Tian Luo

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Verified

Tian verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Full) at Old Dominion University

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has caused significant disruptions on a global scale in various workplace settings, including the field of instructional design (ID). Given the paucity of research investigating the impact of GenAI on ID work, we conducted a mixed methods study to understand instructional designers (IDs)’...

As online learners are increasingly diverse, making online learning more inclusive becomes an urgent need. Universal design has been perceived as a viable framework to reach the widest possible range of learners. However, applying universal design to online education has been a challenge to instructors due to different barriers. It is also unclear...

Open Educational Resources (OER) are becoming a significant, mission-driven trend within educational literature. To help address rising costs, instructors and designers are looking to OER to effectively replace traditional instructional content, which requires more than just identify and replace. Drawing from 51 OER studies conducted in countries a...

In recent years, professional learning networks (PLNs) and online learning communities of practices (CoPs) enabled by social media have emerged as a conduit and communal space for faculty members to engage in professional learning. This systematic review provides a current synthesis of research surrounding social media and professional development...

Since it was first developed in 2006, the hybrid flexible, or HyFlex, course model has been growing in prevalence in higher education. HyFlex courses are defined as those allowing students to decide whether to experience course material in person, online synchronously, or asynchronously on a weekly or daily basis without warning to, or permission f...

Generative artificial intelligence brings opportunities and unique challenges to nontraditional higher education students, stemming, in part, from the experience of the digital divide. Providing access and practice is critical to bridge this divide and equip students with needed digital competencies. This mixed‐methods study investigated how nontra...

This article focuses on the practical implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in an online computer science course, articulating the collaborative efforts between the instructional designer (the first author) and the faculty member to redesign the course using UDL principles. Specific instances of redesigned learning modules and artif...

Instructional designers perform informal formative evaluation in design practice. An evaluation may be used to locate errors in alignment of instructional objectives or to increase the quality or effectiveness of a design. An instructional design review is similar to peer reviews in higher education which are often structured, and tools are provide...

Table of Contents of the Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, Volume 23, 2024

The instructional design and technology field are dynamic, requiring instructional designers to stay abreast through timely professional learning. Social media offers characteristics to collapse the time, geographical, and financial limitations of informal professional learning, but challenges exist. Continuous professional learning requires proact...

Table of Contents of the Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, Volume 22, 2023

Universal design for learning (UDL) is an inclusive design framework. Faculty and instructional designers were surveyed to investigate UDL implementation in higher education. This survey was based on one used by Westine et al. (2019). Results about how faculty and instructional designers learn about UDL, how instructional designers train and suppor...

Low mathematics scores in the U.S. have been pressing educators to find engaging strategies and effective tools to promote math performance. While emerging technologies, such as digital math games, show promises in improving mathematical education, existing studies have garnered mixed findings and thereby necessitating further investigation. This s...

Inquiry-based learning as an instructional approach has been popular amongst STEM (i.e. science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines, but the practice specifically in engineering education deserves further exploration. Employing a case-study approach, the present study was aimed to explore POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learni...

Students need to learn and practice computational thinking and skills throughout PreK-12 to be better prepared for entering college and future careers. We designed a math-infused computer science course for third to fifth graders to learn programming. This study aims to investigate the impact of the course on students’ knowledge acquisition of math...

Emerging practices of social media for professional purposes in higher education merit further attention. Reddit, a social media platform, is under-studied despite its significant presence. This study explores participation patterns on Reddit for two summer periods during 2019–2020, before and during COVID-19. We collected a total of 82,494 contrib...

While research illustrates the benefits of interventions designed to improve self-regulated learning (SRL) and academic achievement, far fewer studies have examined the durability of these effects. This review synthesizes research on the lasting effects of 17 comprehensive SRL interventions on variables related to metacognition, cognition, motivati...

Academic librarians have long been responsible for teaching information literacy competencies on college campuses, even as many are hesitant to accept the title of teacher. With inadequate instructional design preparation and one-shot sessions serving as a popular, if limited, instructional medium, librarians' design processes are often developed o...

Self-regulated learning (SRL) and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) are associated with academic achievement, but fostering these skills is not easy. Scholars have suggested an alternative way to scaffold these important skills through learning analytics (LA). This paper presents a formative evaluation of a course-level LA implementation through...

Self-regulation has become increasingly crucial for learners’ success in online learning environments. This study explored the relationship across performance (e.g., higher and lower) and satisfaction (e.g., satisfied and dissatisfied) levels to help identify which self-regulated learning (SRL) skills were most critical for 102 recent graduates of...

This paper presents a case study of a technology-enhanced professional development strategy and demonstrates how an extended workshop approach, based on tutorials, instructional modeling, and support (TIMS), was used for professional learning at a school site. Data collection procedures included a pre-survey, an audiotaped focus group, interviews,...

This study investigates factors that stimulate better academic performance for female students in learning quantitative topics, such as those involving mathematical-related tasks. We explore the differences in self-regulated learning (e.g., sources of motivation and execution of learning strategies), learning behaviors, and learning achievement of...

Homework completion is associated with learning achievement, but students’ challenges revolve around meeting deadlines and preventing procrastination. Promoting students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) can overcome these challenges. We explored the role of SRL (forethought and learning strategies) on the timeliness of homework submissions performed...

Little is known about the role of prompts to help learners solve ill-structured learning problems. Instructors do not devote adequate time to formulate pedagogically useful prompts, and the usefulness of different types of prompt is unclear. This mixed-methods study examined the role of argumentative prompts in the writing of essays based on busine...

This study identifies factors that influence undergraduate students’ selection of a source of help. Learners engage in intentional decisions to seek help from human and non-human sources to resolve gaps in knowledge. Previous research in academic help-seeking assumed learners sought only human sources of assistance, resulting in a narrow understand...

Studies in learning analytics (LA) have garnered positive findings on learning improvement and advantages for informing course design. However, little is known about instructional designers’ perception and their current state of LA-related adoption. This qualitative study explores the perception of instructional designers in higher education regard...

This research examined to what extent homeschooling parents believed that virtual classrooms have bridged the home and public-schooling systems via a case study. Data were drawn from an online survey as well as Skype and personal interviews with ten participants who were parents of home-schooled children with an understanding of the virtual learnin...

This study examined how instructional librarians can incorporate principles from cognitive load theory to engage students in research and improve learning outcomes for a common library instructional delivery model. The study employed a between-subjects, quasi-experimental design to compare how instructional sessions would impact information literac...

Digital learning environments are dynamic systems that require learning designers to leverage environmental conditions and the needs of their learners. While many frameworks and studies have explored pedagogical reasoning, little emphasis has been placed on the dynamic decision-making processes of learning designers. To advance the exploration of p...

Aim/Purpose: The current literature discusses the use and benefits of learner-generated videos (LGVs). However, it rarely addresses any correlation between the types of subjects that are best suited for using these videos or what techniques should accompany the use of LGVs. Background: This systematic review synthesizes current literature to identi...

Research suggested that community college students struggle to find time to commit to classes and often lack learning strategies to balance school amidst conflicting life needs. This study explored the use of metacognitive monitoring training in a Success and Study Skills class. Learners who participated in the training described the process of stu...

The COVID-19 pandemic quickly and suddenly affected many, if not all, parts of the world. As the pandemic progressed, it became evident that it would not be a situation that could be resolved in the short-term as many people believed or hoped. The pandemic, and the subsequent social restrictions that governments have enacted to restrain its spread,...

This case explores how a needs assessment was conducted at a middle school experiencing high rates of teacher turnover. Pamela Frost, an experienced instructional designer, was assigned to assess the situation and identify opportunities to improve professional development opportunities for the teachers. As a part of a needs assessment, Pamela gathe...

Accreditation is important for ensuring and sustaining the quality of an educational program, but the process can be challenging. Higher education institutions are open systems that rely on multiple entities, such as faculty members, to assist with the accreditation process. However, there is sometimes a lack of buy-in and involvement from faculty...

Guided notes were introduced decades ago, but there is still debate over their efficacy in improving student outcomes. The purpose of this study is to examine peer-reviewed research on guided notes for adult learners in general populations since 2009, understanding the effects of guided notes on student learning, the knowledge and content areas sup...

The Food Network's television show Chopped pits chefs against each other, in a three-round battle, to create their best appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Facing master chef judges, the chef participants present their dishes with one chef chopped (eliminated) after each round. The last chef standing is crowned the Chopped Champion. A faculty member in...

To maintain relevancy with the ever-increasing competencies required of them, librarians on the job have frequently turned to professional development (PD) opportunities. One outlet that could potentially address barriers librarians face when accessing PD is social media, which can help librarians communicate across distances, are used at low to no...

This design case shares how personas were utilized to create an online career resource center intended to help instructional design students in making informed career decisions. The outcome of this project has helped identify instructional opportunities to improve services currently provided to instructional design students and graduate student mem...

Instructional designers (IDs) are continually seeking opportunities to share teaching and learning design strategies and learn from their fellow IDs. An application of Community of Practice (CoP) has allowed instructional design professionals to participate in an open learning setting as a way to continue their professional development (PD), share...

Web 2.0 tools have made its successful foray into literacy instruction in the K-12 educational context. This study examined 124 preservice and in-service teachers’ understanding of their current use of Web 2.0 tools and their perceptions of integrating these tools into literacy instruction. Participants were found to perceive Web 2.0 tools positive...

The factors that influence and impact graduate students in the context of their career decision-making within an instructional design graduate program remain unexplored. This mixed methods study captured actual career-related difficulties of graduate instructional design students through a conceptual framework based on Bandura (1986) and Lent et al...

Responding to a call to create an authentic learning environment where instructional design students find meaning in what is being designed, we asked student design teams to respond to: give us something to react to and make it rich. Student designers took stock in, reacted to, and reflected on rich external representations, for three class project...

Extant literature on social media in education highlights the importance of improving social media-supported learning environments. This study adds to the literature by examining students’ perception and participation for three types of Twitter-based instrumental activities—backchanneling, exploring hashtags, and topics discussion—in two unique und...

The purpose of this paper is to identify the merits of e-book usage for developing reading skills among emergent readers. By reviewing the most recent empirical research studies, this paper synthesizes the theoretical framework that supports their use in this capacity as well as the differences in impact among age groups according to the reading sk...

Aim/Purpose: This systematic literature review investigates the underlying factors that influence the gap between the popularity of online learning and its completion rate. The review scope within this paper includes an observation of possible causal aspects within the non-ideal completion rates in online learning environments and an identification...

This study was conducted to investigate concept mapping as an instructional technique to help student designers tackle complex issues in instructional design. Specifically, this study focuses on three dimensions: perceived learning, collaborative learning, and usability. We examined how student designers perceived the use of Cacoo as a concept mapp...

The purpose of this research is to examine factors affecting students’ perception and engagement of microblogging integration using a qualitative approach. We employed a qualitative case study design to explore potential factors affecting microblogging integration in a hybrid course. Using the technology acceptance model (TAM) model as an umbrella...

This study explored the lived experiences of teachers educating students in a bring your own device (BYOD) middle school setting, by which students’ have access to and use always-on and connected personal technology in class. The participants included five teachers of students from grades five to eight and two facility administrators from the schoo...

Despite the popularity of metacognitive research, and the inclusion of similar concepts in professional guidelines, librarians have not incorporated metacognitive tools into their assessment strategies. This systematic literature review found (1) metacognitive assessments can act as a learning aide in encouraging higher-order thinking; (2) metacogn...

The purpose of this study was to further our understanding of the use of Twitter for promoting reflective learning. Specifically, this study investigated how students participate in Twitter-supported activities, what type of knowledge are manifested when Twitter is used to reflect on the course readings, and how students perceive the Twitter-suppor...

This study aimed to examine the scholarly community’s authentic use of Twitter at a professional conference, #ICIS2016, and to investigate how Twitter supports the conference learning community by examining users’ levels of participation in Twitter-enabled conference backchannels and the overall structure of this communication network. We also expl...

Aim/Purpose: This study investigates the variations in student participation patterns across different types of instructional activities, learning modes, and with different instructional guidance approaches. In the current study, different variables, modes of learning (guided versus unguided), and types of guidance (social versus cognitive) were ma...

This systematic review provides a summary of studies on teaching, social, and cognitive presences in the community of inquiry (CoI) model using the CoI instrument in a higher education setting since its development in 2008 by Arbaugh et al. A total of 24 peer-reviewed studies on the CoI instrument from 2008–2017 were selected and analyzed explore t...

p class="3">Online learning is increasingly being used in K-12 learning environments. A concomitant trend is found towards learning becoming authentic as students learn with tasks that are connected to real-world occupations. In this study, 48 pre-service teachers use an online environment to engage in authentic practice as they developed online le...

This study sought to understand student participation and engagement in a microblogging-supported college-level hybrid course. Using a case study design, the researchers examined how students participated and engaged in a variety of microblogging-supported instructional activities, including backchanneling, exploration, discussion, and live chat ac...

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the study is to provide foundational research to exemplify how knowledge construction takes place in microblogging-based learning environments, to understand learner interaction representing the knowledge construction process, and to analyze learner perception, thereby suggesting a model of delivery for microblogging. B...

Aim/Purpose: IStation is an adaptive computer-based reading program that adapts to the learner’s academic needs. This study investigates if the Istation computer-based reading program promotes reading improvement scores as shown on the STAR Reading test and the IStation test scaled scores for elementary school third-grade learners on different read...

Aim/Purpose The goal of this project was to determine what effects exposure to online K-12 teaching and learning activities had on teacher candidates’ perceptions of K-12 online learning, how the exposure allowed teacher candidates to reach greater understanding of online pedagogy, and what effect such exposure had on teacher candidates’ aspiration...

This study presents two cases in which undergraduates were introduced to Twitter in their teacher preparation program as a means of developing a personal learning network. Twitter live chats are synchronous discussions that allow education stakeholders to discuss issues and share resources, engaging on potentially a global scale via the social netw...

As faculty members in an instructional design and technology (IDT) program, we wanted to help our graduate students better understand and experience how designers design in the real world. We aimed to design a reflective and collaborative learning environment where we sparked students to engage in reflection, ideation, and the iterative process of...

The purpose of this paper is to understand student interaction and learning in microblogging-based peer feedback sessions. The researcher examined through a case study how students interacted and provided peer feedback for each other when Twitter was enabled as a backchannel; students were also asked to report how they perceived their experience. T...

This paper reports on a case study in which Twitter served as a backchannel to mediate and support the peer-teaching activity in a face-to-face teacher education course. Surveys and interviews were utilised to understand the effectiveness of the Twitter integration and students' perceived learning in a Twitter-supported peer teaching environment. T...

This paper reports on a case study in which Twitter served as a backchannel to mediate and support the peer-teaching activity in a face-to-face, science education traditional course. Surveys and interviews were utilized to understand the effectiveness of the Twitter integration and students' perceived learning in a Twitter-supported peer teaching e...

Microblogging tools such as Twitter show potential to enrich classroom experience and benefit student learning. Research shows that instructional guidance is particularly necessary in computer-assisted learning environments, but no research has been done to study the effects of instructional guidance in microblogging-based learning. Using a multipl...

This literature review study explores 43 empirical research studies that report on the integration of Web 2.0 tools into language learning and evaluate the actual impact of their use. In particular, this review aims to identify the specific Web 2.0 tools integrated in the educational settings, theoretical underpinnings that are commonly used to fra...

This paper reports on an exploratory study that employed Twitter and blogs as instructional Web 2.0 tools to support student learning in an undergraduate-level class. Case study methodology entailing a usage survey, an exit survey, and 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews was sought to examine patterns and characteristics of students’ usage of so...

This paper will examine how Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction (1992) may appear, perhaps inadvertently, within commercial games that guide the user from novice to expert player. By employing a qualitative artifact analysis methodology, we examine a popular action adventure video game to determine if game designers encourage players to build game e...

Social annotation (SA) allows learners to highlight and comment on Web pages and share annotations with each other online. Despite its potential in promoting collaborative learning, examining how to integrate it into educational settings has not been fully studied. The purpose of the study is to examine student participation in three different SA-b...

This literature review study explores 43 empirical research studies that report on the integration of Web 2.0 tools into language learning and evaluate the actual impact of their use. In particular, this review aims to identify the specific Web 2.0 tools integrated in the educational settings, theoretical underpinnings that are commonly used to fra...

This study critically analyzed the current body of published research on microblogging in education ( MIE ) to build a deep and comprehensive understanding of this increasingly popular phenomenon. Twenty‐one studies on MIE in 2008–2011 were selected based on the selection criteria and analyzed to answer the following questions: What types of resear...

This paper presents the development efforts for a set of software activities and tutorials to augment teaching and learning in standard required undergraduate engineering mechanics courses. Using these software activities, students can change parameters, predict answers, compare outcomes, interact with animations, and feel the results. The overall...

Executive Summary Microblogging tools such as Twitter have been frequently adopted in educational settings to facilitate learning in recent years. Although the original purpose of microblogging tools is to connect with others in a wide network and instantly share what is happening to them with the rest of the world, educators have vigorously attemp...

Research on haptic feedback has demonstrated limited empirical evidence of its positive learning effects. This research contrasts supportive anecdotal evidence and reports of increased motivation. In an attempt to unify these contrasting results we attempted to identify empirical evidence supporting haptic feedback's effect on learning by isolating...