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Dr Patrina Law

Dr Patrina Law, The Open University

Profile summary

Professional biography

I am Head of OpenLearn at the Open University. My responsibilities include:

  • Commissioning of open content for  the OU’s OpenLearn platform. 
  • Strategy and programme management of digital badging at the OU.
  • Syndication and adaptation of free content to third party platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and YouTube.
  • Development of strategies that link data analysis around non-formal learners to our commissioning process.
  • Evaluating and researching non-formal learning for impact.
  • In collaboration with other OU units, taking our open courses and entry-level content to external partners to improve outreach.

I have been employed by The Open University since 2001 and have worked in Learning and Teaching Solutions and the Institute of Educational Technology. These roles have been wide-ranging but have had an emphasis on coordinating projects and research with a particular emphasis on Open Educational Resources (OER) and educational technology. 

My research interests are around understanding informal learners, the use of digital badging OER and in developing a framework for good practice in informal learning and are linked on Open Research Online.

@HigherEdPatrina

Research interests

My research papers are available on ORO and via the Publications tab on this profile. They are around understanding who our informal learners are, what they do with our open content and why, including more recently, the phenomenon of micro-credentialising and digital badges.

Impact and engagement

I have won two Learning and Teaching Awards at the OU: one for the implementation of the Learn About Fair (an annual event which aims to provide an informal opportunity to find out about the latest developments of using technology in education), and one for leading the eDesktop Programme -- the first project to provide a VLE for the University's student modules.

I have also won the following external awards for research and other projects:

  1. 2015 Open Education Consortium Open Research Award for Open Education Excellence in recognition of outstanding efforts and contributions to advance Open Education through investigation, analysis and research.
  2. International Council for Open and Distance Education Prize for Innovation and Best Practice 2015.
  3. Finalist for the Times Higher Education Award for Widening Participation Initiative for the Year (2015) for Badged Open Courses.
  4. Winner 2016 Open Education Consortium: Creative Innovation Award - Badged Open Courses.
  5. Finalist 2017 Learning Technologies Awards, Excellence in the Design of Learning Content.
  6. Winner 2021 for the OpenLearn Team for Open Education Global's Open Resilience Award 2021 for recognising exemplary open educational practices implemented in the context of Covid-19.

External collaborations

I serve on the IMS Executive Board on Digital Credentials and Competency-based Education (for IMS Global) and the External Expert Advisory Board for SySTEM 2020. 

Publications

How Directing Formal Students to Institutionally-Delivered OER Supports their Success (2019-11-19)
Law, Patrina
Journal of Learning for Development, 6(3) (pp. 262-272)

How OpenLearn supports a business model for OER (2017-04-17)
Law, Patrina and Perryman, Leigh-Anne
Distance Education, 38(1) (pp. 5-22)

Ten years of open practice: a reflection on the impact of OpenLearn (2016)
Law, Patrina and Jelfs, Anne
Open Praxis, 8(2) (pp. 143-149)

Badging and employability at The Open University (2015-12-01)
Law, Patrina; Perryman, Leigh-Anne and Law, Andrew
European Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, Best of EDEN 2013-2014, Article 704

Recognising Informal Elearning with Digital Badging: Evidence for a Sustainable Business Model (2015-11-26)
Law, Patrina
Open Praxis, 7(4) (pp. 299-310)

Internal Responses to Informal Learning Data: Testing a Rapid Commissioning Approach (2015)
Law, Patrina and Perryman, Leigh-Anne
European Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning (pp. 76-84)

Digital badging at The Open University: recognition for informal learning (2015)
Law, Patrina
Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 30(3) (pp. 221-234)

Learning the lessons of openness (2012)
McAndrew, Patrick; Farrow, Robert; Law, Patrina and Elliott-Cirigottis, Gary
Journal of Interactive Media in Education

Using an Open Educational Resources Platform to Support Underserved Groups (2020-08-19)
Law, Patrina; Page, Anna and Storrar, Rosie
In: Sengupta, E.; Blessinger, P. and Makhanya, M. eds. Integrating Community Service into Curriculum: International Perspectives on Humanizing Education. IHETL (pp. 51-72)
Publisher : Emerald Publishing Limited

The Identified Informal Learner: Recognizing Assessed Learning in the Open (2016-12)
Law, Patrina
In: Bliss, TJ and Blessinger, Patrick eds. Open Education: International Perspectives in Higher Education (pp. 137-158)
Publisher : Open Book Publishers

Smart Cities MOOC: Teaching citizens how to co-create smart cities (2016-08-03)
Hudson, Lorraine; Kortuem, Gerd; Wolff, Annika and Law, Patrina
In : 4th International Conference on ICT for Sustainability (ICT4S) (29 Aug - 1 Sep 2016, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Internal responses to informal learning data: testing a rapid commissioning approach (2014-10-28)
Law, Patrina and Perryman, Leigh-Anne
In : 8th EDEN Research Workshop: Challenges for Research into Open & Distance Learning: Doing Things Better-Doing Better Things (27-28 Oct 2014, Oxford, UK)

Digital badging at The Open University: recognition for informal learning (2014-10-23)
Law, Patrina and Law, Andrew
In : The Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference 2014: 'New Technologies and the Future of Teaching and Learning ' (23-24 Oct 2014, Krakow, Poland)

Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences (2013-10)
Perryman, Leigh-Anne; Law, Patrina and Law, Andrew
In : Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference 2013 (23-25 Oct 2013, Paris, France) (pp. 270-286)

Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. (2013-10)
Law, Patrina; Perryman, Leigh-Anne and Law, Andrew
In : Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference 2013 (23-25 Oct 2013, Paris, France) (pp. 204-219)

A bridge to success (2012-04)
Law, Patrina; McAndrew, Patrick; Law, Andrew; Warner, Kathy; Runyon, Jean; Lascu, David; Arundel, Anne and Muramatsu, Brandon
In : Cambridge 2012: Innovation and Impact – Openly Collaborating to Enhance Education, a joint meeting of OER12 and OpenCourseWare Consortium Global 2012 (16-18 Apr 2012, Cambridge, UK)

Learning the Lessons of Openness (2012-04)
McAndrew, Patrick; Farrow, Robert; Law, Patrina and Elliott-Cirigottis, Gary
In : Cambridge 2012: Innovation and Impact – Openly Collaborating to Enhance Education, a joint meeting of OER12 and OpenCourseWare Consortium Global 2012 (16-18 Apr 2012, Cambridge, UK)

Refining Open Educational Resources For Both Learner And Institution (2019-02-20)
Law, Patrina
PhD thesis The Open University

Optimising the Potential of Third Space Professionals in UK HigherEducation (2010-03)
Whitchurch, Celia and Law, Patrina
LFHE, London.