Faculty and Staff

Emily Kuzneski Johnson

Emily Kuzneski Johnson

Biography

Emily K. Johnson, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English (Technical Communication and Digital Humanities), graduate faculty in the Technical Communication MA program, and core faculty in the Texts and Technology Ph.D. program. She is co-author of Playful Pedagogy in the Pandemic: Pivoting to Games-Based Learning (with Anastasia Salter, Routledge 2022). Johnson is currently Principal Investigator of a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education investigating the efficacy of five of her co-designed video games (computer and virtual reality) for language learning. Her work has been published in Communication Design Quarterly, Technical Communication Quarterly, Computers and Composition, Computers and Education, and the Journal for Universal Computer Science.

Research Interests

  • digital humanities 
  • technical communication
  • UX, UCD, human-centered design
  • critical making
  • educational technology
  • learning games
  • playful/gameful learning
  • self-regulated learning
  • embodied cognition
  • VR, MR, AR, XR, etc.
  • computer assisted language learning 

Recent Research Activities

Selected Publications

Books

Articles/Essays

  • Johnson, Emily K. “Teaching Liberatory Design.” Communication Design Quarterly Special Issue on UX Pedagogy, vol. 12, no. 3, 2024, pp. 59-70. DOI: 10.1145/3658422.3658427.

  • Johnson, E.K. (2022). The Aural-Visual Rhetoric in Video Game Tutorials. Technical Communication Quarterly, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572252.2021.2021452

  • Johnson, Emily K., and Anastasia Salter. “Embracing Discord? The rhetorical consequences of gaming platforms as classrooms.” Computers and Composition 65 (2022): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2022.102729.

  • Johnson, E.K., Giroux, A.L., Merritt, D., Vitanova, G., Sousa, S. (2020). Assessing the Impact of Game Modalities in Second Language Acquisition: ELLE the EndLess LEarner. Journal of Universal Computer Science, 26(8), 880-903.

Book Sections/Chapters

Conference Papers/Presentations

  • Kong, Yingzi*, and Emily K. Johnson. “Work-in-Progress—Cozy Games for Learning: Vocabulary Practice with Anim-ELLE Crossing.” 10th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN), 2024, https://doi.org/10.56198/U6C0WIZ5O.

    *student co-author

  • Johnson, E.K. (2023). “It’s all the same words, but It’s not”: ChatGPT as TPC Assistant. Presented at 42nd ACM International Conference on Design of Communication (SIGDOC ’23) October 26, 2023.

  • Johnson, E.K. (2023). Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in a User-Centered Design Course. In Proceedings of the 41st ACM International Conference on Design of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1145/3615335.3623043
  • Johnson, E.K. and Vitanova, G. (2023). “You have to play your homework!”: An analysis of student reflections on an educational computer game” Presented at 42nd ACM International Conference on Design of Communication (SIGDOC ’23) October 26, 2023.

  • Johnson, E.K. (2021). Just @Me: Digitally-Mediated Team Communication in a Pandemic. In 39th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication (SIGDOC ’21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY: 315-318. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3472714.3473658

Awards

  • Research Incentive Award. University of Central Florida, 2024.
  • Honorable Mention: Chuck D. Dziuban Award for Excellence in Online Teaching, University of Central Florida, 2023. One winner and one honorable mention selected university-wide. 2023
  • Champion of Undergraduate Research: Rising Star Faculty Award, University of Central Florida, 2023. One of two honorees university-wide.
  • International Research and Studies Program, US Department of Education. Exploring Language Learning with Educational Computer and VR Games. $295,582. Role: PI.

Courses

No courses found for Spring 2026.

No courses found for Fall 2025.

No courses found for Summer 2025.

Course Number Course Title Mode Date and Time Syllabus
18983 ENC4265 Writing for Computer Industry Web-Based (W) 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Unavailable
Prerequisites: ENC 1102 with a 'C' (2.0) or higher.<br><br>This High-Impact Practice (HIP) Integrative-Learning Experience (IE), High Quality Online course is an introduction to designing and creating different types of genres online, with an emphasis on developing a professional digital portfolio. In addition to learning some of the specialized language of the software industry, students will study and compose tutorials, procedures, reference guides, and gain experience with AI tools. Students will practice designing clear, concise, task-oriented instructions in different genres and using various media—valuable skills for any career. Because this course builds upon and extends basic technical communication concepts, it is recommended (but not required) students take this course as a follow up to ENC 3241.
19214 ENG6819 Critical Making for Humanist Web-Based (W) 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Unavailable
No Description Available
Course Number Course Title Mode Date and Time Syllabus
92414 DIG3171 Tools for Digital Humanities Web-Based (W) 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Unavailable

Prerequisite: ENC 1101.

Applies as:

  • Required class for Digital Humanities minor. 

This High-Impact Practice (HIP) Research Intensive (RI) course examines the digital humanities through the lens of critical making. A “High Quality Online” designated course, Tools for the Digital Humanities provides an introduction to digital humanities discourse, intentional design, multimodal development, and digital tools. Topics of study include a wide range of creation and analytic tools for the digital humanities. Students will create a research project using critical making methods and tools that can presented in the Amy Zeh High-Impact Practice Student Showcase at the end of the semester for extra credit.
92522 ENC6225 User-centered Design for Tc Web-Based (W) 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Unavailable
This group project-based course is an introduction to user-centered design and emphasizes practical methods for approaching a design problem in technical communication. User-centered design is an approach to design and development that centers the needs and desires of users. The general goals of this course are to help students develop an appreciation for the theory and philosophy of user-centered design as it pertains to technical communication, develop skills in using and applying usability methods that are specifically applicable to user-centered design, and improve individual and collaborative skills in design-based problem solving. Course activities are collaborative, hands-on, and project-based, though the course schedule remains asynchronous (groups may choose to schedule “live” meetings at their discretion).
94053 ENG6947 Intrn in Texts & Technology In Person (P) 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Unavailable
No Description Available

No courses found for Summer 2024.

Course Number Course Title Mode Date and Time Syllabus
20399 ENG5009 Methods Bibleo & Research Web-Based (W) 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Unavailable

Online, WWW 

The goal of this fully online (W) course is to learn about research problems and strategies relative to the larger fields of English and the digital humanities. Assignments provide students with practical experience in collecting research materials, weighing evidence, reaching conclusions, and constructing scholarly arguments. This section of the course is encouraged for students in the technical communication MA track but includes readings and assignments as the traditional LCT/TC combined section (and satisfies the same requirement). The course has a significant workload and will be challenging.  
19425 ENG6813 Interdisciplinary Teaching Web-Based (W) 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Unavailable
No Description Available
Course Number Course Title Mode Date and Time Syllabus
81833 DIG3171 Tools for Digital Humanities Web-Based (W) 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Unavailable

This high-impact practice (HIP) Research Intensive (RI) course examines the digital humanities through the lens of critical making. The course provides an introduction to digital humanities discourse, intentional design, multimodal development, and digital tools. Topics of study include a wide range of creation and analytic tools for the digital humanities. Students will conduct a research project using critical making methods and tools that can presented in the Student Scholar Symposium the following Spring.
92630 ENC6225 User-centered Design for Tc Web-Based (W) 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Unavailable
This group project-based course is an introduction to user-centered design and emphasizes practical methods for approaching a design problem in technical communication. User-centered design is an approach to design and development that centers the needs and desires of users. The general goals of this course are to help students develop an appreciation for the theory and philosophy of user-centered design as it pertains to technical communication, develop skills in using and applying usability methods that are specifically applicable to user-centered design, and improve individual and collaborative skills in design-based problem solving. Course activities are collaborative, hands-on, and project-based.

No courses found for Summer 2023.

Updated: Nov 7, 2024