Herstory
Tanya Joosten, Ph.D., has examined technology and its relationship within social systems for 30 years. Shas been working in technology-related areas for almost 30 years with a special interest in organizational behavior, science, and technology. She found herself running from technology for most of hear early professional years but being unable to escape it, she is committed to ensuring practice is driven by science, knowledge, and intuition.
In the late-90’s, she began studying computer-mediated communication, helped develop an online website and community for people with disabilities, conducted research in the areas of technology, decision-making, and teams, and participated in her first grant project where she explored using technology for teaching, specifically the exploration of the first generation of learning management systems, and supported faculty in their use of technology, including digital website and content creation.
In the early-00’s, Tanya continued her studies, research, and teaching with technology, offered her first online course in communication technology, designed and taught several other online courses in communication, and researched organizations, groups, technology, culture, and change with a special focus on efficacy of technology, mode comparisons, and technological implementation into organizational systems. When offered her first tenure-track position, she turned it down and instead helped develop the first high stakes computer-based testing program in the country and began measurement research consulting.
“Dr. Joosten Rocks,” unknown student.
In the late-00’s, Dr. Joosten returned to academia realizing she was an academic at heart and wanted to make a difference. She continued teaching and researching social processes and technology while turning to help institutions support the quality in use and scale of technology by supporting other faculty and instructors, developing an online and a blended faculty development programming, launching an innovation pilot program for emerging technologies supported by numerous grants, initiating a certificate in online and blended teaching, designing a constructive blended and online course evaluation process, and creating a community for online and blended faculty and instructors for sharing effective practices.
“I give Tanya my strongest recommendation for indefinite appointment. Tanya has contributed much to UWM during the five years, and she is well respected by our faculty, staff, and administrators. Her expertise in a number of learning technology areas is acknowledged by colleagues across the country, and her potential for even greater accomplishments are undeniable. In addition to awarding Tanya Indefinite Appointment, I urge UWM to provide Tanya with the support that she needs to continue to develop professionally and to explore further new ways of using technology to enhance teaching and learning. An investment in Tanya will have a significant payback for the campus on many different levels,” Robert J. Kaleta, Ph.D., Director Emeritus.
Learning Technology Center
Tanya advanced a large foundation grant to diffuse quality blended learning, led distance education (technology-enhanced, blended, and online) for her campus in liaise with the Provost’s office, and consulted with educational institutions and technology companies throughout the U.S. and the globe to help effectively design, implement, and diffuse learning technologies.
Into the early 10’s, she led an instructional improvement unit that included 1.) administering and supporting core learning technologies (such as the learning management system, student response systems, digital portfolios, online classroom meeting rooms, and online research and survey system), 2.) promoting quality in online and blended programming, 3.) planning and implementing innovations systematically, 4.) researching, evaluating, and disseminating effective practices, and 5.) diffusing proven innovations across her university, her System, nationally, and globally.
Dr. Joosten became a special advisor to the Provost for innovation projects, was a member of the university education effectiveness initiative, and helped support the launch of the new flexible, competency-based education programming.
She wrote and received a large government grant to launch and lead a national research center to advance distance education (blended and online) and technological advancements to conduct cross-institutional research to promote student access and success through evidence-based learning practices and technologies.
In the late 10’s, Tanya led the research center efforts that resulted in a national research summit with over 50 leaders, research toolkit that has over a thousand downloads in every state of the U.S. and over 25 countries (including a a newly developed framework of inquiry, guides to research design, student survey packet, and data codebooks), small grant competition resulting in the funding and support of numerous research programs across the country (experimental, survey, and descriptive), infrastructure of cross-institutional data collection, storage, and retrieval, a professional development program for the designing and conducting of digital, blended, and online education research delivered nationally and globally, the design and administration of numerous cross-institutional studies (e.g., online learning readiness, indicators of course quality, academic and social involvement), effective practices for digital and online learning, a guideline and rubric for the diffusion of technology, media coverage by over a dozen releases, a special edition of a peer reviewed journal, numerous publications and presentations, an online research annotation database, and a onsite and online research community.
Dr. Joosten works with dozens of universities. community organizations, and companies across the country to identify and evaluate instructional and institutional practices with particular interest in underrepresented individuals (i.e., Pell grant eligible, first generation, minorities, and students with disabilities) through rigorous research. Her work has continued to advance and received support from private foundations and community organizations.
“For exceptionally creative work in advancing blended and online learning in the K-12 and higher education environments,” Online Learning Consortium Fellows Recognition, Class of 2013.
Dr. Tanya Joosten is nationally recognized and has over a decade of leadership and administration experience in teaching and learning (including strategy, operations, budgeting, and personnel), numerous publications and creative works (e.g., books, chapters, journal editions, journal articles, and encyclopedia entries), two decades of digital teaching and innovative pedagogical experience, numerous keynotes and plenaries across the globe, over 100 presentations at conferences and events, dozens of media highlights, over 2 million in grant applications and awards, membership on a diverse group of boards and committees, and extensive experience in higher education at high research activity, doctoral granting, broad access universities.
2022 Awardee, WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Award recognizes “outstanding efforts by member organizations and individuals in applying innovative solutions to a challenging educational need.”
During the pandemic, Dr. Joosten played a pivotal role in guiding educators, institutions, and nations through the crisis while simultaneously preparing them for a future focused on equity, quality, and workforce development. Her work spanned immediate emergency response, deep research into the efficacy of digital learning during the crisis, and strategic planning for the post-pandemic landscape.
2020 and beyond
Guiding the Global Response to Remote Teaching
Dr. Joosten was a central figure in helping the global higher education community navigate the sudden shift to emergency remote instruction.
- “Pivot to Online” MOOC: In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, she co-taught the massive open online course (MOOC) “Pivoting to Online Teaching: Research and Practitioner Perspectives” alongside George Siemens and others. This course, hosted on edX, became a critical resource for educators worldwide, helping them transition from emergency remote teaching to more effective online practices.
- Thought Leadership on Quality: Tanya actively shaped the narrative around the “pivot,” distinguishing between emergency remote instruction and true online learning. Through media appearances and publications, she advocated for asynchronous, student-centered approaches to mitigate “Zoom fatigue” and prevent long-term reputational damage to the field of digital education.
Strategic Leadership: Launching DETA as a Nonprofit
In 2020, facing a lapse in federal grant funding and recognizing the skyrocketing demand for digital education expertise triggered by the pandemic, Dr. Joosten successfully transitioned the National Research Center for Distance Education and Technological Advancements (DETA) into an independent nonprofit startup. This strategic pivot allowed the organization to operate with the agility necessary to support the global education community during the crisis. Through this independent entity, she rapidly deployed resources, research, and frameworks to assist universities and educators in navigating the sudden shift to digital learning.
Researching Impact and Advancing Equity
Leveraging DETA’s new status, Dr. Joosten partnered with major organizations—including Every Learner Everywhere, WCET, and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC)—to lead rapid-response research.
- Equity Review: She led a systematic review titled “Educational Technologies and Their Impact on Student Success for Racial and Ethnic Groups of Interest.” This critical work identified that under certain circumstances, racially minoritized students were more likely to succeed in blended and online courses than face-to-face, challenging prevailing myths and providing a roadmap for equitable design.
- National Strategy (Saudi Arabia): Serving as a Principal Investigator for the National eLearning Center (NELC), Tanya led a comprehensive study evaluating the state of online learning in Saudi Arabia during the pandemic. She analyzed data from students, faculty, and administrators to create a customized framework for the nation to build future capacity and infrastructure for high-quality online education.
Global Strategy & Federal Policy Leadership
Dr. Joosten’s work extends well beyond the university campus, influencing national policy and international frameworks for digital learning and workforce development.
- Federal Policy and The White House: Tanya has been a key voice in shaping national conversations around innovation. She was an invited expert at the White House Symposium on Higher Education Innovation, convening with administration officials to spotlight innovations that reduce costs while strengthening quality. Following the symposium, she advised the Office of the Under Secretary of Education, advocating for a national research agenda to ensure equity and student success.
- APEC & Workforce Development: Collaborating with the U.S. Department of Education, she served as a Subject Matter Expert for the APEC Digital Workforce Development Project. In this capacity, she worked with the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) to develop quality indicators for digital Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, helping APEC economies leverage digital technologies to build 21st-century workforces.
- TechEd Frontiers: Domestically, she helped lead the TechEd Frontiers initiative at UWM, a direct response to the need for workforce upskilling. She developed and led the data science pathway, teaching foundations of data analytics to prepare workers for the post-pandemic digital economy.