معرفی
Dr. Deborah A. Fields is a Research Professor in the Instructional Technology & Learning Sciences department at Utah State University's Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services. Her work focuses on connected learning, digital media literacy, and equity in STEM education through innovative approaches like electronic textiles and virtual world studies.
Fields holds a Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education from UCLA (2010) and has held academic positions since 2010, including roles at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research emphasizes youth participation in digital spaces, computational thinking, and crafting-based learning.
Key areas include:
- Designing e-textiles curricula for high school computer science
- Virtual world ethnographies (e.g., Whyville studies)
- Equity in maker education
- Online youth communities and media creation
Her TEDx talk on tween activism in virtual worlds highlights her focus on youth agency in digital environments. Fields has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications and secured $1.5M+ in research grants, including NSF-funded projects on computational thinking and epidemic simulations.
Recent work explores pandemic education design, gender dynamics in crafting, and debugging practices in physical computing. She leads national initiatives like the Kids DIY Media Partnership and contributes to policy frameworks for children's digital rights.
