Professor of Learning Design and Technology, San Diego State University
Bernie Dodge is an American instructional design scholar and educational technologist best known as the originator of the WebQuest model (1995), a structured, inquiry‑oriented lesson format that guides learners to use pre‑selected online resources for higher‑order thinking tasks. He spent nearly four decades on the faculty at San Diego State University (SDSU), where he taught educational technology, game design for learning, and immersive media courses and advised the Learning Design and Technology (LDT) program. Dodge has also developed widely used design tools and platforms including QuestGarden, and classroom simulations/games such as Grab‑A‑Cab, Quations, and PLANalyst. His interests span educational simulations and game design, Online Learning, Augmented and Virtual Reality in education, and technology integration in teaching. He retired from SDSU as Professor of Learning Design and Technology and continues to serve as an LDT advisor.
International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK) • Conference
This pilot study applied Learning Analytics methods to identify at-risk students in two high-enrollment blended courses (PSY 101 and STAT 119) at San Diego State University. With instructor input, targeted email interventions were developed and randomly assigned to half of participating students (n=882), while the control group was analyzed for triggers but received no interventions. Pre-course surveys (motivation and prior knowledge) and weekly activity logs were collected. Regression analyses, using feature selection and demographic controls, compared outcomes across groups. Interventions were associated with higher final grades in one course, particularly for a specific demographic subgroup, suggesting that data-driven, targeted nudges can improve outcomes in large blended classes.
Distance Educator • Journal