Hi, I’m Dr. Bret.
I am an Assistant Professor of Instructional Systems & Learning Technologies at Florida State University. My preferred pronouns are he/him/his.
My research investigates self-directed networked learning. I’m most interested in what happens when students, learners, and trainees finish formal instruction, preparation, and training. What do they do after they walk out the door or log off? How do they continue to develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities? Where do they look for resources? Who do they talk to?
My work on self-directed networked learning covers several dimensions, outlined by the categories proposed professional learning networks (PLNs): the connections and interactions between resources, people, and spaces. I study resources, people, and spaces with methods drawn from learning analytics and social network analysis.
My projects explore resources in terms of informal learning (e.g., possibilities for beginning teachers developing support systems) and invisible labor (e.g., perils for figuring things out outside work hours), people in terms of social connections and interactions (e.g., online groups, communities of practice, educators learning to identify as data scientists), and spaces in terms of affinity spaces hosted in web forums and social media (e.g., Reddit, Twitter).
Self-Directed Networked Learning:
I hold a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology & Educational Technology, a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology, and a Graduate Certificate in Serious Game Design and Research from Michigan State University, and a dual bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Sociology from Bucknell University.
I consider my strongest credential to be my ongoing friendship with my very first online friend, who I met in an AOL chatroom in the early 1990s.
Interests
- Self-Directed Learning
- Networked Learning
- Informal Learning
- Invisible Labor
- Social Media
Methods
- Learning Analytics
- Social Network Analysis
- Data Science
Education and Training
Ph.D. in Educational Psychology & Educational Technology | Michigan State University (2021)
M.A. in Educational Technology | Michigan State University (2015)
B.A. in Mathematics & Sociology | Bucknell University (2003)
Applying the QM Rubric | Quality Matters (2022)
Data Science: Foundations using R Specialization | Coursera, Johns Hopkins University (2017-2020)
Methods for Analyzing and Modeling Textual Data | Summer School Series on Methods for Computational Social Science (2018)
Graduate Certificate in Serious Game Design & Research | Michigan State University (2014)
Skills
Research Design
Data Analytics
Instructional Design
Training
Executive Coaching
Launching Initiatives
Professional Affiliations
- AECT | Association for Educational Communications & Technology
- Research & Theory Division
- AERA | American Educational Research Association
- Design & Technology SIG
- Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching & Learning (TACTL) SIG
- SoLAR | Society for Learning Analytics Research
Land Acknowledgement
I Honor Native Land
I live and work in Tallahassee, Florida, on the traditional land of the Apalachee, Muscogee, and Miccosukee Peoples. I completed my graduate school work while living in Lancaster County PA, on the traditional land of the Susquehannock People, learning from the faculty at Michigan State University in East Lansing MI, built on the traditional land of the Peoria, Anishinabewaki, Odawa, and Sauk Peoples. I was born and lived my first two decades of life in the Roanoke Valley VA, on the traditional land of the Tutelo People. I share these land acknowledgements to demonstrate my commitment to learning and working to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.
I recognize that these lands that have been important to my life remain scarred by the histories and ongoing legacies of settler colonial violence, dispossession, and removal. In spite of all of this, and with tremendous resilience, these Indigenous Nations have remained deeply connected to this territory, to their families, to their communities, and to their cultural ways of life. I recognize the ongoing relationships of care that these Indigenous Nations maintain with this land and extend my gratitude as I live and work as a humble and respectful guest upon their territory.
I encourage you to learn about and amplify the contemporary work of the Indigenous nations whose land you are on and to endeavor to support Indigenous sovereignty in all the ways that you can. To start learning, I have found the Native Land map to be fascinating to explore, and the Honor Native Land guide from the U.S. Department of Arts & Culture has many useful resources. Finally, if you are in the Tallahassee area, you may find this list of resources from the Decolonize FSU group to be helpful.