All posts by Maria Aristeidou

Virtual worlds for real experiences

Can virtual worlds provide ‘real’ experiences in ‘created’ environments?

Professor Shailey Minocha will show us how virtual worlds how people engage with and within these virtual worlds “to socialise, to connect with people and places, and to learn and construct new knowledge and real experiences”.

When: Tuesday 20 June 2017, 4-5pm

Where: Berrill Theatre, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA

More info: http://www.open.ac.uk/research/main/news/virtual-worlds-for-real-experiences

openTEL receives HEFCE grant!

The OU has been awarded funding of £480,000 by the Higher Education Funding Council in England (HEFCE) to address barriers to student success.

Led by the OU in collaboration with the University of Leeds and Plymouth University, the two-year project, Embedding and sustaining inclusive STEM practices, aims to share and promote inclusive educational practices in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) disciplines across UK universities.

The project, which began on 1 March 2017 and will run to 28 February 2019, will focus on disability as a key factor affecting the outcomes of STEM students in Higher Education, particularly in relation to academic performance and professional employment.

Academic lead and Research Fellow in Technology Enhanced Learning at The Open University’s Knowledge Media Institute, Dr Trevor Collins, said:

“This project unifies the institutional priorities of the partners to be inclusive and open, celebrating and encouraging diversity in education and research. It will enable us to compare effective practices and share approaches to designing and delivering inclusive education suitable for everyone.”

Using the successful developments in fieldwork, lab work and online learning that already exist at each institution, the project will work in partnership with staff and students to further embed the values and practices of inclusive education. The project also involves Kate Lister and Chetz Colwell from the SeGA team.