Northern Illinois University
Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment
College of Education

U.S. Key Personnel

Project Director

Wei-Chen Hung, Ph.D., chair and professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment at Northern Illinois University, is the program director and provides overall project management and coordination of development and research activities. He is responsible for overseeing development and evaluation of instructional modules, research design, implementation of research, data analyses, preparation of instructional materials, and collaboration in the preparation and dissemination of project products and publications.

Project Co-director

Vicki L. Collins, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment at Northern Illinois University, teaches assessment courses to students majoring or seeking an endorsement in Special Education, and serves as program coordinator for the Master of Science in Educational Research, Evaluation, and Assessment program. She conducts research on ways to improve the quality of course offerings in higher education—with previous research focused on identifying essential assessment content for general and special education teachers, and current research focused on learning in flipped classrooms.

Fulbright Faculty Fellows

Laura Ruth Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment at Northern Illinois University, teaches courses in qualitative research methods, including courses in ethnographic research, interview methods and community-based/participatory action research. Her research focuses on civic engagement and community involvement among Latinx and African American youth, with an emphasis on pregnant and parenting youth, as well as on community-based qualitative research methods.

Thomas Smith, Ph.D., Presidential Teaching Professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment at Northern Illinois University, research and teaching expertise includes quantitative research methods and large-scale data analyses. His published work includes the introduction of novel statistical methods for analyzing categorical data and for carrying out cluster analysis, as well as applied cross-national comparative social science research involving large-scale data such as the Trends in International Math and Science Survey (TIMSS), University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI) and Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). He has served as co-principal investigator on a 2008 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to develop a computerized cognitive tutor for teaching research methods. He has extensive collaborative experience with researchers at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) and Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) in Taiwan, and served as visiting research professor at NSYSU in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 2020.

Isti Sanga, Ph.D., is the executive director for educational technology in Kershaw County School District (KCSD) South Carolina where he is responsible for designing and maintaining a modern learning environment to support modern curriculum. Prior to that position in 2018, he taught at Northern Illinois University's (NIU) Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment. In addition to teaching while at NIU, Sanga provided professional development to local school districts' teachers and administrators in integrating technology into education. In addition, Sanga served on the team that contracted with the Saudi Arabia Royal Commission of Jubail, Colleges and Institutes Sector (JCIS) to train faculty from three universities on online teaching and development. Before joining NIU in 2003, Sanga also taught at the University of South Carolina's (USC) Department of Educational Leadership and Policies. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at USC, Sanga was the director of the Teacher Opportunities Programmes (TOPS). TOPS was a USAID grant to the University of South Carolina and University of the Western Cape, in South Africa to train Post-Apartheid South African school principals.

Lifang Tsou has a B.A. degree in Drama from Chinese Culture University in Taiwan and an M.A. in Communication Arts from New York Institute of Technology. She has been a Mandarin Teacher at Glenbard West High School, Glen Ellyn, Illinois since 2010. She teaches Chinese level 1 to AP Chinese level based on national language standards.

Ms. Tsou has 25 years of teaching experience in Chinese Language and Performing Arts. She studied at the Fu-Hsing Dramatic Academy and majored in Chinese Opera at the Chinese Culture University of Drama, in Taipei, Taiwan. She performed with the Fu-Shing Opera Troupe throughout the United States, Australia, and Asia. She began choreographing in 1991 at community colleges in New Jersey. She provided instruction in Chinese language at several locations in New Jersey. She assisted the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and the Chinese American Culture Association with folk dance and drama workshops in 1995 and 1996. From 1993 through 1997, she choreographed for the Chinese Festival at the Garden State Arts. In 1997 she received her Master of Communication Arts degree from the New York Institute of Technology. Since 2004, she has taught Mandarin Chinese and dance in Illinois. Her recent projects include: Stage manager - State funded Chinese opera performance, Chicago, 2008; Art director of Chinese Arts Association in Chicago; Cultural activities coordinator at the Confucius Institute in Chicago; teaching summer Chinese language and culture camps at Carol Stream and Glen Ellyn.