Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Virtual Learning Environments

Michael Thomas, BA (Hons), M.Ed., MBA, Ph.D., FHEA, is Senior Lecturer in Language Learning Technologies at the University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom. He has taught at universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. His research interests are in task-based learning, digital technologies in education, and online and distance learning. He is lead editor of three book series, Digital Education and Learning (with J. P. Gee and J. Palfrey), Advances in Digital Language Learning and Teaching (with M. Peterson and M. Warschauer), and Advances in Virtual and Personal Learning Environments. He has published over ten books including Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning (2009), Interactive Whiteboards for Education: Theory, Research and Practice (2010), Task-Based Language Learning & Teaching with Technology (with H. Reinders) (2010), Digital Education: Opportunities for Social Collaboration (2011), Deconstructing Digital Natives: Young People, Technology and the New Literacies (2011), and Online Learning: Volumes I-IV (2011). He has completed funded research projects and consultancies on digital gaming, open educational resources, mobile learning and blended learning. Dr. Thomas is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. [Editor]