Interview with David H. Jonassen: Looking at the Field of Educational Technology from Radical and Multiple Perspectives

There are people whose names are identified with their fields. When an outsider wants to learn about the field of educational technology and enters some keywords, David H. Jonassen is perhaps one the few people whose names will appear instantly. Of course, this is not without reasons. David H. Jonassen has produced enormous amount of work addressing both major and trendy issues in the field of educational technology over the years. His name appears on some of the milestone work in our field. Moreover, I think it is not an exaggeration to say that he is an academic trend setter too. David H. Jonassen has produced at least 37 books, 180 journal articles, 64 book chapters, 12 book reviews, 136 invited presentations, and 282 conference papers. He has supervised 27 doctoral dissertations; most of his advisees were international students. He has provided educational consultancy services in countries such as United States, Brazil, Australia, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Canada, Netherlands, and Italy. He has also been active in professional organizations like AECT, AERA, ASTD, and NSPI. Throughout his academic career, he has received about two dozens of awards including but not limited to outstanding publication awards, distinguished development awards, outstanding practice awards, distinguished service awards, and lifetime achievement awards for excellence. Almost all of these awards were given by well-known professional organizations in the field of educational technology. I am sure there is more about him but these are preliminary outcomes of my speedy search. Considering his milestone contributions and eye-opening discussions in our field along with the worldwide recognition he has among colleagues, we decided to interview Professor Jonassen for this issue of Contemporary Educational Technology. As usual, we conducted the interview through communication technologies in several rounds of exchanging questions, answers, and elaborations. I think the interview has a number of enlightening messages for all, particularly for young colleagues.