Albert D. Ritzhaupt, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Educational Technology

College of Education

2016 Awardee

When Albert Ritzhaupt considers the future of integrating technology into education, he sees potential for innovations in the field.

Ritzhaupt’s research seeks to incorporate information and communication technology into education in a meaningful way. He studies the design, development, use and evaluation of technology-enhanced learning environments.

“I choose to study the use of information and communication technology in education because I strongly believe that, if used properly, it can have a positive impact on the learning experience,” he said. “Further, information and communication technology enables us to do things that we would otherwise not be able to do in education.”

One line of his research investigates multimedia instruction – which designs are most effective and efficient and the impact of multimedia instruction on learning. He has looked specifically at the element of feedback in multimedia instruction and the use of interactive games in teaching and learning situations.

With a team of colleagues, Ritzhaupt developed a conceptual framework to explain the digital divide in formal educational settings. Using this framework, as well as a survey on technology integration, the team examined all of the public schools in the state of Florida.

“Each school and school district has a different approach with information and communication technology,” he said. “There is variation across our public schools, and in some cases, on troubling demographics such as socio-economic status.”

Ritzhaupt is an editor for multiple publications. He is editor of the Florida Journal of Educational Research, associate editor of the Journal of Educational Computing Research and consulting editor of Educational Technology Research and Development. He is on the scientific board of Computers and Human Behavior and serves on the editorial boards for several journals, including the Journal of Research on Technology in Education.