Jim Slotta

Jim Slotta serves as Professor and President's Chair in Knowledge Technologies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, where he has revolutionized approaches to technology-enhanced learning since 2005. His research combines physics and cognitive psychology backgrounds to develop the Knowledge Community and Inquiry model, transforming classrooms into collaborative learning environments. As Canada Research Chair in Education and Technology (2006-2011), he has secured over $30 million in research funding across more than 30 projects and supervised 20 doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. His work focuses on investigating new models of collaborative and collective inquiry in K-12 science, developing smart classrooms and distributed learning environments that feature user-contributed content and emergent forms of knowledge. He is currently developing SCORE - a SCripting and ORchestration Environment for collective inquiry designs, while also exploring a new generation of networked technologies to support future learning spaces through social, tangible and embodied interactions. His advocacy for open-source materials in learning sciences and development of innovative educational platforms has significantly influenced how technology is integrated into modern classroom environments. From 2003-2008, he co-directed the NSF-funded Center for Technology-Enhanced Learning, further cementing his position as a leading figure in educational technology innovation.