Dr. Ehsan Akbari

Research Interests

My research is anchored in the question of how technology can be used in classrooms to enrich teaching, learning, human interactions and environmental awareness. I believe strongly that the creative and thoughtful integration of digital, online, and mobile technologies can positively impact learning provided that educators understand that these tools serve people and not the other way around. I have developed various creative and arts-based approaches to the integration of technology including collective online sensory mapping, smartphone photography, and soundscape composition. My research has convinced me of the immense value of creative uses of technology for connecting learners to their surroundings, and sharing one’s unique perspectives and identities amongst peers. I embolden educators to think about ways of using tools to enrich human connections to places and to others.

Academic Qualifications

Ph.D. in Art Education, Concordia University. Montreal, Quebec. November 2020. Dissertation Title: “Collective and Spatial Learning through Mobile Sensory Photography and Creative Cartography.” 

Masters of Art Education, Concordia University. Montreal, Quebec. August 2014. Thesis Title: “Soundscape Compositions for Art Classrooms.” 

Bachelor in Fine Arts (Honours). York University. Toronto, Ontario. June 2005.

Selected Publications

Akbari, E. (2020). Soundwalks for youth in arts education settings. Canadian Journal of Art Education. 17(1), 4–13.

Akbari, E. (2019). Spatiality of engagement. In J. C. Castro (Ed.), Mobile media in and outside of the art classroom (pp. 103–126). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan

Akbari, E. (2019). Smartphones connect art students to sights and sounds of Montreal. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/smartphones-connect-art-students-to-sights-and-sounds-of-montreal-108819 

Akbari, E., Castro J. C., Lalonde, M., Moreno, L., Pariser, D. (2016). This allowed us to see what others were thinking: Curriculum for collective learning in art. Journal of Art Education, 69(5), 20–22.

Akbari, E. (2016). Rumi: A cosmopolitan counter-narrative to Islamophobia. Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, 33, 48–67.

Akbari, E. (2016). Soundscape compositions for art classrooms. Journal of Art Education. 69(4), 17–22.