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About the Authors

Peter Albion is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Prior to joining USQ he taught science, mathematics and computing in secondary schools and was a secondary school principal for several years. He holds a masters degree in organic chemistry and graduate qualifications in education. He completed his doctorate at USQ in the areas of multimedia development and technology integration. His teaching and research is in the areas of technology integration in education and online education. He has been active in the Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education for several years and has served as Vice-President for Graduate Education and Faculty Development, and as chair of the Information Technology Council of SITE. He was formerly department chair and currently coordinates the doctoral program in the Faculty of Education at USQ.

John V. Dempsey is Professor and Chair of the Department of Behavioral Studies and Educational Technology and Director of the Online Learning Lab at the University of South Alabama. He received an M.S. and Ph.D in Instructional Systems from Florida State University and a B.S. in Graphic Arts Technology from Florida A&M. He has taught a "Trends and Issues" course for most of his academic career. Dr. Dempsey has written numerous journal articles, chapters, and coedited Interactive Instruction and Feedback as well as the first edition of Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. A practicing instructional designer, he has working experience developing educational web sites and CBT for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Army. Currently, he is developing a series of multimedia CD-ROMs for middle-school children involving environmental education topics. His research interests include educational gaming, graphical displays, and pedagogical agents.

Byron Havard's interest in education began at a very early age growing up in a family of educators. He earned his B.S. at Auburn University and his M.S. in Instructional Design and Development from the University of South Alabama. Continuing his interest in education, he earned his Ph.D.in Instructional Technology from Georgia State University. Byron has roughly nine years of corporate experience in instructional design, needs assessment, and evaluation. At the time this brief bio was written he has served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Instructional Systems and Workforce Development at Mississippi State University. His research interests include collaborative learning, online discussion, social and cultural dimensions in instructional technology, and instructional strategies.

Brenda C. Litchfield , Ph. D. is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral Studies and Educational Technology at the University of South Alabama. Dr. Litchfield taught science and grades K - 12 for 11 years and currently teaches educational psychology, project coordination, instructional learning theories, and design and development of training courseware at the graduate level. She received her B. S. in Elementary Education from The University of Florida, her Master’s in science education from the University of North Florida, and her Ph.D. in instructional systems from Florida State University. She is active in environmental education and has directed the development of several activity books for the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and state environmental organizations. She is currently designing and developing her second CD-ROM in environmental education. She teaches online courses in Instructional Design and Development and is developing a faculty training program at the University of South Alabama. Her areas of interest and research are self-regulated learning, motivation, and environmental education.

Jacquelin McDonald, a Senior Lecturer in the Distance and e-Learning Centre at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Australia. She has worked in education for over 25 years, and during the past 15 years as an instructional designer in tertiary and training environments. She is a practicing ID, and has designed traditional training and distance education, and blended learning materials, for on-campus, national and international learners. She has taught ID courses in online programs. Her research interests include instructional design, hybrid/blended learning, communities of practice, grounded theory and interaction and engagement in online learning. She has written a number of journal articles on hybrid and online learning and has presented at several international and national conferences. She holds a masters degree in flexible learning and is researching online interaction as doctoral student at USQ.