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I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Technology. Prior to moving into higher education, I served in various capacities of K-12 education, initially as a music educator and for primarily as a STEAM and technology educator focusing on arts and technology integration. 

Throughout my career I have had the pleasure of researching convergence education, and emerging technology to develop new ways of supporting educators and their students through effective professional development based on integrating 21st century learning methods and technology. I have trained at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center as an educator in Space Academy, and earned the Commander’s Cup Award for teamwork and leadership (2018), and the New Jersey Governor’s Educator of the Year Award (2020) for my school. 

I have also had the opportunity to work globally with students and educators in Asia and South America, and am passionate about inspiring educators of all disciplines to embrace technology and 21st century learning, as they learn to blend these techniques into their practice. 

I am a firm believer that regardless of your professional domain, learning and happens in all spaces, and understanding how to leverage modern tools and techniques supports effective development of the next wave of people coming through the organization. 

Recent Publications

Mason, D. (2025). Professional development pathways that support inclusion and innovation: A STEAM education approach to educator training. An, H., & Sung, W (Eds.), Designing Online Continuing Professional Development for STEM Teacher Education: Models, Strategies, and Practices. Routledge. (Pending Publication – September 2025). 

Shamburg, C., Zieger, L. Mason, D., & Amerman, T. (2025). Teachers and Chat-GPT: The first wave on TikTok. Teaching and Teacher Education. 

Smerda-Mason, D. (2024). Virtual communities to support STEAM educators. In D. Smerda-Mason & D.J. Koch (Eds), Utilizing Virtual Communities in Professional Practice. IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3693-1111-0.

Mason, C. J., & Smerda-Mason, D. (2024). And the media plays on: How an archive company leveraged community during a time of shutdown. In D. Smerda-Mason & D.J. Koch (Eds), Utilizing Virtual Communities in Professional Practice. IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3693-1111-0. 

Smerda-Mason, D. (2023). Integration of STEAM Education Supports the Future of Cybersecurity. In R. Jimenez and V O’Neill (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Current Trends in Cybersecurity and Educational Technology. IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-6092-4

Smerda-Mason, D. (2022). Professional development concerns and solutions in STEAM education. [Doctoral dissertation, СŷÊÓƵ]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Smerda-Mason, D.(2021). STEM Becomes STEAM: Educational Innovation in the 21st Century. In I. Jafar, and J. M. Pederson (Eds.), Emerging Realities and the Future of Technology in the Classroom. IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6480