Faculty & Staff Profiles

Dr. Jones received an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Furman University. After graduation, he taught English as a Second Language for two years at the prestigious Srithammarat Suksa School in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, a small town on the Malay Peninsula. He returned to the United States and taught 7th grade language arts and high school social studies before moving to Washington, D.C. to work at Gannett Publishing Services. Dr. Jones received his master's and doctoral degrees in Instructional Design and Technology from the University of Georgia in Athens, Geogia. He spent five years on faculty at Northern Illinois University and three years at the University of Memphis where he earned tenure and promotion to Associate Professor. In 2001, he returned home to South Carolina to develop a Master's program in Learning Design and Technology at Winthrop University. He was named the inaugural Bank of America Professor of Education at Winthrop University in 2006. In 2009, he became the Director of Graduate Studies for the Richard W. Riley College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences at Winthrop University. In 2019, Dr. Jones returned to full-time faculty to be the program director for the new M.Ed. in Learning Design and Technology. Dr. Jones is a noted expert in the use of technology to advance learning. He has been an invited speaker in the United States and at international meetings in places including Ireland, the Philippines, Ukraine, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. Dr. Jones has published more than sixty papers and book chapters in various professional journals and books and has made over a hundred presentations at national and international meetings. He has worked as an educational consultant and grant evaluator for school districts and universities in South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Illinois. He has designed and developed training for multinational companies such as Hewlett Packard, IBM, Apple Computer, Sears, and Motorola. Dr. Jones' research interests include the diffusion and adoption of innovations, emerging technologies and their impact on learning, internet-based learning, social networking, and instructional strategies for face-to-face and online classes. His most recent work has focused on international issues, equity and access to learning technologies, and open educational resources. Dr. Jones is an International Advisor to the GEIST Foundation, an international collaborative of educators dedicated to educational improvement, transformation, and sustainability (http://geistfoundation.org/). Dr. Jones is an exercise enthusiast who enjoys hiking and running. Other hobbies include reading, writing, playing guitar, writing bad music, photography and travel. Dr. Jones is married to Mary O'Grady-Jones, a STEAM teacher in Fort Mill, SC.