Institute of Education London

Dr Martin Oliver

• • PhD
  • Reader in ICT in Education
  • Head of the Learning Technologies Unit, deputy Co-Director of the London Knowledge Lab
• Faculty:
  • Faculty of Children and Learning
• Department:
  • Culture, Communication and Media
• Centre:
  • London Knowledge Lab
• Summary:
  • My research and teaching is focused on technology and education (particularly Higher Education). This includes the practices of learning and teaching, such as course design, student experience and evaluation. I also research the links between digital games and learning. I am particularly interested in work that involves theoretical and methodological development. As head of the Learning Technologies Unit, I support the development of learning and teaching with technology, both in terms of policy and practic
• Teaching:
  • I teach the module, "Technology and Education beyond the Classroom", which is offered as part of the MA in ICT in Education, the MA in Technology and Simulation in Clinical Practice and the MA in Education.
• Research:
  • I'm currently part of the team for two JISC-funded projects: Digital Literacies as a Postgraduate Attribute (http://diglitpga.jiscinvolve.org/wp/) Assessment careers: enhancing learning pathways through assessment (http://www.ioe.ac.uk/study/departments/lce/59520.html)
• Postgraduate Research:
  • I supervise PhD and EdD students whose topics are related to the use of technology to support learning, teaching and organisational change in Higher Education. Current students include: James Cilla - "ICT acting as a catalyst to bring about changes in the models of learning held by HE teachers". Lyn Greaves - "What are the roles and experiences of digital learning literacies in student learning in a widening participation context?" Michael Hallissy - "Building teacher professionalism in teaching-learning interactions between online tutors and learners during synchronous tutorials – a case study from Hibernia College" Paul Gormley - "Toward eCompetence: Strategic Approaches to Mainstreaming Technology‐Driven Educational Innovation in Higher Education."
• Professional Activities:
  • I am Chair of the Association for Learning Technology (www.alt.ac.uk), and will be President in 2012. I serve on the Staff and Educational Development Association's Scholarship, Research and Evaluation Committee (www.seda.ac.uk). I am on the steering group of the national Heads of e-Learning Forum. I am also on the organising committees of several national Special Interest Groups (ELESIG – students' experiences of e-learning; the Quality Assurance and Quality Enhancement in e-learning SIG; and the SIG on Games, Simluations and Virtual Worlds.) In 2011 I was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy.
• Conferences/presentations:
  • "A decade on and it's still Groundhog Day: questioning research on technology in Higher Education." Invited keynote, C-SAP conference: The Virtual University? Social Science Critiques of Learning and Teaching in the Age of Digital Reproduction. 16th January, 2009. London, UK.
    
    "Pandora's box, cornucopia or Trojan horse? The introduction of technology in Higher Education." Invited Keynote, HELTASA/SAARDHE conference: Higher Education as a Social Space. 30th November - 3rd December, 2008. Grahamstown, South Africa.
    
    "Learning, Teaching and Ambiguity in Virtual Worlds." Diane Carr & Martin Oliver. Paper presentation. Researching Learning in Virtual Worlds (ReLIVE08). November 20th-21st. The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
• Languages Spoken:
  • French (basic)
• Website / Blogsite:
  • http://ioe.academia.edu/MartinOliver