Formerly an environmental scientist, Alisa began her career as a high school educator in 2009, with teachables in science (biology), geography, and mathematics. Her teaching experiences sparked a number of questions about her practice and the education system in general, which led to her graduate work at OISE and her research with the Encore Lab. As part of her M.A. and Ph.D programs, she conducted design-based research on computer-supported collaborative learning in secondary science, including the design of learning analytics, software agents, immersive simulations, tangible media, and “smart classroom” architectures to support collaborative learning in face-to-face contexts.
Currently, Alisa is the Director of Education for the Blockchain Research Institute. The Blockchain Research Institute is conducting the definitive research on the impact of blockchain technology on business, government and society. A major part of her role is to mobilize this research through educational programming and enterprise-level learning experiences.