She earned her Ph.D. in Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies from Florida State University in 2012. Her research has been recognized with two international awards sponsored by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). Dr. Novak is a managing editor of Technology, Instruction, Cognition, and Learning (TICL), a Past Chair of the TICL Special Interest Group at the American Educational Research Association, and a consulting editor of Educational Technology Research & Development.