Our Team
Dr. Sandra Okita, Founding Director
M.A., Ph.D. Stanford University
B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Keio University, Japan
okita (at) tc (dot) columbia (dot) edu
Dr. Okita's current research interest is focused on the learning partnership between individuals and technology, and how technology intersects with learning and instructional processes. One characteristic of Dr. Okita's work is the use of technological boundary objects as a threshold to learning, instruction, and assessment. Here, Dr. Okita defines boundary objects as computational artifacts where animate and inanimate features overlap between fantasy and reality (i.e. robots, agents in virtual reality environments, mixed-reality). Dr. Okita's interest in boundary objects is due to their strong social component that enables students to build a peer-like relation with technology that reveal new insights to the role of social relationships in learning.
Other interests include designing technology assisted learning/intervention in formal/informal settings, and children's interpretation and conceptual development in relation to technological boundary objects. Theoretical research interest areas include self-other monitoring, learning by teaching, learning by observation and its influence on behavior in the domain of biology, math, and agency.
Teachers College Faculty Profile: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/faculty/so2269
ELLIOT HU-AU
Ed.D Instructional Technology & Media
Elliot attended the University of California, Berkeley and received a B.A. in Astrophysics with an Education minor. He also has over 10 years of experience teaching high school physics, biology, and mathematics. He comes from the San Francisco Bay Area where he taught in urban public and charter schools. His current research field is virtual reality and its possible uses in the K-12 classroom
Elliot (dot) hu-au (at) tc.edu
Nicola YUENLAM LAW
Ed.D Instructional Technology & Media
Nicola earned her B.A. in Media Studies from Pennsylvania State University, and her M.A. degree in Communication and Education from Teachers College. She is now a doctoral student in Instructional Technolgy & Media and her research interests include the use of pedagogical agents and its influence on motivation and agency.
NicolaYuenlam (dot) Law (at) tc (dot) columbia (dot) edu
Amany Alkhayat
Ed.D Instructional Technology & Media
Amany received her B.A. degree in Linguistics, Literature and Translation from AlAzhar University, Egypt. She earned her first MA degree in TEFL from the American University in Cairo. She recently received her Masters degree in Instructional Technology & Media, Teachers College, Columbia University. She founded the NYS TESOL Technology enhanced Language Learning (TeLL) SIG and co-founded VirtuaTell annual Conference. She also has 20 years of experience teaching ESL college students and Applied Linguistics students. Her research interests include digital storytelling in second language learning and conversational agents/chatbots interaction with ESL learners.
aa4396 (at) tc (dot) columbia (dot) edu
Yipu Zheng
Ed.D. Instructional Technology & Media
Yipu earned her B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley, and M.S. in Learning Analytics at Teachers College, Columbia University. She co-founded the first makerspace for children in Shenzhen, China and has three years of experience developing hands-on curriculum and kits for elementary and middle school students. Her current research interests focus on utilizing multimodal learning analytics to assess learners’ problem-solving processes and provide formative feedback.
Yipu (dot) Zheng (at) tc (dot) columbia (dot) edu
MARCUS CHEUNG
Ed.D. Instructional Technology & Media
Marcus received B.A. and B.Ed. degrees in Chinese Education from University of Hong Kong. He is a recent M.A. graduate in Instructional Technology and Media from Teachers College, Columbia. As a learning experience designer, he develops learner-centered and adaptive on/offline solutions. As an entrepreneur, he works on blockchain and cryptocurrency education. His research interests include designing a tech-related solution to leverage learners identity and sense of community, which benefits their learning trajectory.
MARCUSYUEN-YIU (dot) CHEUNG (at) tc (dot) columbia (dot) edu
EDWARD C.Y. LIN
Ed.D Instructional Technology & Media
Eddie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Communication Management from Shih Hsin University and a Master's degree in International Communications from National Chengchi University. He has 2 years of experience organizing professional development at leading universities in Taiwan and China, focusing on technology integration in teaching. His current research focuses on the impact of cultural and social factors on user's cognition in MOOCs, and using teachable agents to instill students' mindsets and increase their motivation.
Eddie (dot) lin (at) tc (dot) columbia (dot) edu
SEBASTIAN OPAZO MARCHETTI
M.A. Instructional Technology & Media
Sebastian got his B.A. degree in Psychology from Pontificia Universidad Católica, Chile. He recently received his Masters degree in Instructional Technology & Media from Teachers College, Columbia University. His current research interests focus in using biobehavioral methods to study the cognitive aspects of human-robot interaction, specifically within the realm of social learning.
Opazo (dot) Marchetti (at) tc (dot) columbia (dot) edu
NAO
SoftBank NAO robot
NAO is an autonomous, programmable humanoid robot developed by Aldebaran Robotics, a French robotics company headquartered in Paris, which was acquired by SoftBank Group in 2015 and rebranded as SoftBank Robotics. The robot's development began with the launch of Project Nao in 2004.
ROSIE
Roomba Robot Vacuums
Rosie was designed to clean around the home and working spaces around people's schedules. This involves our peer-learning research projects.
CLICBOT
KEYi ClicBot
ClicBot is one of the main product of KEYi Technology, a consumer level robot that fuses robot control, sense and AI with animated design. KEYi applies industrial level control algorithm to consumer level robots, and builds a platform that allows global users to create and share organic content. ClicBot, now with over 10,000 users from 87 countries in APP and they have generated more than 40,000 robot designs.
Misty
Misty II Robot
Misty has a built-in array of three far-field microphones that she can use to record audio and get positional information about the sounds in her environment. With her high-resolution camera, Misty has built-in, on-the-edge face detection and face recognition capabilities. Misty provides extensive eye and sound packs, so it’s easy to add personality to your skills.