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Faculty of Education and Language Studies > People Profiles > Peter Twining

Peter Twining

Professor of Education (Futures)

The Open University Faculty of Education and Language Studies Department of Education



Personal Website

Profile

Peter's professional interest is focussed on the future of education - this includes looking at how to change education systems from the inside (see http://edfutures.net) and rethinking education systems from scratch (see schome. not school - not home - schome - the education system for the information age www.schome.ac.uk).

Peter was a primary school teacher (worked with full range from reception to Yr6) in the East End of London. Then worked in teacher education at Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education prior to moving to the OU in 1995. He has been the Head of Department of Education, Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology and Associate Dean Research and Scholarship with the Faculty of Education and Language Studies at the OU. From 2009 to 2013 he directed Vital, a £9.4million DCSF/DfE funded programme to support teachers enhance their use of digital technology and teaching of ICT.

For more info see his schome userpage which includes a link to his online CV (which happens to be in a wiki so you can update it for him if you like!)

Teaching Interests

  • education futures
  • lifelong learning
  • learning in formal and informal contexts
  • pedagogy
  • learner empowerment
  • management of educational change
  • role of ICT in education
  • schome (not school - not home - schome - the education system for the information age)

Research Interests

 

Current Research

YOTS (Your Own Technology Survey) which helps schools find out what internet enabled mobile devices that they have and whether they would be allowed, able and willing to use them in school. http://www.yots.org.uk

EdFutures.net - a growing community site that is focussed on enhancing existing education systems. It has quite a strong focus on the potential of digital technology to enhance education. http://edfutures.net

schome - not school - not home - schome - the education system for the information age
http://www.schome.ac.uk/

The Schome Park Project - exploring models of schome in Teen Second Life (and exploring the potential and pitfalls of Teen Second Life for learners)

Publications

Authored Book
Twining, P.; Evans, D.; Cook, D.; Ralston, J.; Selwood, I.; Jones, A.; Underwood, J.; Dillon, G.; Scanlon, E.; Heppell, S.; Kukulska-Hulme, A.; McAndrew, P. and Sheehy, K. (2005). Tablet PCs in schools: Case study report: A report for Becta by the Open University. Coventry, UK: Becta.
Book Chapter
Gillen, Julia; Ferguson, Rebecca; Peachey, Anna and Twining, Peter (2012). Seeking planning permission to build a Gothic cathedral on a virtual island. In: Merchant, Guy; Gillen, Julia; Marsh, Jackie and Davies, Julia eds. Virtual Literacies: Interactive Spaces for Children and Young People. Routledge Research in Education (84). New York, Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 190–207.
Twining, Peter and Footring, Shri (2010). The Schome Park Programme – Exploring educational alternatives. In: Peachey, Anna; Gillen, Julia; Livingstone, Daniel and Smith-Robbins, Sarah eds. Researching Learning in Virtual Worlds. Human-Computer Interaction Series. Springer.
Twining, Peter (2010). When educational worlds collide. In: Sheehy, Kieron; Ferguson, Rebecca and Clough, Gill eds. Virtual Worlds: Controversies at the Frontier of Education. Hauppauge, N.Y: Nova Science Publishers.
Twining, Peter (2009). 'Educational IT' Research Methodology: Looking Back and Moving Forward. In: McDougall, Anne; Murnane, John; Jones, Anthony and Reynolds, Nick eds. Researching IT in Education: Theory, Practice and Future. London: Routledge, pp. 153–168.
Twining, Peter and Peachey, Anna (2009). Open virtual worlds as pedagogical research tools: Learning from the Schome Park Programme. In: Tatnall, Arthur and Jones, Anthony eds. Education and Technology for a Better World. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 302. Springer, pp. 263–272.
Goodliff, Gill and Twining, Peter (2008). Computer mediated communication: using e-learning to support professional development. In: Miller, Linda and Cable, Caroline eds. Professionalism in the Early Years. Hodder Education.
Twining, Peter (2008). Framing IT use to enhance educational impact on a school-wide basis. In: Voogt, J and Knezek, G eds. International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education. Springer, pp. 555–579.
Goodliff, G. and Twining, P. (2008). Computer mediated communication - using e-learning to support professional development. In: Miller, L. and Cable, C. eds. Professionalism in the Early Years. London: Hodder Arnold.
Twining, Peter (2004). Curriculum development and the Computer Practice Framework: ICT for Curriculum Enhancement. In: Monteith, Moira ed. ICT for curriculum enhancement. Bristol, UK: Intellect.
Twining, Peter (2001). ICT and the nature of learning : implications for the design of a distance education course. In: Twining, Peter; Paechter, Carrie; Edwards, Richard and Harrison, Roger eds. Learning, space and identity. Learning matters: challenges of the information age. London, UK: Paul Chapman.
Twining, Peter (2001). Pedagogic re-engineering: issues surrounding the use of new media to support a move from 'didactic' to 'constructivist' models of transaction on an Open University course. In: Selinger, M. and Wynn, J. eds. Educational Technology and the impact on teaching and learning. Research Machines PLC, pp. 53–59.
Twining, Peter and McCormick, Robert (1999). Learning Schools Programme: Developing Teachers’ Information Communication Technology Competence In The Support Of Learning. In: Price, J; Willis, J; Willis, D; Jost, M and Boger-Mehall, S eds. Technology and Teacher Education Annual 1999. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, pp. 1703–1708.
Twining, Peter (1998). Supporting computer use in primary classrooms through the enhancement of resources. In: Underwood, J. and Monteith, M. eds. Supporting the Wider Teaching Community. Coventry, UK: NCET, pp. 40–45.
Twining, Peter (1997). IT into Education: A change effort worth pursuing? In: Willis, J.; Price, J.; McNeil, S.; Robin, B. and Willis, D. eds. Technology and Teacher Education Annual 1997. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, pp. 1091–1094.
Twining, Peter (1997). What's Changed? Criteria for measuring change in classroom practice in relation to computer use. In: Not Set ed. Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers in Education. ICCE.
Twining, Peter and McNeil, A. (1997). HyperNote: A multimedia course design environment and metacognitive tool. In: Not Set ed. Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers in Education. ICCE, pp. 987–988.
Twining, Peter (1995). Making Barriers Explicit: Some Problems with the Computer Innovation Literature. In: Willis, J.; Price, J.; McNeil, S.; Robin, B. and Willis, D. eds. Technology and Teacher Education Annual 1995. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, pp. 879–885.
Conference Item
Walsh, Christopher S.; Bradshaw, Pete and Twining, Peter (2011). e-learning through collaborative teacher professional development in primary and secondary schools in england. In: IADIS International Conference e-Learning 2011 75, 20-23 July 2011, Rome, Italy.
Bradshaw, Pete; Walsh, Christopher and Twining, Peter (2011). The Vital programme: transforming ICT professional development. In: International conference of ICT Education, 6-9 July 2011, Rhodes, Greece.
Ferguson, Rebecca; Gillen, Julia; Peachey, Anna and Twining, Peter (2011). The strength of cohesive ties: discursive construction of an online learning community. In: Researching Learning in Immersive Virtual Environments (ReLIVE 2011), 21-22 September 2011, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Bradshaw, Pete; Twining, Peter; Hayes, Mary and Jeffrey, Robert (2010). The changing landscape of CPD for teachers. In: ALT-C 2008: “Into something rich and strange” – making sense of the sea-change, 6-9 September 2010, University of Nottingham, UK.
Jeffrey, Bob; Bradshaw, Pete; Twining, Peter and Walsh, Chris (2010). Ethnography, education and on-line research. In: European Conference of Educational Research, 25-28 August 2010, Univesity of Helsinki, Finland.
Bradshaw, Pete; Twining, Peter and Walsh, Christopher (2010). Vital: changing the paradigm of CPD. In: The 11th ITTE Research Seminar, 11-12 Mar 2010, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK.
Twining, Peter (2009). Exploring 'unclaimed' educational spaces: dimensions of practice emerging from the Schome Park Programme. In: CETIS/Eduserv Conference, 16 January 2009, Glasgow.
Twining, P. and Footring, S. (2008). The Schome Park Programme – exploring educational alternatives. In: Researching Learning in Virtual Environments ReLIVE08, 20-21 November 2008, Milton Keynes, UK.
Craft, Anna; Twining, Peter and Chappell, Kerry (2007). Aspiring to transform education? 'Impossibility thinking' as a living experiment: Young learners aspiring towards creative education futures. In: British Educational Research Association Conference, September 2007, London, UK.
Twining, Peter (2007). Interactive whiteboards: Issues relating to professional development and pedagogical change - discuss. In: BERA Annual Conference, 5-8 September 2007, Institute of Education, London, UK.
Twining, Peter; Craft, Anna and Chappell, Kerry (2007). Learners reconceptualising education: Widening participation through creative engagement? In: Higher Education Academy: Creativity or Conformity? Building Cultures of Creativity in Higher Education, 8-10 January 2007, Cardiff.
Twining, Peter (2007). Using Teen Second Life to explore visions of schome. In: Second Life Best Practices in Education Conference, Second Life Main Grid, 25 May 2007.
Twining, Peter (2007). Developing visions of schome. In: Massively Multi-Learner Conference, 22 March 2007, University of Paisley.
Fox, B. and Twining, P. (2006). Comparing perspectives on the role of ICT in education. In: SITE International Conference Annual 2006. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education,, March 20-24, 2006, Florida, USA.
Twining, Peter and Sheehy, Kieron (2006). Not school – not home – schome – the education system for the Information Age. In: IFIP Conference, Imagining the future for ICT and Education, 26th - 30th June 2006, Norway.
Twining, Peter and Cooke, David (2006). The eSIR Statement - is this where we are going with ICT in education in England. In: IFIP Conference, Imagining the future for ICT and Education, 26 - 30 June 2006, Norway.
Ralston, J.; Cooke, D.; Twining, P.; Dillon, G.; Evans, D.; Jones, A.; Kukulska-Hulme, A.; McAndrew, P.; Scanlon, E.; Selwood, I.; Sheehy, K. and Underwood, J. (2006). Introducing Tablet PCs in schools - a national study - some lessons learned. In: IFIP Conference, Imagining the future for ICT and Education, 26th - 30th June 2006, Norway.
Selwood, Ian and Twining, Peter (2005). Teacher use of broadband technology. In: 8th IFIP World Conference on Computer in Education, 4-7 July 2005, Cape Town, South Africa.
Twining, P.; Underwood, J.; Twiner, A.; Morris, D.; Ford, K.; Cook, D. and Broadie, R. (2005). eSIR: eStrategy Implementation Review. In: Becta D&R Researcher Consultation Day, 8 November 2005, Warwick, UK.
Twining, P.; Cook, D.; Dillon, P.; Evans, G.; Heppell, A.; Jones, A.; Kukulska-Hulme, A.; McAndrew, P.; Ralston, J.; Scanlon, E.; Selwood, A.; Sheehy, K. and Underwood, J. (2005). Tablet PCs in schools. In: CALRG-TRLG Seminar, 15 June 2005, Milton Keynes, UK.
Journal Article
Bradshaw, Pete; Twining, Peter and Walsh, Christopher (2012). The vital program: transforming ICT professional development. American Journal of Distance Education , 26(2), pp. 74–85.
Gillen, Julia; Ferguson, Rebecca; Peachey, Anna and Twining, Peter (2012). Distributed cognition in a virtual world. Language and Education, 26(2), pp. 151–167.
Gillen, Julia; Twining, Peter; Ferguson, Rebecca; Butters, Oliver; Clough, Gill; Gaved, Mark; Peachey, Anna; Seamans, Dan and Sheehy, Kieron (2009). A learning community for teens on a virtual island - The Schome Park Teen Second Life Pilot project. eLearning Papers, 2009(15), www.elearningpapers.eu.
Twining, Peter (2009). Exploring the educational potential of virtual worlds — Some reflections from the Schome Park Programme. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(3), pp. 496–514.
Craft, Anna; Chappell, Kerry and Twining, Peter (2008). Learners reconceptualising education: widening participation through creative engagement? Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 45(3), pp. 235–245.
Rix, Jonathan and Twining, Peter (2007). Talking about schools: Towards a typology for future education. Educational Research, 48(4), pp. 329–341.
Twining, Peter (2007). Discussing ICT, aspirations and targets for Education: international perspectives. International Journal of Knowledge and Learning, 3(2-3), pp. 154–170.
Twining, Peter; Evans, Diane; Cook, Deirdre; Ralston, John; Selwood, Ian; Jones, Ann; Underwood, Jean; Scanlon, Eileen; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Dillon, Gayle; McAndrew, Patrick and Sheehy, Kieron (2005). Should there be a future for Tablet PCs in schools? Journal of Interactive Media in Education
Macdonald, Janet and Twining, Peter (2002). Assessing activity-based learning for a networked course. British Journal of Educational Technology, 33(5), pp. 603–618.
Twining, Peter (2002). Conceptualising Computer Use in Education: introducing the Computer Practice Framework (CPF). British Educational Research Journal, 28(1), pp. 95–110.
Twining, Peter (2001). Planning to use ICT in schools? Education 3-13, 29(1), pp. 9–17.
Twining, Peter (1999). Learning Matters - Adjusting the media mix for academic advantage. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 7(1), pp. 4–11.
Twining, Peter (1995). Towards an understanding of the links between conceptual understanding of computer systems and IT competence. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 4(3), pp. 377–391.
Other
Twining, Peter; Albion, Peter and Knezek, Don (2011). EDUsummIT 2011 Report from TWG3: Teacher Professional Development. UNESCO, Paris.
Twining, Peter (2010). Virtual Worlds and Education (Special Issue of Educational Research). Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, UK.
Twining, Peter; Broadie, Roger; Cook, Deirdre; Ford, Karen; Morris, David; Twiner, Alison and Underwood, Jean (2006). Educational change and ICT: an exploration of priorities 2 & 3 of the DfES eStrategy in schools and colleges. Becta, Coventry, UK.
Sheehy, K.; Kukulska-Hulme, A.; Twining, P.; Evans, D.; Cook, D. and Jelfs, A. (2005). Tablet PCs in schools: A review of literature and selected projects. BECTA, Coventry, UK.