Journal of Online Learning Research and Practice • Volume 8 , Number 1 • 2020 / 2021
Editor ’ s Preface
Kathleen J . Tate , Ph . D .
Before I present the 2020 / 2021 issue of the Journal of Online Learning Research and Practice , I would like to introduce the new Associate Editor Dr . Todd Cherner .
Dr . Cherner ’ s Biography
Todd Cherner , Ph . D ., is the Director of the Master of Arts in Educational Innovation , Technology , and Entrepreneurship program at The University of North Carolina ( UNC ) at Chapel Hill and has nearly 20 years of experience as a teacher , teacher educator , and researcher . After graduating from the University of Central Florida with bachelor ’ s degree in English language arts education , Dr . Cherner began his career as a 10 th grade English teacher . He later earned a Master of Education in Secondary Education from Clemson University and a doctorate in Teacher Education from The University of Tennessee , Knoxville . Todd then taught at Coastal Carolina University and Portland State University . At Portland State University , he transitioned from English education to instructional technology and was appointed to the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission by Governor Brown .
Dr . Cherner is an innovator within the educational technology space , as he launched App Ed Review (
www . appedreview . com ), a startup that combines research-based practices to evaluate educational products and provide instructional ideas for using those products in the classroom . His passion is to use research for improving the quality of education provided to students at all levels , and his research addresses equity issues in the use of technology for teaching and learning along with developing strategies to support students ’ digital literacy skills . Dr . Cherner will become more active with journal processes and promotion during his two-year appointment .
This Issue
Within this issue , you will find book and media reviews , perspectives from the field , and a long-awaited historical piece about distance and online education . There is a theme of evolving applications in online education with a thread of approaches , tools , and frameworks for teaching , assessing , selecting digital tools , and migrating learning management systems .
1
Drs . Betts , Delaney , Galoyan , and Lynch present a historical review of the literature , focusing on the 1700s to 2021 . They address the evolution of instructional design and events such as COVID-19 that led to noteworthy pivots in teachdoi : 10.18278 / jolrap . 8.1.1