The LED Research Group celebrated its first year anniversary in August 2018.  Following Reeves & Oh (2017)*, we were founded with the intention of bridging the contexts of theory and practice, and showing how they could mutually inform each other.

For a young research group, we had a number of remarkable accomplishments.

Publications

Correia, A.P., North, C.A., Korkmaz, C., Simmerman, V.E. & Bruce Wallace, K.A. (2018). No prior experience necessary: Reflecting on the learning experiences offered by student-created online discussions. In T. Bastiaens, J. Van Braak, M. Brown, L. Cantoni, M. Castro, R. Christensen, G. Davidson-Shivers, K. DePryck, M. Ebner, M. Fominykh, C. Fulford, S. Hatzipanagos, G. Knezek, K. Kreijns, G. Marks, E. Sointu, E. Korsgaard Sorensen, J. Viteli, J. Voogt, P. Weber, E. Weippl & O. Zawacki-Richter (Eds.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning 2018 (pp. 2205-2218). Waynesville, NC: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Correia, A.P., Koehler, N., Thompson, A. & Phye, G. (2018). The application of PhET simulation to teach gas behavior on the submicroscopic level: secondary school students’ perceptions. Research in Science & Technological Education. doi: 10.1080/02635143.2018.1487834

Leach, A., North, C.A., Gintert, N., Correia, A.P., & Archambault, L. A Portrait of a Modern Online Graduate Student. In M. Simonson (ed) 41th Annual Proceedings of theAssociation for Educational Communications and Technology. Bloomington, IN: Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT).

Presentations and Talks

•  In February, the group presented at the Ohio Educational Technology Conference. In our talk “When Learning Design Meets Online Learning: Concepts and Cases,” we introduced the educators at the conference to the concept of learning design, and showed them how they could use its methods in their practice.
• Also in February, Ceren Korkmaz and Vicki Simmerman presented their research at the 2018 OSU EHE Student Research Forum. Korkmaz shared her literature review on machine learning, while Simmerman discussed her evaluation of the 2017 OHI/O hackathon.
• In April, Ana-Paula Correia represented LED at the American Educational Research Association meeting. She gave a paper in the session on “Considerations on the Design of Online Learning Events,” led the Online Teaching and Learning special interest group’s business meeting, and acted as discussant for the Symposium on Social Presence in Online Learning.
• In May, the group presented at Innovate at the Ohio State University. In a lively, interactive session called “Shifting the Balance: Engaging Students as Collaborators in Online Course Redesign,” the group talked about the importance of engaging students in course design, and presented a case study they conducted in a graduate-level course.
• In June, Ana-Paula Correia gave a public talk on “The Educational Technologist as an Edu-preneur” at the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. She discussed entrepreneurial efforts in higher education, and shared opportunities created by start-up culture and the innovation upsurge.
• Also in June, the group presented at EdMedia in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The group gave a talk entitled “No prior experience necessary: Reflecting on the learning experiences offered by student-created online discussions,” which reflected on a case study where graduate students were responsible for creating and facilitating online discussions for a course. Ana-Paula Correia also co-presented a session called “‘I Am Pleased to Inform You That…’ Insights and Advice on Getting Published in Educational and Instructional Technology.”
• In September, Cara North co-presented two sessions at the Central Ohio ATD Conference, Learning Technologies and Design Day. She shared her expertise in “Podcasting for Learning” and “None of the Above: Common Pitfalls for Multiple-Choice Assessment.” She also facilitated the closing session of the day.
• In October, Cara North was an invited presenter at The Greater Cincinnati ATD Powers of Possibilities Conference, where she led a session of table topics entitled “Twitter – Building Knowledge 280 Characters at a Time.”

Other Accomplishments

• Ana-Paula Correia was awarded OSU’s Office of International Affairs Academic Enrichment Grant.
• Ana-Paula Correia was chosen as OSU’s director for Center on Education and Training for Employment.
• Cara North was sworn in as President-Elect of the Central Ohio ATD.
• Cara North was elected as AECT’s Communications Officer on the Board of the Research and Theory Division.
• Cara North was a featured speaker in the Training Magazine Network The Masters Series.
• Erin Clarke was awarded the Dean’s Distinguished Graduate Enrichment Fellowship.
• Vicki Simmerman and Karen Bruce Wallace graduated with their Master of Learning Technology.

With such a great first year, we are excited about what 2019 will bring. We plan to expand LED’s presence both nationally and internationally, add more members to the research group, publish more of our research, and shape learning design and experience theory and practice.

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* Reeves, T. C., & Oh, E. (2017). The goals and methods of educational technology research over a quarter century (1989–2014). Educational Technology Research and Development, 65(2), 325–339.