My research interests are diverse and constantly evolving, and include critical thinking (my PhD dissertation topic), critical pedagogy (which I discovered while doing my PhD and continue to write about), higher education (where I work), eLearning (particularly open education and MOOCs), intercultural learning (which I now teach), citizenship and community-based learning. I disseminate my research and ideas in peer-reviewed journals as well as trade journal magazines (see here) and conferences (see here).
Peer-reviewed (forthcoming)
Bali, M., Gachago, D., & Pallitt, N. Compassionate learning design as an approach to critical digital and AI literacies (forthcoming). In J. Castek, J. Coiro, E. Forzani, C. Kiili, M. Schira-Hagerman, & Sparks, J.R. (Eds.). International handbook of research in digital literacies [Forthcoming]. Routledge.
Peer-reviewed (Published)
Koutropoulos, A., Honeychurch, S., Bali, M., Singh, L., Nerantzi, C. Stewart, B., Abegglen, S., Sinfield, S. F.Lazou, C., Moore, S. (2026). AI Surveillance in Education: Unpacking Ethical Dilemmas and the Snake- Oil Promises of AI- Infused Technosolutionism. In A. Bozkurt (Ed). Policy and Practice for Ethical AI Integration in Education. pp. 69-108.
Holmes, W., Mouta, A., Hillman, V., Schiff, D., Laak, K. J., Atenas, J. et al. (2025). Critical Studies of Artificial Intelligence and Education: Putting a Stake in the Ground. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5391793 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5391793
Romero-Hall, E., Awaida, N., Bali, M., Bozkurt, A., Raub, C., Shelton, C., & Walji, S. (2025). Online Feminist Pedagogy: Future Learning Experiences Speculated. Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online.
Zamora, M. and Bali, M. (2025). From socially just care to socially just distributed ecosystems of care. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education [Preprint], (35). https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi35.1333.
Bali, M., Gachago, D. and Pallitt, N. (2025). Compassionate learning design as a liberating praxis: stories from learning designers around the world. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education [Preprint], (35). https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi35.1331.
Pallitt, N., Gachago, D., & Bali, M. 2025. Embracing Change: Journeys to Learning Design. n Eds. D. Conrad & W. Archer. Portraits of Academic Life in Higher Education: From Hiring to Retiring. Brill. https://brill.com/display/title/71392
Bozkurt, A., Xiao, J., Farrow, R., Bai, J. Y. H., Nerantzi, C., Moore, S., Dron, J., Stracke, C. M., Singh, L., Crompton, H., Koutropoulos, A., Terentev, E., Pazurek, A., Nichols, M., Sidorkin, A. M., Costello, E., Watson, S., Mulligan, D., Honeychurch, S., Hodges, C. B., Sharples, M., Swindell, A., Frumin, I., Tlili, A., Slagter van Tryon, P. J., Bond, M., Bali, M., Leng, J., Zhang, K., Cukurova, M., Chiu, T. K. F., Lee, K., Hrastinski, S., Garcia, M. B., Sharma, R. C., Alexander, B., Zawacki-Richter, O., Huijser, H., Jandrić, P., Zheng, C., Shea, P., Duart, J. M., Themeli, C., Vorochkov, A., Sani-Bozkurt, S., Moore, R. L., & Asino, T. I. (2024). The Manifesto for Teaching and Learning in a Time of Generative AI: A Critical Collective Stance to Better Navigate the Future. Open Praxis, 16(4), pp. 487–513. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55982/
Gebril, A., & Bali, M. (2024). A Global South perspective on Open Science in language assessment: A response to Winke. Language Testing, 41(4), 886-891. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553222412601
Bali, M. (2024). Cake-Making Analogy for Setting Generative AI Guidelines/Ethics. In B. Buyserie & T.N. Thurston (Eds.), Teaching and generative AI: Pedagogical possibilities and productive tensions. Utah State University. https://www.usu.edu/empowerteaching/publications/books/teaching-ai/
Bali, M. (2024). Pedagogy of care. In G. Ó Súilleabháin, D. Lanclos & T. Farrelly (eds). How to Use Digital Learning with Confidence and Creativity (pp. 288-296). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Bali, M. (2024). Building Caring Communities: How to Support the Expanding Roles of Teachers. In UNESCO International Bureau of Education (ed). Strengthening social and emotional learning in hybrid modes of education: building support for students, teachers, schools and families: a UNESCO-IBE discussion paper. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000388830.locale=en
Gupta, A., Atef, Y., Mills, A., & Bali, M. (2024). Assistant, Parrot, or Colonizing Loudspeaker? ChatGPT Metaphors for Developing Critical AI Literacies. Open Praxis, 16(1), pp. 37–53. https://doi.org/10.55982/
Bali, M. (2023). The need for Intentionally Equitable Hospitality in video conferencing. In A. Volmar, O. Mostatova & J Distelmeyer (Eds). Video Conferencing: Infrastructures, Practices, Aesthetics. [transcript] Open access available here.
Stachowiak, B., & Bali, M. (2023). Intentionally Equitable Hospitality as an Approach to Enhancing Workplace Inclusion. In Evidence-Based Organizational Practices for Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity. Cambridge Scholars.
Gachago, D., Bali, M. & Pallitt, N. (2023) Equity-Oriented Learning Design: An Entangled Future. Postdigital Science & Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-023-00420-w
Gacahago, D., Bali, M., Pallitt, N. (2023). Changing from Within: Narratives of Resistance from Equity-Oriented Learning Designers. The Journal of Applied Instructional Design. DOI:10.59668/722.13022. https://jaid.edtechbooks.org/jaid_12_2/_changing_from_within__narratives_of_resistance_from_equityoriented_learning_designers
Al-Freih, M., & Bali, M. (2023). Beyond Digital Learning Modalities and Tools: Centering Learners’ Socioemotional Wellbeing in the Context of E-Learning in the Arab Region. In A. Badran, E. Baydoun, S. Hillman, J. Mesmar (eds). Higher Education in the Arab World E-Learning and Distance Education. pp. 353-378.
Pallitt, N., Bali, M., & Gachago, D. (2023). Academic Development as Compassionate Learning Design: Cases from South Africa and Egypt. Learning Design Voices. University of Cape Town.
Bali, M., & Zamora, M. (2023). Designing and Adapting for Community with Intentionally Equitable Hospitality. Learning Design Voices. University of Cape Town.
Mills, A., Bali, M., & Eaton, L. (2023). How do we respond to generative AI in education? Open educational practices give us aframework for an ongoing process. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 6 (1). https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2023.6.1.34
Bozkurt, A., Xiao, J., Lambert, S., Pazurek, A., Crompton, H., Koseoglu, S., Farrow, R., Bond, M., Nerantzi, C., Honeychurch, S., Bali, M., Dron, J., Mir, K., Stewart, B., Costello, E., Mason, J., Stracke, C. M., Romero-Hall, E., Koutropoulos, A., Toquero, C. M., Singh, L Tlili, A., Lee, K., Nichols, M., Ossiannilsson, E., Brown, M., Irvine, V., Raffaghelli, J. E., Santos-Hermosa, G Farrell, O., Adam, T., Thong, Y. L., Sani-Bozkurt, S., Sharma, R. C., Hrastinski, S., & Jandrić, P. (2023). Speculative futures on ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence (AI): A collective reflection from the educational landscape. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 18(1), 53-130. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7636568
Bali, M., Boyd, A. S., & Kalir, R. (2022). In Dialogue: Collaborative Reading and Writing.
Research in the Teaching of English, 57 (2). https://library.ncte.org/journals/rte/issues/v57-2/32155
Bali, M. (2022). Outside-In: Entangled Openness as Subversion Influencing Emergent Change. OTESSA Journal, 1(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.18357/otessaj.2022.1.1.25 (invited)
Gachago, D., Bali, M., & Pallitt, N. (2022). Compassionate learning design as a critical approach to instructional design. In J. Quinn, M Burtis, & S. Jhangiani (eds). Critical Instructional Design. Hybrid Pedagogy publishing.
Bali, M., & Zamora, M. (2022). Intentionally Equitable Hospitality as Critical Instructional Design. In J. Quinn, M Burtis, & S. Jhangiani (eds). Designing for Care. Hybrid Pedagogy publishing.
Bali, M. (2022). Providing agile faculty development in times of uncertainty: Case of the American University in Cairo. In Dennen, V., Dickson-Deane, C., Ge, X., Ifenthaler, D., Murthy, S., & Richardson, J. C. (Eds.). (2022). Global perspectives on educational innovations for emergency situations. Springer. Invited. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-99634-5
Bali, M., & Zamora, M. (2022). The Equity-Care Matrix: Theory and Practice. Italian Journal of Educational Technology (special issue, invited). https://doi.org/10.17471/2499-4324/1241
Bali, M., Goes, P., Haug, E., Patankar, A. (2021). COVID-19 impacts on virtual exchange around the world. Journal of Virtual Exchange, 4 (Special issues IVEC 2020). https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.4.38198
Pallitt N., Gachago D., Bali M. (2021). No Size Fits All: Design Considerations for Networked Professional Development in Higher Education. In: Dohn N.B., Hansen J.J., Hansen S.B., Ryberg, T., de Laat M. (eds) Conceptualizing and Innovating Education and Work with Networked Learning. Research in Networked Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85241-2_4
, Bali, M., Mehran, P. , & (2021). Equity Unbound as Critical Intercultural Praxis. The Journal of Applied Instructional Design, 10(4). https://edtechbooks.org/jaid_10_4/
Bali, M., Abou Hussein, K., el Ahwal, T., Fahmy, Y. & Hashad, M. (2021). Fostering Learner Agency in a Digital Literacies Course in Egypt: Reflections on Several Iterations. In S Hase & L. Blaschke (Eds). Unleashing the power of learner agency. https://edtechbooks.org/up/diglit
Adams, S., Bali, M., Eder, Z., Fladd, L., Garrett, K., Garth-McCullough, R., Gibson, A. M., Gunder, A., Iuzzini, J., Knott, J.
L., Rafferty, J. & Weber, N. L. (2021, June 8). Caring for Students Playbook. Every Learner Everywhere. https://www.everylearnereverywhere.org/resources/
Networked Learning Editorial Collective (NLEC)., Gourlay, L., Rodríguez-Illera, J.L. et al. Networked Learning in 2021: A Community Definition. Postdigit Sci Educ (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-021-00222-y
Bali, M. (2021). Foreword. In S. M. Morris, L. Rai, & K Littleton (Eds). Voices of Practice: Narrative Scholarship from the Margins. Hybrid Pedagogy Publishing. https://voicesofpractice.pressbooks.com/
Zamora, M., & Bali, M. (2020). Network. In R. F. Davis, M. K. Gold, K. D. Harris, & J. Sayers (eds). Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: Concepts, Models, and Experiments. Modern Language Association, digitalpedagogy.hcommons.org/.
Bali, M., Cronin, C., Czerniewicz, L., DeRosa, R., & Jhangiani, R. S. (2020). [Eds]. Open at the Margins: Critical Perspectives on Open Education. Pressbooks/Rebus Community.
Bali, M. (2020). Organizing autoethnography on the internet: models and challenges. In A. Herrmann (ed). The Routledge International Handbook of Organizational Autoethnography. Routledge.
Bozkurt, A., et al. (2020). A Global Outlook to the Interruption of Education due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Navigating in a Time of Uncertainty and Crisis. Asian Journal of Distance Education. Retrieved from: http://asianjde.org/ojs/index.php/AsianJDE/article/view/462
Gachago, D., Pallitt, N., & Bali, M. (2020). No Size Fits All: Design Considerations for Networked Professional Development in Higher Education. Proceedings of the Networked Learning Conference. Denmark, online. Retrieved from: https://www.networkedlearning.aau.dk/digitalAssets/826/826404_22.-gachago-et-al.—no-size-fits-all-design-considerations-for-networked-professional-development-in-higher-education.pdf
Bali, M., Cronin, C., & Jhangiani, R. S. (2020). Framing Open Educational Practices from a Social Justice Perspective. Journal of Interactive Media in Education. 2020 (1), p. 10. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/jime.565
Bali, M., & Brown, C. (2020). Critical approaches to digital literacy. In M. Schwartz (ed). Digital Citizenship Toolkit. Rebus Community on Pressbooks (Open Textbook). https://pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca/digcit/chapter/chapter-4-critical-approaches-to-digital-literad/
Brown, M., McCormack, M., Reeves, J., Brook, D.C., Grajek, S., Alexander, B., Bali, M., Bulger, S., Dark, S., Engelbert, N., Gannon, K., Gauthier, A., Gibson, D., Gibson, R., Lundin, B., Veletsianos, G. & Weber, N. (2020). 2020 Educause Horizon Report Teaching and Learning Edition. Louisville, CO: EDUCAUSE. Retrieved March 3, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/215670/.
Bali, M., & Aboulmagd, N.(2019). The Different Faces of Open in Egypt. In K. Zhang, C. J. Bonk, T. C. Reeves, & T. H. Reynolds (eds). MOOCs and Open Education Across the Global South: Challenges, Successes, and Opportunities. NY: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429398919 (my chapter available open access immediately. AUC repository link & Dropbox link).
Bali, M., Caines, A., Hogue, R. J., DeWaard, H. J., & Friedrich, C. (2019). Intentionally Equitable Hospitality in Hybrid Video Dialogue: The Context of Virtually Connecting. eLearning Mag (special issue). Retrieved from: https://elearnmag.acm.org/archive.cfm?aid=3331173
Bali, M. (2019). Reimagining Digital Literacies from a Feminist Perspective in a Postcolonial Context. Media and Communication, 17 (2). (special issue). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/mac.v7i2.1935
Bali, M., Awwad, A., Hassib, F., Halawa, F., Khalifa, J., Serougy, F. (2019). Global Citizenship Education in a Digital Age: A Collaborative Autoethnography. In J. Dorio, E. Abdou and N. Moheyddin (eds). The Struggle for Citizenship Education in Egypt: (Re)Imagining Subjects and Citizens. Routledge: New York, NY and Oxon, UK.
Bali, M. & Caines, A. (2018). A call for promoting ownership, equity and agency in faculty development via connected learning. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-018-0128-8
Bali, M. (2018). The Unbearable Whiteness of the Digital. In D. Kim & J. Stommel (eds). Disrupting the Digital Humanities. Punctum books.
Hogue, Rebecca J.; Keefer, Jeffrey M.; Bali, Maha; Hamon, Keith; Koutropoulos, Apostolos; Leunissen, Ron; and Singh, Lenandlar (2018) “Pioneering Alternative Forms of Collaboration,” Current Issues in Emerging eLearning: Vol. 4 : Iss. 1 , Article 8.
Available at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/ciee/vol4/iss1/8
Bali, M., & Mostafa, H. (2018). Listen Carefully and You Will Hear: Using Creative Multimodal Assessments to Promote Student Expression. In S. Khadka & J. C. Lee (eds). Designing and Implementing Multimodal Curricula and Programs. Routledge.
Bali, M., & Sharma, S. (2017). Envisioning post-colonial MOOCs: Critiques and ways forward. In R. Bennett & M. Kent (eds). Massive Open Online Courses and Higher Education: What Went Right, What Went Wrong and Where to Next?
Bali, M., Caines, A., DeWaard, H., & Hogue, R. (2016, December). Ethos and Practice of a Connected Learning Movement: Interpreting Virtually Connecting Through Alignment with Theory and Survey Results. Online Learning Journal, 20(4). Retrieved from https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/965/247
Bali, M. (2016).Bringing Out the Human in Synchronous and Asynchronous Media for Learning. In W. Kilgore (ed) Humanizing Online Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from https://humanmooc.pressbooks.com
BOZKURT, A., HONEYCHURCH, S., CAINES, A., BALI, M., KOUTROPOULOS, A., & CORMIER, D. (2016). Community Tracking in a cMooc and Nomadic Learner Behavior Identification on a Connectivist Rhizomatic Learning Network. The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education. 17(4). Retrieved from: http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/makale_goster.php?id=1368
Bali, M., Honeychurch, S., Hamon, K., Hogue, R. J., Koutropoulos, A., Johnson, S., Leunissen, R., & Singh, L. (2016). What is it Like to Learn and Participate in Rhizomatic MOOCs? A Collaborative Autoethnography of #RHIZO14. Current Issues in Emerging eLearning: 3(1). Available at: http://scholarworks.umb.edu/ciee/vol3/iss1/4
Honeychurch, S., Stewart, B., Bali, M., Hogue, R. J., & Cormier, D. (2016). How the Community Became More Than the Curriculum: Participant Experiences In #RHIZO14. Current Issues in Emerging eLearning. 3(1).
Available at: http://scholarworks.umb.edu/ciee/vol3/iss1/3
Bali, M. (2015). A new scholar’s perspective on open peer review. Teaching in Higher Education, 20(8), pp. 857-863. DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2015.1085857 (Dropbox Author’s Manuscript)
Bali, M., & Skallerup Bessette, L. (2015, June 23). Towards a critical approach to faculty development. Hybrid Pedagogy. Retrieved from: http://hybridpedagogy.org/towards-a-critical-approach-to-faculty-development/
Bali, M., Crawford, M., Jessen, R. L., Signorelli, P., & Zamora, M. (2015). What makes a cMOOC community endure? Multiple participant perspectives from diverse MOOCs. Educational Media International, DOI:10.1080/09523987.2015.1053290 (or see Author’s Accepted Manuscript if you do not have access).
Hamon, K., Hogue, R. J., Honeychurch, S., Johnson, S., Koutropoulos, A., Ensor, S., Sinfield, S., & Bali, M. (2015, June 4). Writing the unreadable untext: A collaborative autoethnography of #rhizo14. Hybrid Pedagogy. Retrieved from: http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/journal/writing-the-unreadable-untext/
Bali, M. (2015, April 20). Pedagogy of Care – Gone Massive. Hybrid Pedagogy. Retrieved from: http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/journal/pedagogy-of-care-gone-massive/
Bali, M. (2015). Critical Thinking through a Multicultural Lens: Cultural Challenges of Teaching Critical Thinking. In W. M. Davies and R. Barnett (eds). Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education. Palgrave MacMillan.
Bali, M., & Honeychurch, S. (2014). Key Pedagogic Thinkers: Dave Cormier. Journal of Pedagogic Development. 4(3). Retrieved from http://www.beds.ac.uk/jpd/volume-4-issue-3/key-pedagogic-thinkers-maha-bali
Bali, M. (2014, September 9).Critical Pedagogy: Intentions and Realities. Hybrid Pedagogy. Retrieved from: http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/journal/critical-pedagogy-intentions-realities/
Bali, M. (2014). Going Beyond the Good MOOC/Bad MOOC Debate (An observation on the special issue). Journal of Global Literacies, Technology and Emergent Pedagogy, 2 (3), 261-266. Retrieved from: http://joglep.com/files/3014/0622/3891/11._Going_beyond_the_good_MOOC.pdf
Bali, M., & Sharma,S. (2014, April 11). Bonds of difference: participation as inclusion. Hybrid Pedagogy. Retrieved from: http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/journal/bonds-difference-participation-inclusion/
Sharma, S., & Bali, M. (2014, April 4). Bonds of difference: illusions of inclusion. Hybrid Pedagogy. Retrieved from: http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/journal/bonds-difference-illusions-inclusion
Bali, M (2014). MOOC pedagogy: gleaning good practice from existing MOOCs. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 19(1), pp.44-56. Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol10no1/bali_0314.pdf
Bali, M., & Meier, B. (2014, March 4). An affinity for asynchronous learning. Hybrid Pedagogy. Retrieved from: http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/journal/affinity-asynchronous-learning/ (audio version coming soon)
Bali, M. (2014). Why doesn’t this feel empowering? The challenges of web-based intercultural dialogue. Teaching in Higher Education, 19(2), pp. 208-215. DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2014.867620 (open access link on AUC DAR)
PhD Thesis: Bali, M. (2013). Critical thinking in context: practice at an American liberal arts university in Egypt. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield. Retrieved from: http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/4646/
Bali, M. & Ramadan, A. (2007). Using rubrics and content analysis for Evaluating Online Discussion: A case study from an Environmental Course. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 11(4). Retrieved from: http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/jaln_article/using-rubrics-and-content-analysis-for-evaluating-online-discussion-a-case-study-from-an-environmental-course-2/
Bali, M., Ellozy, A., & Thompson, H. (2006). Redesigning Introductory Economics: Technocollaborative learning. In J. Cordeiro, V. Pedrosa, B. Encarnacao, & J. Philipe (eds.), Society, eBusiness, e-Government and e-Learning, Volume II, Setubal, Portugal: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies, 2006, pp. 157-163.
Bali, M. (2006). Insider Perspective on Ikarus. In M. Herberger, ed. Experiences with Teaching and Learning in Virtual Learning Environments: Ikarus. Hamburg: Germany.
Mohy, M., Abdelbar, A., Bali, M., & Hagry, M. (2004). Effective Stock Market Prediction with Neural Networks Optimized by Population-Oriented Simulated Annealing. Proceedings of the ISCA 13th International Conference on Intelligent and Adaptive Systems and Software Engineering, 131-134, July 2004. Bali, M. (2001).
Globalization of Science. Award-winning essay submitted for the Ahmed Zewail Prize, American University in Cairo, February 2001, Available from: http://www.aucegypt.edu/students/awards/zewailprize/essays/maha.html