Institute Faculty

Ron Owston

Ron Owston

Research Associate, Ontario’s Contact North | Contact Nord

Ron Owston is a Research Associate specializing in AI in Higher Education at Ontario’s Contact North | Contact Nord. He is leading the development of innovative AI-based digital assistants to support teaching and learning, including AI Tutor Pro and AI Teaching Assistant Pro. A pioneer in educational technology research since the early days of the web, Dr. Owston is University Professor Emeritus, former Dean of Education, and founding Director of the Institute for Research on Learning Technologies at York University in Toronto. He has spoken and delivered webinars at numerous national and international conferences and authored over 100 commissioned studies and articles in top-tier journals. Dr. Owston ranks among the most cited blended learning researchers globally according to Google Scholar.


Areas of Expertise

  • AI applications
  • Blended learning design and implementation
  • Educational research methods
  • Program evaluation
  • Synchronous and asynchronous online teaching and learning