Biography
Dr. Stephen Harmon serves as associate dean of research at Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE), executive director for the Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U), and as professor at the Georgia Tech College of Design. At GTPE and C21U, he leads the invention, prototyping, and validation efforts associated with educational innovation and with managing facilities available to all Georgia Tech researchers and faculty members.
His previous position was professor and chair of the Learning Technologies Division in the College of Education and Human Development at Georgia State University.
After majoring in English literature at Furman University, Dr. Harmon moved to Upper Egypt to teach fourth-grade English for two years. While traveling through the Middle East and Africa, he realized the tremendous need, and scarce resources, for education and training in developing countries. He returned to the U.S. and earned a masters and doctorate in instructional technology, with a cognate in global policy studies, from the University of Georgia.
Dr. Harmon’s research centers on educational uses of emerging technologies and has, for the last few years, focused on eLearning, particularly with respect to synchronous, online learning environments. He is a past president of the Association of Educational Communications and Technology, an international professional association of thousands of educators and others whose activities are directed toward improving instruction through technology.
Dr. Harmon also conducts research on educational technology in developing countries. He has worked in several Middle Eastern and African countries, including as a consultant for USAID’s Education for Development and Democracy Initiative in Botswana.
Dr. Harmon has over 120 professional publications and presentations and was the 2011 recipient of Georgia State University’s Innovative Instruction Award. He was the spring 2016 commencement speaker at Georgia Southern University.