Research

Dr. Matthew Schmidt (2nd to the left) and I (2nd to the right) receive the 2022 AECT Crystal Award in Las Vegas, NV.

Over the course of my graduate experiences, my research endeavors primarily highlight three academic passions: (1) designing and implementing AI-driven learning technologies to enhance learning and teaching, (2) measuring learning experience through a multidimensional lens, and (3) working with pre-service teachers on technology adoption with a focus on AI in education. Methodologically speaking, my work often applies design-based research and mixed-methods approaches.

I have been involved in multiple design projects funded by both national and local agencies. Funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), I co-developed an award-winning psychoeducation intervention, Diabetes Journey, for youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Funded by the University of Florida Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment (CAN), I helped create a virtual reality technology that is sensitive to autistic people’s preferences and needs. 

I also collaborate with many colleagues in the field of Learning, Design and Technology on different research projects, including:

  • Examining pre-service teachers’ perceptions and integration of AI applications;
  • Assessing pre-service teachers’ AI literacy using the KSA and TAM models;
  • Cultivating academia-industry research partnership through iterative formative evaluations for an exam prep company;
  • Using NLP models for data analysis;
  • Exploring roles and competencies of center directors at the Centers of Teaching Excellence (CTE) in American universities;
  • and more.

Scholarship

  1. Schmidt, M., Lu, J., Huang, R., Lee, M., Francois, M., & Wang, X. (2024). Human-centered Computing: Participatory and Inclusive Learning Design on a Virtual Reality Space with Autistic People. Educational Technology & Society, 27(4), 283-301.https://www.jstor.org/stable/48791556
  2. Schmidt, M., Newbutt, N., Lee, M., Lu, J., Francois, M. S., Antonenko, P. D., & Glaser, N. (2023). Towards A Strengths-based Model for Designing Virtual Reality Experiences for Autistic Users. Autism, https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231208579
  3. Schmidt, M., Lu, J., Luo, W., Cheng, L., Lee, M., Huang, R., … & Modi, A. (2022). Learning experience design of an mHealth self-management intervention for adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Educational technology research and development, 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-022-10160-6
  4. Lu, J., Schmidt, M., Lee, M., & Huang, R. (2022). Usability research in educational technology: a state-of-the-art systematic review. Educational technology research and development, 1-42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-022-10152-6
  1. Zhang, Z., Lu, J., Pei, B. & Huang, Y. (Accepted). Advancing Engineering and Computing Education through the Lens of Learning Analytics.
  2. Lu, J., Schmidt, M., & Shin, J. (Under review). Beyond Technological Usability: Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Comprehensive Assessment of Usability for Learning Technologies (CAUSLT) Scale.
  3. Lu, J., Hampton, J., Huang. R. & Pei, B. (Under review). K-12 Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of Generative AI tools: A Thematic Survey Analysis.
  4. Pei, B., Jing, X. & Lu, J. Empowering Pre-service Teachers’ AI Literacy: Current Understanding, Influential Factors, and Strategies for Improvement.
  1. Du, H., Xing, W., Pei, B., Zeng, Y., Lu, J., & Zhang, Y. (2022, April). A Descriptive and Historical Review of STEM+ C Research: A Bibliometric Study. In International Conference on Computer Supported Education (pp. 1-25). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40501-3_1 
  2. Du, H., Xing, W., Pei, B., Zeng, Y., Lu, J., & Zhang, Y. (2022). Trends and Issues in STEM+ C Research: A Bibliometric Perspective. In CSEDU (1) (pp. 69-80). https://doi.org/10.5220/0010998800003182
  1. Lu, J. & Schmidt, M. (2024). Exploring the Needs and Preferences of Autistic Users in Extended Reality: A Participatory and Human-Centered Approach. In: Bourguet, ML., Krüger, J.M., Pedrosa, D., Dengel, A., Peña-Rios, A., Richter, J. (Eds) Immersive Learning Research Network. iLRN 2023. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1904. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47328-9_10
  1. Lu, J. (2024, January). Navigating the Teaching Landscape: Strategies for Success. [Keynote]. Presented at the Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence, Stillwater, OK.
  2. Lazarevic, B., & Lu, J., (2023, December). AI Landscape: Application in Instruction and Research. [Keynote]. Education in the Age of AI conference (Срб. Образовање у доба вештачке интелигенције), Udruženje Biblioteka plus & Centar za razvoj projektnog učenja, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia.
  3. Lu, J. (2023, March). Designing for Learner Success: A Review of Usability Studies in Learning Experience Design and Technology. Presented at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (online)
  4.  

Awards

Jie Lu & Matthew Schmidt

Awarded by Association for Educational Communications Technology (AECT) Research & Theory Division, in recognition of the proposal “Challenging the Status Quo of Usability Research: Examining the Constructs and Psychometric Properties in Existing Instruments”. 

Jie Lu & Matthew Schmidt

Awarded by the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN) in the 2023 international conference, in recognition of the original research short paper “Exploring the Needs and Preferences of Autistic Users in Extended Reality: A Participatory and Human-Centered Approach“.

1st Place: Matthew Schmidt, Jie Lu; Kimberly Driscoll, Wenjing Luo, Avani Modi.

Awarded by the Division of Distance Learning (DDL) in the 2022 AECT International Convention, in recognition of Diabetes Journey.

$1500 per semester

Awarded by the University of Florida’s College of Education from 2019 to 2021. 

  • 2023 AERA Annual Meeting Graduate Student Assistance Fund
  • UF Office of Research Award