Hello SIG ATL,

My name is Candace Walkington, and I am a Full Professor and Endowed Chair at the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University. I study technology for mathematics learning, including generative AI, game-based learning, intelligent tutoring, and augmented and virtual reality. I am honored to be your SIG ATL Chair for the 2026/2027 academic year. 

Our SIG is at a critical transition point, where Generative AI is increasingly being used in education, and our members and stakeholders are positioned to be an important source of expertise as the conversation around AI in education continues. However, our SIG also has other equally important types of expertise relating to a variety of forms of educational technology and approaches to learning and organizing learning systems. My first and foremost goal is to help the expertise that this SIG holds be recognized and elevated in national conversations around technology in education.

We are simultaneously in a moment where many of the methods we use - like media comparison studies - and the populations we study - such as students in formal classrooms practicing skills - are increasingly being questioned. The time scale at which we can study, analyze,  and publish and share our work is becoming more and more problematic when compared to the time scale at which technologies are developed, deployed, and scaled. And finally, researchers in educational technology are being urged to shift from a focus on things (i.e., types or instances of technology) to a focus on the problems that are plaguing real educational systems.

As we confront these challenges, we are going to need to work as a community and share knowledge and resources. I hope that this SIG can be one important way for this to happen in each of your professional lives. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me for support.

Dr. Candace Walkington

Chair, AERA SIG-7, Advanced Technologies for Learning

cwalkington@smu.edu