Dr. Elena Novak

Elena Novak is an Associate Professor of Educational Technology at Kent State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies from Florida State University in 2012. Dr. Novak is interested in creating multiple pathways that encourage students with different interests to connect to and communicate about STEM+computer science through emerging learning technologies, peer-mentoring, creativity and design. Her research aims to provide educators with research-informed guidelines on how to integrate technology in various educational settings. Dr. Novak’s research has been funded by federal and state agencies to support K-12 STEM+computer science education and teacher professional development. Her recent NSF project, “Physical Science Robotics Interdisciplinary Design (PRIDe) in Computer Science Education: Broadening Participation in STEM through Cascading Peer-Mentorship” focuses on designing, implementing, supporting teachers with computer science and science professional development, and evaluating a cascading peer-mentoring model that connects high school, middle, and elementary school students with a university computer science research lab. Dr. Novak’s research has been recognized with several international awards sponsored by the American Educational Research Association as well as Association for Educational Communications and Technology. She has published in leading peer-reviewed international journals, such as Computers & Education, Computers in Human Behavior, The Internet & Higher Education, Educational Technology Research & Development, and British Journal of Educational Technology.