Keynote Speakers

Dr Jan Herrington is Professor in Education at Murdoch University in Perth Western Australia. Jan’s work involves research and teaching in the undergraduate and post-graduate programs in the School of Education. She began applying educational design research methods in the early 1990s. Jan’s current research focuses on the design of effective web-based learning environments for higher education and the use of authentic contexts and problem-based scenarios as a central focus for web-based delivery of unit. She is also researching in other ICT–related areas such as: computer games in early childhood, authentic learning in museums, design-based research and mobile learning.
Jan has published over 130 refereed journal articles, conference papers and chapters, and several books including a co-edited book (with Anthony Herrington) titled Authentic Learning in Higher Education and her most recent book (with Thomas C. Reeves and Ron Oliver) titled A Guide to Authentic E-Learning.She has won many awards for her research including the Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT) Young Researcher of the Year Award, and several Outstanding Paper awards at international conferences, most recently at EdMedia 2008. For more information about Dr. Jan Herrington, visit: http://murdoch.academia.edu/JanHerrington .

Dr. Susan McKenney teaches in the Department of Curriculum Innovation and Educational Design in the Faculty of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Twente in The Netherlands. Her doctoral research which employed design research methods explored how the computer can play a supportive role in curriculum development within the context of secondary level science and mathematics education in sub-Saharan Africa http://projects.edte.utwente.nl/cascade/seastudy/ .
Dr. McKenney remains interested the main themes that were addressed in her PhD study: exploring and supporting the interplay between curriculum development and teacher professional development. Much of her current work is carried out in collaboration with organizations in developing countries, but she is also involved in research and consultancy endeavors in the USA and The Netherlands. She is the co-editor of one of the first books about educational design research: Van den Akker, J., Gravemeijer, K., McKenney, S., & Nieveen, N. (Eds.). (2006). Educational design research. London: Routledge. For more information about Dr. Susan McKenney, visit: http://www.gw.utwente.nl/co/Medewerkers/Wetenschappelijke staf/mckenneynl.doc/

Since earning his Ph.D. at Syracuse University, Professor Thomas Reeves has developed and evaluated numerous interactive learning programs for education and training. In addition to numerous presentations and workshops in the USA, he has been an invited speaker in other countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, England, Finland, Italy, Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, and Turkey. He is a former Fulbright Lecturer, and a former editor of the Journal of Interactive Learning Research. His research interests include: evaluation of instructional technology, mental models and interactive multimedia, authentic learning environments, and instructional technology in developing countries. Professor Reeves is the co-founder of the Learning and Performance Support Lab. His teaching areas include program evaluation, instructional design, and research. In 2003, he became the first AACE Fellow. He lives in Athens, Georgia with his wife, Dr. Trisha Reeves, and their two dogs, Flyer and Spencer. Professor Reeves gave the opening keynote at the 10th Global Chinese Conference on Computers in Education in Beijing in June 2006 and he co-chaired E-Learn 2006 in Hawaii in October 2006. He is now a Professor Emeritus at The University of Georgia where he continues to work with faculty and students in the Learning, Design, and Technology Program.