Prior to coming to Texas Tech, he taught as Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and Arizona State University. He received a Ph.D. in Learning and Instructional Technology from Arizona State University in 1995. While in Arizona he worked as an instructional designer for Intel Corporation and the Maricopa Community College District Office. His current teaching, research, and consulting activities are in the areas of instructional design, educational psychology, computers in education, and distance learning.