Dr. Ryan Straight is an award-winning educator, writer, and researcher. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona. He is co-program director of the Master of Science and undergraduate minor programs in Educational Technology and teaches in the Informatics and Cyber Operations undergraduate programs. He also teaches an annual freshman seminar, Cyborgs and Transhumanism, in the Honors College.
Here you will find a variety: travel exploits, reflections, expressions of stylistic pedagogy, reactions to technological and educational current events, and general musings on topics approaching Ryan’s academic research.
He lives in Tucson, AZ with his wife Adriana and their three dogs, Sofie, Menchi, and Chewie.
PhD in Instructional Technology, 2015
Ohio University
MEd in Cultural Studies in Education, 2009
Ohio University
BSEd in Integrated Language Arts, 2005
Ohio University
Computer-Assisted Language Learning can be facilitated to a great degree using commercial off-the-shelf video games. This paper attempts to explore the nature of CALL, the pedagogic qualities of video games and how the two intersect to produce useful CALL environments. Also considered are aspects of fun, what causes second language acquisition students to respond to one form of CALL over another, and concepts of ludus, paidea and narratology. An example, Heavy Rain, is offered as a potential commercial off-the-shelf game to use in second language acquisition at the university or adult-learning level.
The advancements in mobile devices have great affordances for the field of education. Modern smartphones are powerful, portable, and prevalent and can yield informative, engaging and empowering user experiences for students in classroom settings and beyond. This paper explores current trends and issues in the use of mobile devices for learning (mLearning) and presents a variety of viable options for developing and delivering custom content in the form of mobile applications. Relevant applications, services, and skill sets are discussed with a focus on specific capabilities. Resources are presented along a continuum of prerequisite technical skill with the intent to demonstrate to K-12 teachers the approachability of creating custom mobile applications for learning at any level of experience.
Faculty Fellows is a group of 55 outstanding UA faculty dedicated to student engagement. Faculty Fellows work to effectively involve students in research, collaborative projects, career-readiness efforts and community outreach. Each Fellow is assigned a campus site for the academic year (whether a residence hall, a cultural center, or a resource center) and spends time at that site each week, building connections and relationships with students outside of the classroom.
Faculty Fellows:
Cybersecurity-related content for my Master’s program.
Ryan’s bi-weekly newsletter (currently on hiatus).
A collective of like-minded teachers, designers, and researchers.
Ryan’s bi-weekly podcast (currently on hiatus).