Michael K. Barbour

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Michael Barbour is currently an Assistant Professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He completed his Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from the Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia), his Master of Education (Teaching and Learning), with concentrations in Literacy and Computers in Education, and his Bachelor of Education (Intermediate and Secondary) from from Memorial University of Newfoundland (St. John's, Newfoundland). Prior to his studies in education, Michael completed his Bachelor of Arts (Honours), with a major in Political Science and a minor in History, from Carleton University (Ottawa, Ontario). Recently, hecompleted a Certificate in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University (Antigonish, Nova Scotia).

Outside of his academic endeavours, Michael was a teacher at Discovery Collegiate for four years. During this period, he served as a classroom teacher, web-based distance education teacher and held district-level positions. These positions included the Partnership Development Co-ordinator for the Vista School District and the Web-based Initiatives Facilitator for the Centre of Distance Learning and Innovation in District 8.

As a classroom teacher, Michael was active in the field of providing Advanced Placement courses to secondary students at his own school and throughout North America in an asynchronous, web-based format through the Centre for Advanced Placement Education. As the Director of this research centre, he was responsible for research into various e-teaching methods and different learning styles, student use of instant messaging and asynchronous discussion forums (and how the latter affects student performance), and retention rates in both classroom-based and web-based Advanced Placement courses. The Centre and Michael's contribution to e-teaching Advanced Placement courses received international attention, as evidenced when he was invited to develop and team-e-teach a course with the Illinois Virtual High School . Michael also joined a group of educators to form St. Brendan's College, an incorporated virtual entity which operated from 2003 to 2005 offering web-based Advanced Placement courses to students worldwide.

Michael's research interests focus upon two areas. Traditionally, his program of research has focused on rural K-12 students learning in virtual school environments. Specifically, Michael's research agenda has spanned four areas: differences in student achievement based upon delivery model and urban-rural distinctions and the factors accounting for these differences; components of web-based learning that students find helpful and challenging; characteristics of effectively designed web-based courses; and whether new technologies, particularly those that allow for interaction, in virtual high schools affect how students learn.

However, recently his research agenda has developed a second focus. As a social studies teacher, Michael found that it was a continuous struggle to engage his students in the study of history. As the instructor in our pre-service introduction to teaching with technology course, one of the projects that his students would complete each semester was the creation of a PowerPoint game (see http://it.coe.uga.edu/wwild/pptgames/index.html). PowerPoint games use a technology that most teachers have access to and facility with, MS PowerPoint , to facilitate the creation of a project-based, electronic board game with their students in a constructive environment. It is Michael's belief through the process of game design; particularly the writing of a game narrative and knowledge-based questions, students will acquire a deeper understanding of the content material based upon an adaptation of Sam Wineburg's levels of historical understanding.