News

Empowering Utah teachers with more control over their professional learning is crucial to addressing teacher burnout and improving instructional practices.

Dr. Katarina Pantic, an assistant professor at Weber State University and a graduate of the ITLS Ph.D. program, has published a heartfelt tribute to Megan Hamilton in the Journal of the International Society for Teacher Education (JISTE).

Utah State University’s Office of the Provost and the USU Advising Awards Committee has named USU academic advisor Tylan Dee the university’s Outstanding New Advisor of the Year. Dee has served as an academic advisor at USU Blanding since 2022. In May 202...

Students from the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences (ITLS) and Higher Education and Student Affairs (HEDI) programs captivated audiences at the prestigious 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association (AERA) held in Phil...

The USU Center for Community Engagement recognized the work of outstanding faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners as part of the Annual Community Engagement Awards Ceremony and Poster Session on April 17.

Congratulations to all of our 2024 award winners! We're grateful for all the hard work and dedication everyone has given to the ITLS department.

We have a new PhD student assistantship for web and social media. We accept applications for the 2024-2025 doctoral cohort through December 15, 2023. Click to learn more.

Rebecca Y. Bayeck, ITLS assistant professor, is finding ways to create inclusive learning environments in formal learning settings by studying the cultural values and literacies intertwined with the classic African game Songo.

In collaboration with researchers at the University of California-Irvine and community partners in Orange County, ITLS assistant professor Ha Nguyen is developing new ways to teach science concepts to high schoolers through artificial intelligence.

Connected Learning Summit extended its deadline to July 1. Continue reading for more information.

Kelli Munns joined the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences as a Professional Practice Instructor.

ITSA stands with the people of Iran to support the Iranian community at USU and in the broader community.

Siyu Wu is a master's graduate from the ITLS department. She will continue her education and research toward her doctoral degree.

Congratulations to the 2022 Instructional Technology and Learning sciences faculty awardees.

Congratulations to the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences 2022 graduate student awardees.

Congratulations to the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences 2022 staff and alumni awardees.

ITLS students will be presenting at the 2022 Student Research Symposium in April.

Dr. Rebecca Bayeck accepts new Assistant Professor position in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences department at USU.

The Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research recently awarded Megan Hamilton and Lili Yan the graduate fellowships.

Matt Fuller is a USU alumnus with a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences who is currently serving as head of the Automated Manufacturing department at Bridgerland Technical College.

Aprel Mendenhall is a USU alumna with her MEd degree in ITLS. She is currently working as the director of Instructional Design at American Heritage Worldwide.

Whitney Lewis is a USU alumna with a Master of Science in ITLS. Lewis is currently working as a senior instructional designer at Intuit, where she and her team lead, design, and present training for customer support employees.

2021 ITLS Awards. We’re so proud of all the accomplishments of our students, faculty, and staff, and we’re excited to announce the recipients of our departmental awards!

Dr. Breanne K. Litts was recently named Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentor of the Year at USU. This annual, university-wide award recognizes an outstanding faculty mentor of undergraduate researchers.

Dr. Soojeong Jeong, a postdoctoral research associate in ITLS received the Outstanding Paper Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Funded by a National Science Foundation-sponsored RAPID grant, researchers at Utah State have partnered with the University of Pennsylvania to help children understand and cope with the COVID-19 pandemic through an interactive online learning game.

Stefan Wood serves as the Vice President for Online Masters Programs of the Instructional Technology Student Association (ITSA). In that position, he works to forward the goals and interests of the ITLS Online Masters Students.

COVID-19 has caused a dramatic change in the education system, forcing most to learn and teach remotely. The ITLS departmen has been dedicated in helping students maintain an enjoyable and effective online learning experience.

Human experience design focuses on understanding the perspective and needs of users who experience problems in order to determine whether the solutions that have been designed for them is truly meeting their needs.

Among the many student organizations that are still going strong is the USU eSports Club, which has continued its competition throughout the fall semester.

Scholars for Anti-racist Fellowship in Education at Utah State University is an organization with a purpose to create a safe space for critical anti-racist dialogue and self-reflection in academia.

Dr. Kristin Searle and Dr. Colby Tofel-Grehl were recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop culturally responsive computing curricula for teachers and students in grades 4-8.

Dr. Breanne Litts of the ITLS department and Dr. Melissa Tehee of the department of Psychology received a grant from the Spencer Foundation funding their project investigating how to develop cultural competence in learners.

Earlier this year, Dr. Lisa Lundgren was hired as an assistant professor in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences department in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University.

Utah State University’s Esports Club gives gamers a place to enjoy video games in both casual and competitive environments.

Lyndsie Oreno is the newest council member of the Instructional Technology Student Association. As ITSA Bachelor’s Vice President, she will represent the interests of students in the Human Experience Design and Interaction undergraduate program.

Emmy Jensen, a remote Masters student for the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences department, recently received approval from administrators at Shengli Elementary School in Taiwan to use Scratch as part of her curriculum.

A video highlighting the e-textiles work of ITLS Associate Research Professor Deborah Fields recently received the Experts’ Choice Award for PreK-12 in the National Science Foundation’s STEM Diversity and Inclusion Video Exhibition Challenge.

Dr. Mimi Recker and Dr. Jody Clarke-Midura of the ITLS department and Dr. Jessica Shumway of TEAL received a grant from NSF funding a project to enhance elementary teachers and paraprofessional educators’ ability to teach computer science.

The primary objective of the student association is to provide opportunities for students to expand their social network by connecting them with people both within and beyond the department.

Dr. Andy Walker is the head of the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences department, part of the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University.

Zebadiah Nava is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Human Experience Design and Interaction (HEDI) from the department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University.

Aubrey Rogowski, a graduate student in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences department at Utah State University, developed a canvas module to teach school librarians about making and maker activities.

Hayden Manning is the current webmaster and media manager for the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences department. He recently declared Human Experience Design and Interaction (HEDI) as his major.

Ramy Shaaban is the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences’ newest professor and program coordinator for the HEDI BS program.

Have you been curious to know the policies that the ITLS department will follow during the fall semester? Watch the ITLS Repopulation Town Hall discussion to learn more.

Dr. Nick Eastmond, USU Emeritus Professor for the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department, gave an ITLS class the opportunity to help with the improvement of the Philippines’ nation-wide educational program for teaching human rights.

Breanne Litts received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award for her work exploring how a community-driven and culture-centered approach engages American Indian youth and elders in science and technology.

2020 ITLS Awards We’re so proud of all the accomplishments of our students, faculty, and staff, and we’re excited to announce the recipients of our departmental awards!

Dr. David Feldon has received a grant from the National Science Foundation funding a $2.5 million project to study the relationship between soft skills training and career success among graduates in STEM fields

Dr. Katarina Pantic, a recent graduate from the ITLS department, recently accepted a position as an assistant professor Weber State University.

For the sixth year in a row, Utah State University’s online Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences (ITLS) graduate degree programs were rated in the top 15 of all online graduate programs in the nation.

Dr. Jody Clarke-Midura was promoted with tenure, making her the newest associate professor in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences department in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services.

While there has been a lot of bad news, the ITLS department at Utah State University has something good to share. Faculty, staff, students and alumni have helped convert all of the face-to-face classes to eLearning opportunities in less than a week.

Dr. Katarina Pantic, ITLS research assistant, returned to SaltCON 2020 in March to share in the fun and games, while checking out the latest game designs with other ITLS students.

ITLS faculty, staff, students and alumni volunteered to help Utah State University convert all of its face-to-face classes to remote learning when the Covid-19 pandemic closed the campus.

While there has been a lot of bad news, the ITLS department at Utah State University has something good to share. Faculty, staff, students and alumni have helped convert all of the face-to-face classes to eLearning opportunities in less than a week.

Dr. Lisa Lundgren uses expertise in social network analysis, network visualization and out-of-school science learning to understand the social and knowledge-creating structures and practices that develop in digital habitats.

This story, featuring a talk by ITLS faculty member Breanne Litts at her alma mater, was published in The University of Washington newspaper, The Daily, on March 9, 2020 and republished with permission from the author.

The ITLS department in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at USU is very pleased to announce the selection of a new assistant professor. Dr. Ramy Shaaban has accepted the new position and will start in the fall of 2020.

The partnership is developing curricula and activities incorporating consumer-grade programmable sensor technologies in middle school classrooms in the Denver public school system.

The new bachelor’s degree program in Human Experience Design and Interaction (HEDI) degree will teach human-centered design skills necessary for career fields such as game studies, multimedia, user experience and interface design, and data analysis.

Dr. Hillary Swanson is the ITLS department's new faculty member. Swanson brings great expertise as an educator, with new research as a learning scientist and enthusiasm for collaborating in USU's stimulating intellectual community.

ITLS graduate student Becca Johnson shares her personal story to help others overcome their own tragedies. Johnson was honored by the Student Association as an Aggie Hero as part of USU's Think Care Act mission.

Lili Yan, a doctoral student in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department at USU, was accepted into the HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory) Scholars program.

Recent ITLS graduate Jeremy Merrill is the new director of instructional design at the National Institute for Jail Operations (NIJO) where he runs an online program called Detention and Corrections Online Training Academy (DACOTA).

Michelle Jensen and Aprel Mendenall, masters students in the ITLS Department, won top honors in the Design and Development Competition at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) International Conference in Las Vegas.

Dr. Deborah Fields presents Best Practices of Design for children using digital technology, after five years of research.

Dr. Breanne Litts, assistant professor in USU’s Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department (ITLS), and several collaborators recently shared their work at the 68th annual United Nations Civil Society Conference.

Finland, Thailand, Taiwan and Teaching - Dr. Deborah Fields recently went around the world presenting and teaching about her research in constructionist learning in practice.

Megan Hamilton was accepted as a 2019 Research and Practice fellow for the #InclusiveSciComm Symposium to be held at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, Rhode Island.

We are excited to announce Dr. Hillary Swanson has accepted a new position in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences (ITLS) Department. Dr. Swanson will begin her position on January 1, 2020.

Megan Hamilton, a doctoral student in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department, won $1,500 in a "Shark Tank" presentation on April 8th in Toronto.

Dr. David Feldon and Dr. Colby Tofel-Grehl will be awarded the Significant Contribution to Educational Measurement and Research Methodology Award at the AERA Annual Meeting in Toronto this week.

Megan Hamilton will compete against graduate students from across the nation for $1,500 in a “Shark Tank” presentation, being part of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting.

Faculty and students in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences (ITLS) Department will share their research and participate at the Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) Technical Symposium in Minneapolis.

Kristin Searle, assistant professor of the itls department, qualified and won in the university's 25th annual diversity awards.

Dr. Mimi Recker has been invited to present her research on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The presentation is part of the Coalition for National Science Funding annual exhibition.

Dr. Mimi Recker recently received an award as Outstanding Reviewer for 2018 from the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ). This journal is typically ranked in the top ten among education research journals.

Faculty and students in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences (ITLS) Department will share their research and participate at the Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) Technical Symposium in Minneapolis.

See a list of the 2018-2019 Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department award recipients at Utah State. We want to congratulate all of our award recipients from the academic year.

Students from the Fall 2017 “Mobile Technologies” course turned their class projects into book chapters for the Handbook of Mobile Teaching and Learning published this year.

Members of the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences (ITLS) Department will share their research and participate at the Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) Technical Symposium in Minneapolis.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Utah State University Online’s graduate education program third in the nation. Since 2015, USU Online’s graduate degrees in education have been ranked in the top 15 and continues to improve each year.

Dr. Breanne Litts and Whitney Lewis (ITLS alumna, 2018) published an article in the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) GetMobile, which has recently been made available online.

Dr. Rebecca Bayeck accepts new Assistant Professor position in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences department at USU.

Sariah Lopez Fierro and Ha Nguyen won the Naomi Miyake Outstanding Student CSCL Award

The ITLS department houses the Design Lab, a creative space with tools, gadgets, and materials that is available to all USU students.

Dr. Rebecca Bayeck accepts new Assistant Professor position in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences department at USU.