students including those with attentional and cognitive differences.

Dr. Antonenko has published in a number of educational technology and educational psychology journals and received several national and international awards for his research on the design of technology-enhanced learning environments and the implications of neuroimaging for educational research. He is the Educational Technology Strand Co-Coordinator for the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Chair of the American Educational Research Association’s Special Interest Group in Instructional Technology, and a reviewer for multiple journals, conferences, and funding agencies.

Kara Dawson is a Professor of Educational Technology in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida. She started her career teaching 5th, 6th and 7th grade in Virginia Beach, coaching volleyball and swimming and running numerous after school clubs. She became interested in Educational Technology after attending a professional development workshop on authoring software in 1990. She experimented with using technology in her own classroom and taught technology workshops for the district until she decided to attend doctoral school full-time at the University of Virginia (UVa) in 1994. She completed her doctoral degree in Instructional Technology in 1997 while serving as a Technical Writer for the university’s computing center and an internship supervisor. She worked in a post-doctoral position directing the Center for Technology and Teacher Education at UVa until 1999.

In 1999, she began working at the University of Florida as an Assistant Professor. She served as the Program Coordinator for the Educational Technology program for 10 years and co-developed 5 programs (online M.Ed., Ed.S. and Ed.D. programs and face-to-face MAE and Ph.D. programs). She also works in the Unified Elementary ProTeach program and has supervised the educational technology courses for the program since 1999.

Her scholarship focuses on the ways educational technologies influence teaching and learning within the contexts of K-12 education and online post-secondary environments. She has published over 100 articles in journals such as the Journal of Educational Computing Research, Internet in Higher Education, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, British Journal of Educational Technology, American Journal of Distance Education and the Journal of Distance Education. She has also secured over 3 million dollars in external funding and has been recognized for her research and mentoring accomplishments by the University of Florida. She has also served as the Chair of one of AERA’s largest special interest groups, SIG TACTL (Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning) and serves on review boards for numerous journals including Educational Technology Research and Development and Journal of Research on Technology in Education.

Maya Israel, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Educational Technology in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida. She is also the research director at the Creative Technology Research Lab. Dr. Israel’s research focuses on strategies for supporting students with disabilities and other struggling learners’ meaningful engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with emphases on computational thinking, computer science education, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). She is currently PI on two NSF projects focused on pedagogical approaches that support all students in successfully accessing computing instruction. Her work is interdisciplinary and involves collaboration with researchers, teachers, and other school leaders.

Dr. Kumar is a Clinical Professor and has led the design and implementation of the online EdD in Educational Technology since 2010. She studies various aspects of online education, with the aim of identifying what constitutes excellence in online education in general, and online doctoral education in particular. Her current research centers around online pedagogy, online dissertation supervision/mentoring, and online program quality, with an emphasis on connections between theory, research, and practice. She strives to provide guidelines for online education practice, such as online program design, online course design, online dissertation mentoring, online instructor competencies, online instructor support, virtual exchanges, etc.

Her research has contributed to the development of models and frameworks in the emerging field of online doctoral education such as an evidence-based model for a research-focused online professional doctorate (Kumar & Dawson, 2018), and a framework for online dissertation mentoring (Kumar et al., 2018) that can guide administrators and faculty. Dr. Kumar has published several journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings; has presented at numerous national and international conferences; and conducted several workshops and webinars related to online education internationally. She bridges cultures and countries in her work, was a Fulbright Scholar to Hungary, a Visiting Professor in Germany, and has engaged in numerous international collaborations.

Bojan Lazarevic’s educational background is in instructional technology with emphasis on online learning, media development and emerging technologies. His dissertation was focused on the instructional design and the role of video technology in developing a Community of Inquiry in online learning.

The scope of Dr. Lazarevic’s research interest encompasses the intersection of emerging technologies, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), 3D modeling/printing, interactive multimedia development, cognition and learning, Web2.0 technologies, and online teaching methods.

Currently, he is a principal researcher for the following two projects: a) VR Across Disciplines and b) Facilitating Community of Inquiry through Screencasting and Video Announcements. The project VR Across Disciplines is focused on identifying effective teaching practices in using VR devices and immersive media in areas such as medicine, natural sciences, mathematics, business, language learning, sociology, art, marketing and education. While the Facilitating Community of Inquiry study is centered on the promotion of teaching and social presence within an online learning environment.

To date, Dr. Lazarevic has published two books and a number of papers in both peer review journals and conference proceedings. He is finalizing his third book entitled Presentation Media for K-12 Teachers.

Dr. Albert D. Ritzhaupt is an associate professor of educational technology and Associate Director for Graduate Studies in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida. An award-winning researcher, Dr. Ritzhaupt has published more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings; and has presented numerous presentations at state, national, and international conferences. His primary research areas focus on the design and development of technology-enhanced learning environments, teaching practices in technology-oriented curriculum (e.g., Computer Science), and operationalizing and measuring technology integration in formal educational settings.

Dr. Ritzhaupt has been funded by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Science Foundation (NSF) to support his research endeavors. His publications have appeared in multiple leading venues, including the Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Educational Technology Research and Development, Computers in the Schools, Journal of Computing in Higher Education, Computers & Education, Journal of Educational Computing Research, and Computers in Human Behavior. Dr. Ritzhaupt is a consulting editor for Educational Technology Research and Development; and serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Research on Technology in Education. Dr. Ritzhaupt regularly attends and presents at the American Educational Research Association (AERA), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). He also served as Chair of the Games and Simulations Special Interest Group (SIG) in the ISTE and currently serves as Chair of SIG Instructional Technology in AERA.

Dr. Matthew Schmidt is an associate professor at the University of Florida in the in the School of Teaching and Learning’s Educational Technology program. Dr. Schmidt formerly served as the director of the Studio of Advanced Learning Technologies (SALT) in the School of Education at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Schmidt is an educational researcher and developer of advanced, technology-based learning interventions. He has published more than 65 journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings and has presented his work at a variety of local, national, and international conferences. He has also developed over 10 advanced learning technology interventions. As an applied researcher in the field of educational technology and instructional design, his work focuses on the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative learning interventions, educational courseware, and computer software for individuals with life-long disabilities and medical conditions, as well as their families and caregivers (e.g., autism, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, diabetes).

An award-winning researcher and developer, his design-based research focuses on three-dimensional virtual learning environments (e.g., virtual reality, educational games), mobile learning, and online learning interventions. In the design and evaluation of these technologies, Dr. Schmidt applies reflexive inquiry using a variety of design-based methodological approaches such as design-based research, learner/user experience design, design thinking, rapid prototyping, etc. Dr. Schmidt’s research was recognized by the University of Hawaii with the Exceptional Research Award in 2015. He and his development team were awarded a Crystal Award in 2019 recognizing the innovative and outstanding multimedia-based distance learning project Epilepsy Adherence in Children and Technology (eACT) by the Association for Educational and Communications Technology, the third such award he has received in as many years.

Dr. Schmidt’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), and the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s (OHDMS) Division of Emergency Medical Services. His research publications have appeared in top-tier journals such as Exceptional Children and Computers in Human Behavior. Dr. Schmidt is editor-in-chief of the upcoming open-access edited volume Learner and User Experience Research: An Introduction for the Field of Learning Design & Technology, which will be published on https://edtechbooks.org. He is a co-editor of the upcoming AECT publications A New Focus for Learning: Educational Technology Beyond Content and Intersections across Disciplines: Interdisciplinarity and Learning Design. He also serves as a reviewer for a number of journals in the field of educational technology and instructional design. Dr. Schmidt regularly attends and presents at the Association for Educational and Communications Technology (AECT) and the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN). Dr. Schmidt has served as a board member of the Assistive Technology Resource Centers of Hawaii (ATRC) and of the Design and Development Division within AECT. He has also been serving as a co-coordinator of the AECT Summer Research Symposium since 2018.

Wanli Xing’s research focuses on how emerging technologies can deeply transform STEM education and online learning. He creates learning environments using cutting-edge technologies, such as computer simulations and modeling, artificial intelligence, internet of things, and augmented reality to support learning in diverse classrooms and online environments. He also designs and applies data mining and machine learning to understand, assess, and optimize the learning process and the environments in which it occurs. His school-based research projects have produced new theories, principles, and methods on how to design effective educational technology that teaches the knowledge and skills for the future STEM workforce.

Anthony Botelho, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of Educational Technology in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida. Dr. Botelho is an expert in developing and deploying technology to study student learning across educational contexts. His research combines theory, methodologies, and application across fields including education, cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, and computer science. Toward this, Dr. Botelho has leveraged quantitative methodologies including learning analytics, machine learning, and natural language processing to study cognitive, behavioral, and affective constructs of learning in online and classroom settings. Dr. Botelho also engages in interdisciplinary collaboration with educators and researchers across disciplines to design, develop, and refine human-in-the-loop systems and methodologies to advance instructional practices and our understanding of how students learn.

Rob Moore, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology. His research analyzes online learning environments, focusing on massive open online courses (MOOCs), to identify ways to improve student learning in those contexts. He is particularly interested in leveraging learning analytics to ensure that online learning environments offer similar critical thinking and engagement levels as in face-to-face instruction.

Currently, he is a Co-PI for the NSF-funded Learning Analytics in STEM Education Research (LASER) Institute. The LASER Institute is unique in that it supports underrepresented early and mid-career scholars in STEM by fostering their existing research agendas, as well as new lines of inquiry and collaborations. Specifically, the institute aims to give these scholars the resources and skills necessary to leverage new data sources and computational methods in their research.

Seyedahmad Rahimi, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Educational Technology in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida. Dr. Rahimi’s research focuses on assessing and fostering students’ 21st-century skills (focusing on creativity) and STEM-related knowledge acquisition (focusing on physics understanding). Toward that end, Dr. Rahimi designs, develops, and evaluates immersive learning environments (e.g., educational games) equipped with stealth assessment and educational data mining and learning analytics models. These learning environments can diagnostically assess students’ various competency levels, predict different outcomes, and act accordingly in real-time (e.g., adapt the game challenges to students’ level of competency or support students’ learning by triggering the appropriate learning supports). Dr. Rahimi is also actively researching various aspects of educational games (e.g., game mechanics, game difficulty, cognitive and affective supports, dashboard design, and incentive systems) and how they affect students’ motivation, performance, and learning.