Curriculum Vitae

Professional Overview

Introduction

The journey towards my Ph.D. was not the result of an impulsive midlife crisis but was a calculated and well-educated decision. After many drastic mishaps in life, instead of retiring, I ended up making a detour of doing my own Ph.D. To continue my loved ones' legacy, I promised myself that I would become a beacon in the darkness of illiteracy. In my efforts towards bestowing quality education to the underprivileged, I needed a global institution that could reach the masses. The accreditation agency required a Doctorate from the head of the institution. I asked many professionals in the field, but no one had the same passion as I had.  With nowhere to go, I ended up getting into the LT-PhD program at the University of North Texas (UNT). Completion of Ph.D. Coursework is just a short 18 months reflects my commitment and dedication. Becoming a scholar was never a consideration in my life, but my devotion to serving humanity has led me to this noble profession.

Reflective Intellectual Growth

 Prior to the Ph.D. endeavor, I had very little exposure to academia. As a lead engineer in the IT field, I did write a coursebook on the Apple OS. I taught the course to Microsoft engineers involved in developing and testing MS applications on that platform. Lucky enough, the UNT Learning Technology program revitalized me as an educator, researcher, and scholar. This life-long learner became a well-suited intellectual with a focus on educating the masses by integrating modern technologies, like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Augmented/Virtual Reality, with adaptive learning and teaching. My plans are centered on applying digital pedagogical approaches and methodologies to educate the underprivileged with the same quality of education that only the affluent class enjoys. Education has become a privilege for the poor; I want to make it a Right for them.
 

             I intend to empower the coming generations with self-esteem, autonomy, self-reliance, competence, and affinity to success. In my travels to Sub-Saharan Africa and multiple Asian countries, I have seen an inherent desire to learn, a motivation to make a change not only in their lives but to their society, and a zeal to go beyond the horizon. These desires may be overzealous, but could be accomplished by the power of education. By invoking the strength of educational technology, hypermedia, and innovative delivery methods, I am confident that I can make a change in their world.

My UNT education has helped me understand the nature of knowledge, epistemic justifications to learning theories, and education's precedence. I want to develop a system to pass my gained knowledge, practices, and rationality of belief to the coming generations. My principle is that we, as the best creation of God, must balance out the gained knowledge and experiences by passing them to the world.  I am a great proponent of Piaget's Constructivism. I have experienced that learning is a continuum of cognitive, social, and radical constructivism.  My beliefs are built on Vygotskey's (1978) approach that learner learners ' Zone of Proximal Development should begin with guided teaching, scaffolding, and facilitated discovery learning. I intend to combine these methodologies in my system of education.

Research Interests

My scholarly interests revolve around the technology that could be used to deliver education to the masses. Even before starting my Ph.D. program, I was researching different methods of education delivery. I came across an educational process that the United States Navy used to educate unqualified professionals. Along with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Navy trained those personnel on computer network installation and troubleshooting. Each of the graduates scored higher on standardized tests than those who had multiple years of experience and training. The program was called "Education Dominance."  I was looking for such a technique for my education program. I approached both the Navy and DARPA but received a cold shoulder. I was lucky to have noble professors like Drs. Kinshuk, Rose Baker, Demetria Ennis-Cole, whose dedicated guidance helped me determine that the Education Dominance program was based on Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS). Since then, I started doing more research on ITS and found that with its AI-based technology and adaptive teaching methodologies, an ITS can offer a  possible solution to educate the masses in distant and remote areas of Africa and other countries. Since then, I have researched, wrote some articles, and presented my papers at international and regional conferences. My faculty recognized my efforts, and I was awarded the "Best Impact in the Field Award" in 2019. My next approach in research is to integrate VR/AR and gamification with the ITS.

My other area of interest is to find methods/mediums for delivering education at a distance. Wi-Fi is not an option in the continent of Africa, but it has the second most populous network of cellular towers in the world. Data and voice transmission are delivered to consumers from 800 MHz (2 & 3 G) to 48 GHz (5G) low-band frequencies. With older transmitters still in place and the possible use of lower (800 Mhz or less)  cellular frequencies reserved for emergency transmission use, educational data could be transmitted to distant areas. Another viable option could be of using the electrical power distribution network as an Internet transmission medium. Technology is already there; it merely needs a policy change by the governmental agencies.

Professional Goals

It is not cost-effective for me to build an ITS at this time or use one available at any governmental or academic institution. Hence, I intend to do systemic research and meta-analysis on the proven technologies available in the advanced nations, especially in the form of an ITS, and recommend with the investigation that it could be a mode of delivering education, with all of its AI-based features and adaptive teaching technology.

Scholarly Writings

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	X The Digital Tutor The Digital Tutor

Professional Presentations

Title: In Pursuit of An Interactive Path Toward Small Business Technology Transfer Commercialization Location: Houston, Texas, USA Date: July 2019