Dr. Jou earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Missouri–Rolla and completed his Ph.D. at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1994. In 2014, he further broadened his international academic engagement as a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities.

Dr. Jou is the author of four technical books and more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles, including over 80 publications in SCI- and SSCI-indexed journals. His scholarship spans a broad interdisciplinary landscape encompassing technological and engineering education, artificial intelligence competencies, educational psychology, extended reality (XR) and design education, technology management, ICT-enhanced learning, instructional strategy, curriculum innovation, and advanced e-learning systems. His work is characterized by a strong integration of theoretical rigor and practice-oriented innovation, contributing significantly to both academic research and the advancement of technology-supported education.

His current research agenda centers on human–AI interaction, AI literacy and technological agency, socio-technical transformation in learning and work, ethical and responsible AI, psychological and affective dimensions of AI-mediated cognition, motivation and identity development in AI-supported environments, cognitive load and reflective practice in human–machine collaboration, affective labor in algorithmic systems, the societal implications of generative AI, XR-enhanced embodied learning, and the evolving competencies required in algorithmic societies.

Dr. Jou currently serves as Associate Editor for Computers in Human Behavior, which is indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). The journal holds a 2024 Journal Impact Factor of 8.9 and is ranked 3 out of 102 in Psychology, Experimental and 7 out of 223 in Psychology, Multidisciplinary.

He also serves as Associate Editor for Interactive Learning Environments, indexed in SSCI, with a 2024 Journal Impact Factor of 5.3 and ranked 23 out of 762 in Education and Educational Research.

In addition, he is Associate Editor for AI & Society, indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection under the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). The journal has a 2024 Journal Impact Factor of 4.7 and is ranked 58 out of 204 in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, demonstrating a steadily increasing impact trajectory in recent years.