Panel 4: Big Data & Smart Partnerships for the Future

Dr. Scott Payne is a Principal Instructional Design Analyst at McGraw-Hill Education. His research seeks to better understand the cognitive burden specific instructional tasks place on learners, with a particular emphasis on how technology-mediated language learning impacts the developmental trajectories of certain learners under specific task demands. To address these questions, I employ a combination of cognitive capacity and language processing measures (i.e. working memory, attentional control, information processing speed, susceptibility to interference, translation recognition, inhibitory control, etc.) together with language performance measures as well as the collection and analysis of naturally-occurring language use in instructional contexts over time. In the recent past, Dr. Payne was the Director of Academic Technology Services at Amherst College.

Dr. W. Lewis Johnson co-founded Alelo in 2005 as a spinout of the University of Southern California, Under his leadership Alelo has developed into a major producer of innovative learning products focusing on communication skills. Alelo has developed courses for use in a number of countries around the world, all using the Virtual Role-Play method.

Dr. Johnson holds a B.A. in linguistics from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in computer science from Yale University. He is an internationally recognized leader in innovation for education and training. In 2012 he was keynote speaker at the International Symposium on Automated Detection of Errors in Pronunciation Training in Stockholm. In 2013 he was keynote speaker at the IASTED Technology Enhanced Learning Conference and was co-chair of the Industry and Innovation Track of the AIED 2013 conference. In 2014 he was keynote speaker at the International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, and was Distinguished Lecturer at the National Science Foundation. In 2015 he was keynote speaker at the ACT Insight Analytics and Emerging Technologies Symposium. When not engaged in developing disruptive learning products Lewis and his wife Kim produce Kona coffee in Hawaii.

Ken Petersen is Technical Director for Online Learning & Assessment at American Councils for International Education where he has overseen the development of Web-based language learning and assessment systems for the past 15 years. Prior to his work with American Councils, he spent several years as an ESL teacher and learner of language in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey. He went on to earn an MA from the University of Washington in Near Eastern Languages—where he was first introduced to the development CALL materials during his tenure in the UW Language Learning Center. In 2010, he received his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Georgetown University. His areas of expertise include instructional design, language testing, Natural Language Processing, systems architecture and multimedia.