Jacques du Plessis
School of Information Studies
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Tel 414.229.2856
Email: jacques@uwm.edu

Experience

• Faculty (Assistant Professor -- School of Information Studies), UWM, 2002--present
• Instructional Designer, and Marketing Specialist, 3GB-Group--USU, 2001-2002  
• Faculty of BYU (Dept. of Germanic and Slavic Languages), 1985-2001
• Designer and developer of Computer-Assisted Instructional Software, 1986-present.
• Researcher at the Center for Online Education (COLE), USU, 2000-2001
• Localization Engineer for Corel Inc., 1997-1998.
• Manager of Quality Assurance, COMPanion Corp. (Library Software) On contract, 1996.
• Director of Sales and Marketing for FactorWare Inc. (Library Software), 1995.
• Desktop Publishing Consultant for Omnitrak, a Software Training Company, 1994.
• Linguist for WordPerfect (Orem and Albuquerque), 1992-1994.
• International Product Engineer, WordPerfect, 1990-1992.
• Professional Translator for Berlitz International, 1986-1997.
• Editor for the Collins English-Afrikaans Dictionary Project, 1988-1989.
• English Instructor with Lingua in Mulhouse, France, 1987-1988 (summers).
  

Education

• BA in Linguistics with an Emphasis in Computers and Language, minor in French, BYU 1989.
• MA in Linguistics, Emphasis on Computers and Language, BYU 1992.
• PhD in Instructional Technology, USU (2002).
  

Language Skills

• Fluent in English, Afrikaans, French, and Dutch.
• Working experience with German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
• Limited working experience with Finnish, Swedish, and Italian.
  

Computer Skills

• Proficiency with Mac and PC operating systems and software, Web development, online instruction, information management systems, client-server databases, graphic design and desktop publishing. Familiar with several CMS environments like WebCT, Proteus, and Syllabase. Experienced with HTML, XML, web rendering techniques, distance education, and multimedia (vector, bitmap, digital video and audio). Recent experience with Final Cut Pro.
  

Other Activities

• My current research centers on the AIDS pandemic. I am specifically invesitgating the cultural mediation of information and how that has to be adjusted to maximally restrict the HIV infection rate.
• Presently I am developing a web-based database system for reusable knowledge objects. I am on the development team of 3GB. We are developing an Information Management Framework.
• I am a designer at heart. My experience includes software design for many subjects including Geography, Psychology, and several foreign languages. I have many years of experience in human-computer interface design, and product design. The products include futuristic designs for a computer keyboard, automotive features, an answering machine, and with my wife do architectural designs. I also write poetry and design educational games.

Scholarly Activities, Publications and Presentations

• Guest Editor
  International Review section of Educational Technology Research and Development, 2001 Vol 49 no 3 p106-125.
  
  
• Presentations
  Du Plessis, Jacques. (June, 2001) Online Education at USU--What Works and Why? A Survey of Successes in Online Education at Utah State. Presented at the South African Online Users Group (SAOUG) Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.
  
  Eastmond, N., Nickel, T., du Plessis, J., & Smith, L. (February, 2000) An Incremental Approach to Implementing a Web Course: The High Points and Pitfalls in North America and South Africa. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Long Beach, California.
  
  Recker, M. and the Advanced Learning Group (2000). Communities of Practice: A Thinking Practices Framework for Instructional Technology. Presented at the April, 2000 AERA conference.
  
  Du Plessis, Jacques. (1989). Innovative Approaches to Textbook Designs. Paper presented at the joint conference of the Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing (ALLC) and the International Conference on Computers and the Humanities (ICCH), in Toronto, Canada.(1989).
  
  
• Publications (Incomplete)
  
  Koohang, A., & du Plessis, J. (2004). Architecting Usability Properties in the E-Learning Instructional Design Process. International Journal on E-Learning 3(3), 38-44. [Online]. Available: http://dl.aace.org/16297
  
  Anderson, Elizabeth; du Plessis, Jacques & Nickel, Tom (2001). Distance Ed--The Experience between Border Technikon (Eastern Cape, South Africa) and USU (Utah, USA). Bloomington, IN: Educational Technology Research and Development, (Vol 49 no 3 p118-123).
  
  Eastmond, J. Nicholls; Nickel, Tom; du Plessis, Jacques C.; & Smith, Linda (2000) An Incremental Approach to Implementing a Web Course: The High Points and Pitfalls in North America and South Africa. Mankato, MN: TechTrends, (Vol 44 no 3 p40-5).
  
  Du Plessis, Jacques (1986-2001). FLEXiTUTOR (Language Learning Software). Subjects covered with FLEXiTUTOR: French, Spanish, German, Afrikaans, Latin, and English.
  
  Du Plessis, Jacques (1992). Computer-assisted Vocabulary Learning: A Comparison of Paired-associated Computer Drills and Idiosyncratic Learning. MA Thesis. BYU, Utah.
  
  Jarvis, Scott & Du Plessis, Jacques (1990). Language Methodology and Text Design: What Finnish Has Taught Us.  Selected Papers from the Proceedings of the Annual Symposium of the Deseret Language and Linguistic Society, 16, 173-182 (1990).
  
  Jarvis, Scott & Du Plessis, Jacques (1989). The Plug-in System--Finnish (Summer 1989). Provo, UT.
  
  Du Plessis, Jacques & Schultheis, Lore (1989). The Plug-in System--German. Provo, UT.
  
  Du Plessis, Jacques (1988). The Plug-in System--Afrikaans. Provo, UT.
  
  Du Plessis, Jacques (1988). The Afrikaner and Sanctions. Provo, UT: Journal of International Studies.
  
  Du Plessis, Jacques (1986).The English Speaker's ABC to Afrikaans. Provo, UT.
  

Academic Interests

AIDS: Information and Culture: The Challenge of Perception. I returned from South Africa in Feb 2004. My research took me to the West Coast in the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, the Limpopo Province, and I interviewed people from Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and elsewhere in South Africa. My focus will be on methods to overcome cultural behaviors that enhance the rish of HIV infection.

Foreign Language Instruction: I have been active in desiging foreign-language instruction since the mid 80s. My creative works include textbooks for several languages, multimedia products, and computer-assisted instruction. Presently I am designing online development environments.

Instructional Games: How can the first principles of games and instruction be met during the same event?
    I have recently been exposed to both environments.
    My first game, GEOMUNDI, is presently commercially available in South Africa. I did this game from concept to completion. (Click on the link in the previous sentence to see the box design.)
    The second game, Mundus Invictus, is ready to enter the alpha stage of development and can be either a board game or a computer game. Most of my game designs have instructional merit. It was during the research on the First Principles of Instruction with Prof. M. David Merrill of Utah State University, that I took an interest to search for the first principles of gaming, and instruction. The result will be a model by which to evaluate instructional games for the game aspect, as well as the instructional component is grounded.

The Fundamental Domains of Education: Research about the Essential Constructs of the Field of Education.
    My dissertation is centered around this topic. I have developed a triadic model of education, called the TRIMODE. The domains are fundamentals, instructions, and teachings. Furthermore am I developing a set of fundamental principles of education. This model of fundamental principles, called the P-1 Model, is then imposed on the TRIMODE to research how these first principles are expressed in each of the domains of education.

Human Computer Interface: The Challenge of Perception.
    My experience in designing software goes back to 1986. This field is an ideal blend of engineering skill and artistic talent.

Distance Education: How do we integrate the Internet?
    The Department of Instructional Technology at Utah State is known for innovation and commitment to distance education. It is fairly easy to master the tools available on the Internet, but the challenge is how to save money and to retain commitment from students. My focus is on adult education and in particular on fostering social strategies and pursuing the principles that support self-driven instruction. I was a researcher for COLE, the Center for Online Education, at USU and co-webmaster for cole.usu.edu for the 2000-2001 academic year.

lll-defined Knowledge Domains: How do you design instruction appropriate for this environment?
    This research with my colleague, Jeeheon Ryu, proposes a communication model to negotiate ill-defined knowledge domains. We assume an environment with self-directed learners. This research addresses the relevant differences between the following concepts: simplistic and complex, well-structured or ill-structured, well-defined and ill-defined. We am also considering the research of W.G. Perry (look further down at the topic Dualism and relativism) and the research by Margaret Martinez et al. on learner styles, viz. resistant, conforming, performing, and transforming.

Foreign Language Teaching and Learning: A multi-event modular model
    I have taught foreign languages at the university level for 15 years. I have written several papers on this topic, and I still feel I have not said my piece. My latest development involves the replacement of traditional textbooks with a web-based delivery system, using Syllabase as the CMS.

Reusable Knowledge Objects: The role of meaning in the design of reusable knowledge objects.
    This research is futuristic and I base my current metaphoric model on the structure of language.

Instruction and Curriculum in the Third World: A long term approach
    There are many places computers will not reach anytime soon. Yet, it can still benefit the technological 'have-nots'. This research investigates options to offer some of the affordances of the Internet to the 'have-nots'. I specifically focus on Africa, where my roots are.

Fundamental Math: The Counting Method
    This quantitative research project is through the design phase and is ready to be implemented. Presently I am preparing instructional modules, using FLEXiTUTOR. If you are interested in this paper, please click on the following link: online copy .

Music: Establishing the Fundamental Skills of Sight Reading for Keyboard Instruments: A new perspective of musical notation and audiation.
    This quantitative research project is through the design phase and is ready to be implemented. If you are interested in this paper, please click on the following link: online copy .

Communities of Practice and Learning: A model for learning and research.
    This research with the Advanced Learning Research Group at Utah State University has lead to two presentations. This research has shaped my thinking in new ways. In particular I am interested in researching the cultural, social, and political aspects of community formation and maintenance, and how to serve the needs of knowledge expansion in an academic setting.

Relativism and Dualism: Can the progression from dualism to commitment in relativism be accelerated?
    This research by W.G. Perry in the late '60 at several Ivy-league colleges has revealed the progression of thinking patterns in cultures, depending on the amount of schooling available to the public at large. In his book Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston., Perry identified the following stages of intellectual progression: dualism, multiplicity, relativism, and commitment in relativism. This research is of interest to those in education, anthropology, as well as in international relations.

Hobbies and Personal Interests

• Social Activism
• Energy Efficient Construction (solar cooking, tankless water heaters, straw bale construction, techniques to increase thermal mass, etc.)
• Foreign Languages, Writing Systems, Cultural Tradtions
• World Geography and Geopolitics
• Badminton, Squash, and Volleyball
• Genealogy

Last Updated: Feb, 2004