Rate My Professor Steven Pace

Associate Professor Steven Pace serves as Head of Course for Digital Media in the School of Education and the Arts at Central Queensland University (CQUniversity), Mackay Campus. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mathematics and Computing from the University College of Central Queensland (UCCQ), a Master of Applied Science from CQUniversity, and a Doctor of Philosophy in human-computer interaction from the Australian National University in 2003. Pace's career at CQUniversity spans over three decades, beginning as an Associate Lecturer in Information Technology in the Department of Mathematics and Computing in 1992. He advanced through roles including Programmer/Analyst at the Sugar Research Institute (1988-1991), Lecturer in Multimedia (1998-2001), Senior Lecturer (2002-2012), and Associate Professor since 2013. His teaching portfolio includes oversight of the Bachelor of Digital Media, Associate Degree of Digital Media, and Diploma of Digital Media programs.

Pace's research focuses on experience design, user experience design, interaction design, human-computer interaction, web and mobile application design, game design, flow experiences, the psychology of optimal experiences, curriculum and pedagogy in digital media, and creative industries. He employs qualitative methods such as grounded theory, case studies, ethnography, and autoethnography. Notable publications include "A grounded theory of the flow experiences of web users" (International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 2004) and "Writing the self into research: using grounded theory analytic strategies in autoethnography" (2012). Among his accolades are the 2022 Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) award for Teaching Excellence, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2020), National ICT Educator of the Year (2011), and Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (2011). Pace has contributed to quality assurance as a member of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Register of Experts since 2012, international specialist for the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications since 2015, and member of the Panel of Experts for Papua New Guinea's Department of Higher Education since 2021. He led editing for Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development (vol. 8, no. 2, 2011) and participated in a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded project in South America (2010). Over 30 years, Pace has taught more than 14,000 students, many from disadvantaged and regional backgrounds, pioneering flexible online digital media education.