More about Marcus Childress

Dr. Marcus Childress began his teaching career as a high school band director (8 years) in the North Carolina public schools.  Upon completion of his Ph.D. degree, Dr. Childress served on the faculty at Old Dominion University (VA), Emporia State University (KS), and Baker University (KS), where he developed a highly successful online Ed.D. program in Instructional Design and Performance Technology. Dr. Childress served as Dean of the School of Education and most-recently Vice President for Academic Affairs/Chief Academic Officer, before retiring to begin his Course Jockey venture. Dr. Childress has a wealth of experience in evaluation, accreditation, program development, instructional design and technology, and all things related to higher education. His research interests include online teaching and learning, using virtual worlds for training and education, and using technology as a catalyst for educational reform. His research has been documented in publications such as Distance Education, Journal of Research on Computers in Education, International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, Globalized e-Learning Cultural Challenges, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, Academic Leadership Journal, and the Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, Teaching, Technologies, and Applications. He is co-editor of the AECT-Springer Online Major Reference Work, Learning, Design, and Technology: An International Compendium of Theory, Research, Practice and Policy, with J. Michael Spector and Barbara J. Lockee. In addition to his higher education experience, Dr. Childress'​ training involvement includes consulting with the Intel Corporation (Senior Trainer, Intel Teach to the Future), the People's Bank of China Training Center, the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center, and the United States Joint Training Analysis and Simulation Center - the world’s leading research center for computer modeling, simulation, and visualization. Dr. Childress has shared his expertise in the USA-Canada and across the globe including Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, and the Czech Republic. He is a past-president (2012-2013) of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), the premier organization for those actively involved in the design of instruction and a systematic approach to learning. He served on the AECT executive committee and board of directors, and was the convention chair for the 2012 AECT International Convention in Louisville, KY.