SUMMARY

Dr. Akesha Horton is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Luddy School at Indiana University. She earned her doctorate degree in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy from Michigan State University’s College of Education, a Masters in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University’s School of Education and a Masters in Library Science from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computer Science and Engineering in Indianapolis. She also holds a bachelors degree in Mathematics from IU Northwest. Dr. Horton is an alumni of the Fulbright-mtvU Scholar program. In this role, she worked with Australian based hip-hop artists to develop and implement educational programs that served underrepresented youth. While in Australia, she became a Google Certified educator and helped launch the first completely online program in Indigenous Education at Macquarie University. These experiences have helped her become an expert at inclusive teaching practices and creating equitable learning spaces.

Dr. Horton has been an active agent in a plethora of experiences in the educational arena, including in-school and out-of-school urban settings, higher education, instructional design, e-learning, and curriculum development for K-12, university, non-profit and small business settings. She has served on the board of national educational organizations in the United States, as well as a volunteer in the non-profit sector.  These collective experiences led to her research interests which explores the intersections between learning, technology, and culture for youth and young adults.