Association for the
Advancement of Computing in Education
Celebrating 30+ Years of
Service to the IT in Education / E-Learning Community
Celebrating 30+ Years of
Service to the IT in Education / E-Learning Community
Keynote SpeakerWhat does being active and engaged/ing in an open world of learning really mean? The Open University has 40 years experience of bringing learning to life. Starting with TV and radio we drew previously excluded learners into the world of formal learning. In the last few years we have extended our reach through the widespread release of high quality open content through multiple channels and formats. However, access and availability do not necessarily lead to engagement or activity. Combining social media with open educational resources (OER) in our OpenLearn system, we have created opportunities for people to get together online in collaborative engagement around educational resources that support formal and informal learning.
Our experiences using social spaces and open media and content provide us with a growing understanding of: the dynamics of learners' interactions; how to get learning value from social networks; ways to support learners as they make their 'learning journey'; new forms of interaction that support learners; and ways of going beyond content search to effective mentoring and scaffolding for learning.
Before joining the OU Andrew worked for the BBC. For ten years he made TV and radio programmes for the OU (including some of the more popular strands of Science output such as Rough Science – now on Discovery). He was also Head of e-learning at BBC Worldwide Ltd. He has led teams producing a wide range of www, broadband and mobile including products for Department of International Development and The World Bank Institute (in Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia), literacy materials for Asylum seekers in the UK, and teacher training materials for UK Head teachers, and executive training for Oracle.
He joined the OU in April 09 and is now helping co-ordinate and develop the OU open media strategy. This includes national and international TV and radio broadcasts with the BBC, as well as YouTube, iTunesU and OpenLearn activities.
