IAFOR > The IAFOR Conference on Educational Research & Innovation (ERI) > ERI2023 > Speakers

Speakers

Speakers will provide a variety of perspectives from different academic and professional backgrounds. This page provides information about presenters. For details of presentations and other programming, please visit the Programme page.

  • Dale Pike
    Dale Pike
    Virginia Tech, United States
  • Kālewa Correa
    Kālewa Correa
    Smithsonian Institution, United States
  • Tomoaki Ishigaki
    Tomoaki Ishigaki
    Embassy of Japan in the United States of America, United States
  • Michael Menchaca
    Michael Menchaca
    University of Hawai’i at Manoa, United States

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Excellent plenary speakers are central to our conferences, ensuring that timely, innovative and engaging content is presented to our audiences around the world. If you would like to be considered for a speaking slot at one of our conferences, please apply below.

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Previous Speakers

View details of speakers at past ERI conferences via the links below.

ERI2022 ERI2019
Dale Pike
Virginia Tech, United States

Biography

Dale Pike is an accomplished academic technology leader with over 29 years of experience in instructional technology and online learning in higher education. His past roles include serving as the Director of the Instructional Assistance Center at Snow College in Utah, Associate Dean for Instructional and Information Technology at UNC Charlotte, and Director of Academic Technologies at Boise State. He currently serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Technology-enhanced Learning at Virginia Tech.

In his current role, Dale oversees all aspects of institutional support for technology-enhanced learning, including comprehensive support for online and blended programs. Services managed include instructional design and production, support for digital learning platforms (including Canvas and Zoom), and support for faculty digital fluency development. He also has responsibilities for improving the accessibility of learning content and environments and has a strong track record of advocating for, supporting, and delivering successful outcomes in this area.

His professional areas of interest include personalized learning, agile methodologies, and the study of creativity and innovation within organizations. Recently, generative artificial intelligence has dominated his time and attention, from leading workshops and faculty communities of practice to actively exploring the implications of this potentially transformative (and disruptive) technology.

Dale is also passionate about personal creative pursuits such as pottery, watercolors, and calligraphy. He is committed to making a positive impact in his community and is actively involved as a board member of the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership, a local nonprofit organization.

Keynote Presentation (2023) | Embracing the Digital Shift: Unleashing the Potential of Flexible Learning
Kālewa Correa
Smithsonian Institution, United States

Biography

Kālewa Correa is the Curator of Hawaii and the Pacific for the Smithsonian Institution's Asian Pacific American Center. He graduated from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Kamakakūʻokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, where he focused on Hawaiian traditional society and politics. He also holds advanced degrees in Information Science and Education Technology. As Curator of Hawaii and the Pacific, Correa's primary program is the Digital Storytelling Initiative called "Our Stories." This initiative aims to elevate the voices of Pacific Islanders on a national and international stage through mixed media formats such as film, podcasting, composition, and mixed reality.

Keynote Presentation (2023) | State or "State"?: The Innovations of the Hawaiian Kingdom
Tomoaki Ishigaki
Embassy of Japan in the United States of America, United States

Biography

Mr Ishigaki is the Minister of Congressional Affairs at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, assuming the post in July 2021. This is his third assignment in the US as he has previously served in the Embassy (1997-1999) and the Japanese Mission to the UN in New York (2010-2013).

Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994, he has covered a wide variety of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy including international trade, treaty negotiations at the United Nations, management of the Japan-US Alliance, humanitarian assistance and climate change talks.

Between 2018 and 2020, he served as the Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office where he was in charge of international media relations and public diplomacy. In his most recent position as Director of the Economic Policy Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, he oversaw Japan’s economic diplomacy which included attending G7 and G20 leaders’ meetings and addressing trade and investment issues at WTO and other forums.

He is a graduate of Amherst College and studied law at the University of Tokyo before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also lectured at the Department of Law at Keio University between 2007 and 2018. Additionally, he has taught International Relations at the University of Tokyo as well as International Environmental Law at the Graduate School of Law at Kyushu University.

Throughout his career, he has published a number of academic papers and contributed to books in the fields of international law, disarmament affairs, trade, and climate change policy.

Featured Interview (2023) | Learning Beyond Boundaries, Learning Beyond Borders
Michael Menchaca
University of Hawai’i at Manoa, United States

Biography

Michael Menchaca is Chair of the Department of Learning Design and Technology at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He specialises in distance education, and has designed, implemented, and coordinated online and hybrid programs for over 20 years. He served as editor for the IAFOR Journal of Education: Technologies and Education Special Edition. He was an IT specialist for many years in the public and private sector. He teaches and conducts research in the areas of online learning, technology integration, and social justice with technology.

Keynote Presentation (2023) | Existential Questions in Education: Research and Innovation