Biography

Curriculum Vitae

Jim Ellsworth is Visiting Professor in the Organization, Information, and Learning Sciences (OILS) program and is the OILS Point of Contact for anyone currently pursuing or aspiring to pursue a related career in the public service. He retired at the one-star/Senior Executive level after a three-decade career in the U.S. military and intelligence communities, and has been a leading scholar and practitioner in educational change & innovation and online & blended learning for more than four decades. He is the author of the strategic vision for the U.S. Army Learning Ecosystem, and a pioneer, for fifteen years, of the learning ecosystem concept that seeks to break down the artificial barriers between the worlds of learning, human resources, and organizational leadership.

Across his career, he has led writing of the GS-17xx series (Education, Training & Instructional Systems) Master Career Development Plan for the U.S. Federal CP 35 (Intelligence) workforce, created the program evaluation system for Army Intelligence training, led the Tiger Team incorporating the early (1990s) Web into the Army Intelligence schoolhouse, designed & directed one of the first faculty-led, cohort-based collaborative online masters-level programs (at the turn of the century), at the U.S. Naval War College, worked with the Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) on its whole-of-government National Security Professional system design, developed the initial strategy for performance-based credentialing of U.S. intelligence professionals, advised the Army's General Officer leadership in crafting & rolling out its Learning Model & Strategy, and served as a Senior Executive consultant to the Director & Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Center for Leadership Development, on strategic vision & curriculum architecture for Federal Human Resources Institute (FHRI).

Dr. Ellsworth has been a scholarly leader in his discipline for more than thirty years, helping to found the Systems Thinking and Change Division in the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)--serving as its President from 2001-2002--and serving as President of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Armed Forces Chapter during the same period. He's held appointments as Full Professor in his discipline, across a decade and a half, at two accredited graduate-degree-granting institutions, served two terms on the AECT Board of Directors & a decade as an officer of the Joint Staff's Military Education Coordination Council Working Group subcommittee on Distance Education, and is a Trustee Emeritus of the Educational Communications & Technology Foundation. He has been a member of the Defense Intelligence Training & Education Board, and is a Lifetime Fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces & Society.

“Our goal is to surround [professionals, throughout their careers] with a rich ‘learning ecosystem’ that brings curriculum, expert practitioner/facilitators & other learners together for the interactions’ [that] research shows are essential for human learning—whether face-to-face in a classroom, online in a synchronous or asynchronous discussion forum, or on mobile devices” (Ellsworth, J.B. 2016. The Army Learning Model).

Selected Publications

Books, Monographs, and Chapters:

Ellsworth, J.B. (2021). Evolving a Mature G2 Learning Ecosystem: Setting a Vision of Resilience and Excellence. Fort Eustis, VA: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.

Ellsworth, J.B., Iorizzo, L.J., and Remily, H.A. (2020). “Leader Development, Training, and Education Overview.” In: G-2 U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Post-COVID-19 Analysis of the 2020-2028 Operational Environment (pp. 84-96). Fort Eustis, VA: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2019). Participant Guide: Staffing Specialist Practicum. Washington, DC: Federal Human Resources Institute.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2018). “A Survey of Educational Change Models.” In: R.E. West (Ed.), Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology. Provo, UT: EdTech Books.

Moore, S.L., Ellsworth, J.B., and Watson, G.S. (2017). FHRI Curriculum Development CONOPS. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2015). Entries on Change Agency and Adopter Categories. In: J.M. Spector (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. New York, NY: Sage.

Moore, S.L. and Ellsworth, J.B. (2013) Ethics of Educational Technology. In: J.M. Spector et al. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology (pp. 113-127). New York: Springer.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2006). SysAdmin: Toward Barnett’s Stabilization and Reconstruction Force. Arlington, VA: Association of the United States Army.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2002). A Survey of Educational Change Models. In M. A. Fitzgerald, M. Orey, and R. M. Branch (Eds.), Educational Media and Technology Yearbook: Vol. 27 (pp. 84-86). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Ellsworth, J.B. and Iorizzo, L. J. (2000). Distance Training at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center: Surviving Implementation. In Z. Berge (Ed.), Sustaining Distance Training (pp. 31-47). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2000). Surviving Change: A Survey of Educational Change Models. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology.

Articles:

Ellsworth, J.B. (2020). Expanding the G2 Virtual Presence to Model the Army Learning Ecosystem. U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command: Fort Eustis, VA.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2012). The Science of Certification: Developing Performance Standards for the GEOINT Community. Trajectory, 1(3), 17-19.

Ellsworth, J.B., Harris, P.R., and Moore, S.L. (2011) The Purpose Project—Of School Reform, Covey & Sun Tzu: the Conversation Begins. Tech Trends, 55(5), 20-23.

Moore, S.L., Ellsworth, J.B., and Kaufman, R. (2011). Visions and Missions—Are They Useful? A Quick Assessment. Performance Improvement, 50(6), 15-24.

Moore, S.L., Ellsworth, J.B., and Kaufman, R. (2008). Objectives—Are They Useful? A Quick Assessment. Performance Improvement, 47(7), 41-47.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2007). Eyes on Target: Intelligence Support to an Effects-Based Approach. Joint Force Quarterly, 46, 27-31.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2006). Network-Centric Professional Development: Intelligence Associations in the Global Century. American Intelligence Journal, 25(Summer), 34-40.

Ellsworth, J.B. and Haldi, S. B. (2004). Civic Education and Use of Force. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 8(2), 72-76.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2001). Leveraging the Web for Learning in the U.S. Armed Forces. MS&T: The International Defence Training Journal, 18(5), 18-21.

Ellsworth, J.B. (2000). Training or Performance Improvement, Military Review, 80(6), 3-8.

Thomas, J.D. and Ellsworth, J.B. (1999). The Intelligence Center’s Supervisor Survey Program. Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, 25(2), 22-25.

Ellsworth, J.B. (1997). Technology and Change for the Information Age. Technology Source, 1997(October).

Ellsworth, J.B. (1997). Curricular Integration of the World Wide Web. Tech Trends, 42(2), 24–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02771940

Ellsworth, J.B. (1995). Planning for Success: Considerations for Managing Dissemination of Training Technology. In M. R. Simonson and M. L. Anderson (Eds.), Proceedings of Selected Research and Development Presentations at the 1995 National Convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Anaheim, CA: Vol 17 (pp. 136-146). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED383296).

Ellsworth, J. B. (1989). Education for the Twenty-First Century: A Philosophical Perspective. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED439701).