Michael John Scialdone

I am a doctoral candidate in Information Science and Technology at Syracuse University. I earned my B.A. in Communication Arts from Utica College in 1999, and my M.S. in Information Design and Technology from State University of New York Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) in 2006.

Research Interests

My dissertation research is focused on how Web 2.0 technologies might maximize student engagement and creativity in distance learning. With my advisor, Dr. Ping Zhang, I am also currently investigating motivations for social information communication technologies (ICTs) adoption and use, and conceptualizations of the ICT artifact in the Information Systems discipline. I have also researched various virtual communities, namely MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) and FLOSS (Free/Libre Open Source Software) development groups. Additionally, I have contributed research for Globaloria, an education initative utilizing web-game design, facilitated through Web 2.0 tools.

Teaching Interests

Professional Interests

I am a member of the Association for Information Systems (AIS) and belong to their special interest group on human-computer interaction (SIGHCI). I am also the managing editor of Transaction on Human-Computer Interaction (THCI).

Personal Interests

I am a compuslive doodler, and in the past channled this into the quasi-productive endeavor of publishing comic strips on the web. While I am not currently posting comics as I used to, I hope to create a new website in the future as a gallery for my past work. Photography is another one of my passions.