KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Robert Keel has been teaching sociology for 30 years, and has been integrating web and Internet-based instruction into his classes since 1993.  From 2000-2005, he served as the faculty coordinator of the MyGateway system as UMSL.  He has made numerous presentation to professional, academic, and community groups on a variety of topic relating to online and distance education, as well as the social implications of the Internet.

Education:

• M.A., Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1976, Department of Sociology
• B.A., Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI, 1974, Sociology and Anthropology

Selected Recent Presentations:

• Robert Keel, "MyGateway Faculty Survey: FS 2006-WS 2007," report at UM-St. Louis (ITS), February 2008.
  PDF version of this presentation
• Robert Keel, "Rational Choice Theory." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.. Vol. 7. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 74-76.
• Robert Keel, "Interactivity and Engagement in a Blended Class: Wimba Live Classroom," presentation at UM-St. Louis, Focus on Teaching and Technology Conference, November 1, 2007.
• Robert Keel, "MyGateway Student Survey: FS 2006-WS 2007," report at UM-St. Louis (ITS), October 2007.
  PDF version of this presentation 
• Robert Keel, “Wikis: Interactivity in a Blended Class”, Helix 2007, Osage Beach, MO, 03-29-2007.

Dan Cernusca has been an Instructional Design Specialist since August 2007. Since then he worked with School of Extended Learning, Office of Undergraduate Studies, and Educational Technology Group to develop and implement effective, research-based instructional solutions that integrate technology-driven tools with active learning strategies. His consulting and research interests include:  design-based research applications for innovative technology, cognitive mapping tools and their impact on learners’ conceptual understanding of complex topics, fostering conceptual understanding and conceptual change in technology-rich educational contexts, and addressing individual differences with technology-based instructional tools.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Information Science and Learning Technologies, University of Missouri Columbia (2007)
• Master of Business Administration, University of Missouri Columbia (1997), College of Business
• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania (1996), Hermann Oberth School of Engineering
• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania (1985), Hermann Oberth School of Engineering

Selected Publications & Presentations:

• Cernusca, D. (2008). Implementation of an Online Learning Environment in a Large Classroom: A Design-Based Research Journey. Berlin, Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller.
• Cernusca, D. & Carroll, D. (2008). Online Instructional Tools for Blended Attendance in a Large Engineering course: Impact on Students’ Behavior and Performance.The 5th Annual Sloan-C Workshop on Blended Learning and Higher Education. Univ. of Illinois at Chicago, April 6-8.
• Jonassen, D. H., Cernusca, D., & Ionas, G. I. (2007). Constructivism and instructional design: The emergence of the learning sciences and design research. In R. A. Reiser & J. A. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (2nd ed., pp.45-52). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
• Strobel, J., Cernusca, D., & Jonassen, D. H. (2004). Different majors-different epistemological beliefs? Academic Exchange Quarterly, 8(1), 208 - 211.
• Fitzgerald, G., Kelly, P. V., & Cernusca, D. (2003). Nvivo as a cognitive tool for training novice qualitative researchers: A constructivist approach. Qualitative Research Journal, 3 (Special issue), 24-40, online: http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/153096724?versionId=166849939.

Dr. Grantham Lough has been an Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Engineering Department since January 2006.  During that time she has conducted research in the areas of product design, risk management, and sustainability.  Her work in all these areas is also integrated into her classrooms with software tools to enhance student's ability to make decisions in these areas.  Her industrial experience includes 21st Century Systems (as software Department of Defense contractor), NASA, Ford, and Boeing.

Education:

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering - University of Missouri-Rolla, 2005
• M.S., Aerospace Engineering - University of Missouri-Rolla, 2003
• B.S., Aerospace Engineering- University of Missouri-Rolla, 2001

Richard Hall has been creating, implementing, and exploring web-based learning technologies for the last 15 years. In terms of research, he founded the Education and World Wide Web special interest group of the American Educational Research Association; and he has more than 75 peer-reviewed publications and eight million dollars in external grant funding, for research, primarily focusing on evaluation of learning technologies.

At Missouri S&T he was instrumental in bringing Blackboard to campus in the late 90s, and supporting it the first few years. He has conducted a number of work shops for S&T faculty and staff on Blackboard, web development, and multimedia development; and he currently directs the Center for Technology Enhanced Learning. He has used web-based materials and tools in virtually all of his classes since 1997, ranging from posting information on Blackboard to conducting classes entirely online.

Dr. Hall is also an avid video blogger.

More information is available at: http://mst.edu/~rhall and http://richardshow.org 

Education:

• B.A., University of North Texas, Denton, TX, 1984, Psychology
• M.S., Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, 1986, Experimental Psychology
• Ph.D., Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, 1988, Experimental Psychology

Selected Recent Publications:

• Hall, R.H., Philpot, T. Hubing, N. (2006). Comprehensive Assessment of a Software Development Project for Engineering Instruction. Journal of Learning, Technology and Assessment, 15(5), 4-42.
• Philpot, T.A. & Hall, R.H. (2006). Animated Instructional Software for Mechanics of Materials: Implementation and Assessment. Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 14(1), 31-43.
• Hall, R.H. & Hanna, P. (2004). The Impact of Web Page Text-Background Color Combinations on Readability, Retention, Aesthetics, and Behavioral Intention. Behavior and Information Technology, 23(3), 183 – 195.
• Maib J., Hall, R.H., Collier, H., & Thomas, M. (2006). A Multi-Method Evaluation of the Implementation of a Student Response System, Proceedings of the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS).
• Warmbrodt, J., Sheng, H., & Hall, R. (2008). Social Network Analysis of Video Bloggers’ Community, Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science.

Irina Ivliyeva has been successfully teaching foreign languages, their acquisition methods, and intercultural communication for 20 years. She has been strongly interested in multimedia approaches to teaching, including e-portfolio development, web site design and implementation, PC-based placement testing, learning strategies with computer-assisted learning, and language laboratory management.

Education:

• M.A., Moscow State University, Russia, 1989, Department of Philology
• Ph.D., Russian Academy of Sciences, 1997, Linguistics

Dr. King finished his Ph.D. with distinction in 2006 and decided to remain in academia as an Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly the University of Missouri – Rolla).  Dr. King is an enthusiastic and well-liked instructor with a strong interest in computer-aided instructional techniques for both local and distance learning applications. His primary teaching interest is reactor physics and design, along with the social, economic, and political aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle.  Dr. King is also the faculty advisor for the Missouri S&T student chapters of the American Nuclear Society and Women in Nuclear, as well as currently serving as both a Freshmen and Sophomore advisor to over 50 students.

Education:

• B.S. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 1994, Environmental Engineering
• Ph.D, University of New Mexico, 2006, Nuclear Engineering

Audra Merfeld-Langston teaches French language, literature, and civilization at all levels. In her courses, she has incorporated various technologies to facilitate learning and encourage student interest, such as blogs, chats, YouTube, wikis, web-based assignments, web site development, and even video networking with a high school in France. She also has experience with online course development.

Education:

• M.A., Penn State University, State College, PA, 2002, French
• Ph.D., Penn State University, State College, PA, 2007, French Culture and Civilization

John Morrison has taught in K-12, college and university settings and held various faculty support roles, primarily related to educational technology. Formerly John ran WebCT Support in Canada before moving to Washington, DC, to join the Blackboard Beyond Initiative. John's role with Blackboard Beyond is to help faculty understand and get the best out of the no cost web services that the team is delivering. These include Scholar, SafeAssign, the new Blackboard Sync and the EduGarage community.

Education:

• B.Sc., London School of Economics, London, UK , 1983, Social Psychology
• B.Ed., University of Regina, SK, 1990, Education
• M.Ed., University of Regina, SK, 1990, Educational Psychology
• Ed.D., Simon Fraser University, BC, in process, Educational Leadership

Amanda Piegza is Missouri S&T's Institutional Repository and Digital Collections Librarian. She received her Master's degree in Library Science from Indiana University - Purdue University, Indianapolis with a focus on digital libraries.

Education:

• B.A., Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2004, Psychological Sciences
• M.L.S., Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, 2008,  Library and Information Science

Klaus Woelk teaches introductory chemistry at Missouri S&T in courses of up to 200 major and non-major students as well as upper-level physical-chemistry courses such as Thermodynamics and Quantum Chemistry. He is part of a team that considerably redesigned introductory chemistry at Missouri S&T. He coordinates freshman chemistry education with an annual enrollment of up to 1000 students, and has been awarded the Wilbur Tappmeyer Excellence in Teaching Undergraduates Award. In 2005/06, Klaus was the acting director of Missouri S&T’s New Faculty Teaching Scholarship (NFTS) program. His research interest is in physical and materials chemistry, organometallic catalysis, and in situ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Education:

• B.Sc., University of Bonn, Germany, 1984, Chemistry
• M.Sc., University of Bonn, Germany, 1988, Physical Chemistry
• Ph.D., University of Bonn, Germany, 1991, Physical Chemistry and Experimental Physics
• Postdoc, Argonne National Laboratory IL, 1992-1994, Chemical Technology Division