Georgia State University - USA
Dr. Stephen P. Harmon currently serves as Professor and Chair of the Learning Technologies Division in the College of Education and Human Development at Georgia State University. He is the past-president of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, an international professional association of thousands of educators and others whose activities are directed toward improving learning and instruction through technology. After majoring in English literature at Furman University, Dr. Harmon moved to Upper Egypt to teach fourth-grade English for two years. While traveling through the Middle East and Africa that he realized the tremendous need, and scarce resources, for education and training in developing countries.
He returned to the US and earned a masters and doctorate in instructional technology, with a cognate in global policy studies, from the University of Georgia. Dr. Harmon’s research centers on educational uses of emerging technologies and has for the last few years focused on elearning, particularly with respect to synchronous online learning environments. Dr. Harmon also conducts research on educational technology in developing countries. He has worked in several Middle Eastern and African countries, including as a consultant for USAID’s Education for Development and Democracy Initiative in Botswana. Dr. Harmon has over 120 professional publications and presentations and was the 2011 recipient of Georgia State University’s Innovative Instruction Award.
Education
Ed.D. Instructional Design and Development, 1992, The University of Georgia
M.Ed. Instructional Design and Development, 1988, The University of Georgia
B.A. English Literature, 1984 Furman University
Selected Professional Highlights
STEAM3: The Future of Learning. Co-Producer. Co-produced a two-day festival and conference on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. (2015).
University of North Carolina – Greensboro. External Reviewer. Conducted a review of all of the university’s online learning programs with respect to accreditation reaffirmation. (2013).
Northern Illinois University. External Program Reviewer. Conducted an external Review of the Educational Technology, Research and Assessment department. (2011) .
U.S. Department of State/International Research and Exchange Boards (IREX). Teaching excellence and achievement program (TEA). Consultant. Designed, developed and delivered three weeks of professional development activities on the effective use of technology in education for a group of 20 international scholars from around the world.
CARE USA. Consultant. Designed and developed an interactive eLearning course on Personal Safety and Security for use with CARE personnel worldwide.
Education for Development and Democracy Initiative/USAID/The University of Botswana. Consultant. Work with faculty and Administration of the University of Botswana to infuse technology into their higher education systems in order to facilitate the national development goals.
The University of Durban-Westville/USAID. Consultant. Worked with faculty and administration at this historically disadvantaged South African university to design a graduate program in Instructional Technology/Telematics
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - Commission on Colleges. Program Evaluator/Committee Chair. Conducted 12 reaccreditation evaluations at major universities in the Southern Region of the U.S.
Nationsbank. Performance Consultant. Conducted needs analysis and created design requirements for a Performance Support System for Direct banking. Created template for a curriculum re-design.
AT&T Performance Consultant. Engaged in all aspects of the design, development, implementation and evaluation of a large scale Performance Support System for Call Center representatives.
Selected Publications and Presentations
Harmon, S.W. & Dennison, T.W. (in press). Futureproofing: Learning, Technology, and the Path to the Unknown. In N. Rushby & D. Surry. Wiley Handbook of Learning Technology, Oxford, U.K. John Wiley & Sons.
Harmon, S.W. (2015). Planning for Technology Upgrades and Improvements. In. M. Spector (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. SAGE Publications, Inc. Thousand Oaks, CA. pp. 580-582.
Calandra, B. & Harmon, S.W. (2014) Computer Skills for the Information Age: An Early College Student’s Primer. 2nd Edition. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt.
Dooley, C., Calandra, B., & Harmon, S.W. (2014). Pre-Service Teachers’ Experience Practicing Reading Response in a Multi-User Virtual Environment. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education 30(4) pp 121-130.
Calandra, B. & Harmon, S.W. (2012). A Unique Design for High-impact Safety and Awareness Training Educational Media International. 49(2) 97-108.
Jones M. G. & Harmon, S. W. (2011). The Future of Online Learning Technologies in Higher Education . In Surry, D. W., Stefurak, T., and Gray, R. (Eds.) Technology Integration in Higher Education: Social and Organizational Aspects. (pp.279-290). Hershey, PA: IGI Publishing.
Harmon, S.W. (2015). Learning Guides Beyond the Robot. Invited Keynote at the Association of Professional Futurists conference. Atlanta, GA.
Harmon, S.W. (2015). Ninety Miles an Hour Down a Dead-End Street: Technology and Education in an Era of Incredible Change. Invited Keynote at the STEAM3 conference. Atlanta, GA.
Harmon, S.W. (2015). Technology and The Future of Learning and Culture. Invited Keynote at the AECT Learning, Knowledge Analytics, and Open Education Summer Research Conference. Shanghai, China.
Harmon, S.W. (2015). Forecasting the Future of Quality Higher Education. Invited Keynote at the IQA Workshop on Quality in Higher Education. Nicosia, Cyprus.
Harmon, S.W. (2014). AECT, JSET and the Shrinking World of Educational Technology. Invited Keynote at the annual meeting of the Japan Society of Educational Technology. Gifu, Japan.
Harmon, S.W. (2014). Technology and the Future of Education. Seminar presented at Kansai University, Osaka, Japan.
Harmon, S.W. (2014). Emerging Technologies and the Future of Learning. Invited Keynote at the World Conference on Educational Technology Research. Barcelona, Spain.