Rate My Professor Keryn Pratt

Senior Lecturer Keryn Pratt is a faculty member in the College of Education at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Born and raised in the Otago/Southland region, she earned her BA, PGDipArts, and PhD in Psychology from the University of Otago. Following her doctoral studies, Pratt joined the College of Education, where she has progressed to the position of Senior Lecturer. She currently serves as Director of the Centre for Distance Education and Learning Technologies and as EdD Coordinator. Additionally, she acts as the postgraduate and distance coordinator for Education Studies. Pratt primarily teaches in the university's distance learning programme for postgraduate students, with her courses emphasizing the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education, quantitative research methods, and related topics such as internet-based learning.

Pratt's academic interests and research specializations focus on distance education, virtual schooling, and the integration of digital technologies in teaching and learning. Her projects have examined the experiences of distance postgraduate students in the College of Education as well as secondary school students engaged in distance learning through videoconferencing and other technologies. Notable publications include 'Information and communication technology (ICT) in secondary schools: the role of the computer coordinator' (with K.-W. Lai, 2004, British Journal of Educational Technology), 'Literature review and synthesis: Online communities of practice' (with K.-W. Lai, M. Anderson, and J. Stigter, 2006), 'OtagoNet: One region's model for virtual schooling' (with K. Pullar, 2013, Journal of Open, Flexible & Distance Learning), 'Supporting Distance Learners: Making Practice More Effective' (2015, Journal of Open, Flexible & Distance Learning), and 'Showing and telling: Using tablet technology to engage students in mathematics' (with N. Ingram and S. Williamson-Leadley, 2016, Mathematics Education Research Journal). These works, along with others on blended learning, feedback in L2 writing, and teacher efficacy, have garnered over 1,200 citations according to Google Scholar. Pratt contributes to the field through editorial roles, including on the Australian Educational Computing journal board, and provides media expertise on online, distance, and blended learning.