I am Professor and Chair of the Department of Learning Design & Technology (LTEC), College of Education at the University of Hawaii-Manoa (UHM). I have extensive experience in the development and delivery of online courses and distance education. I was honored as one of Hawaii’s 2007 top high-technology leaders and was recognized with the University of Hawaii Board of Regents’ Medal for Teaching Excellence award in 2012. I was the Director of our College of Education’s island in Second Life and organized the first virtual graduation at UHM, which allowed LTEC students both on Oahu and off-island to experience a virtual graduation ceremony in spring 2011. I was previously a co-principal investigator on the Radgrad National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to evaluate new approaches to improving engagement, diversity, and retention in undergraduate computer science and a co-principal investigator on the advancing culturally-relevant computing NSF grant. My research interests include culturally-relevant computer science, student satisfaction with online learning, faculty support for technology integration, technologies for distance education, gamification & game-based learning and teaching & learning in virtual worlds.