EdMedia Keynote & Invited Speakers

Keynote & Invited Speakers

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Tuesday, July 11

Productive Failure and Learning Technologies

Manu Kapur, ETH Zurich and The Future Learning Initiative, Switzerland

Abstract: There is now a substantive body of research that demonstrates the effectiveness of Productive Failure (PF) for learning novel concepts. I will start by describing what PF is, and situate the case for PF both theoretically and empirically. I will then delineate boundary conditions for how, when and why PF succeeds, and describe how advanced technologies can be used to embody PF mechanisms to deliver power learning effect at scale.

Bio: Manu Kapur is currently a Professor and Chair of Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where he directs the Future Learning Initiative (FLI). Prior to this, he worked in Singapore and Hong Kong, heading learning sciences labs, departments, and initiatives. Manu is widely known mainly for his research on learning from Productive Failure, which has received extensive media interest competitive funding. He has been a visiting professor at various top universities, and frequently advises important international, governmental, and advisory bodies. For more information, visit www.manukapur.com

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Wednesday, July 12

Talk Title TBA

Anna Iarotska, Co-Founder & CEO, robo wunderkind

Bio: Anna Iarotska graduated from the London School of Economics and worked in consulting for several years before she entered the start-up world. With a vision of inspiring children to use technology creatively, she co-founded an award-winning edtech Robo Wunderkind together with Yuri Levin and Rustem Akishbekov. The robotics kits and coding apps of the Viennese start-up are now used by educators in more than 500 international schools and educational institutions and inspire more than 7,000 private users.

Thursday, July 13

Learning Ecosystems ; Imagine, Inspire and Create Nimble Learning Strategies

Katja Schipperheijn, Author & Learning Strategist

Bio: Katja Schipperheijn is an internationally recognised author, learning strategist, guest lecturer and keynote speaker on innovations that supports learning and knowledge sharing from the symbiosis of man and machine to achieve sustainable growth with a focus on engagement and well-being.As an author, Katja gained international fame with her inspiring book Learning Ecosystems in which she does not shy away from hypes such as the Metaverse nor does she support old dogmas about learning and learning strategies. Often provocative, she offers insights and tools that support a future-oriented strategy to grow from continuous improvement, together with employees, the organisation and society. She is also the founder of the sCooledu foundation with which she reached over 15 000 children participating in her workshop on digital citizenship.About the bookBuilding and sustaining an organization which is nimble, adaptable, resilient and future proof is both complex and urgent. Only those with flexible and innovative Learnscapes will succeed.

Learning Ecosystems explains how organizations evolve into LearnScapes where learning techniques are aligned with continuous interaction with the ecosystem they are part of. It explains how to upskill and reskill a workforce continuously in an increasingly collaborative and tech-enabled world. Full of practical guidance and strategic advice, this book covers how to take a lifelong approach to learning in the organization and the core competencies needed for this. It explains what to do when building a value and data-driven learning strategy and discusses the symbiosis of people and technology.This book explores lean learning, data analytics, learning technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and the ethics of using these technologies. There is also crucial guidance on how to take a human-centric approach to innovation. Learning Ecosystems demonstrates the value of continuous improvement and offers techniques for a variety of situations including problem analyses, experimentation and algorithmic business thinking. Most importantly, it provides guidance on how to build a learning culture and a learning ecosystem throughout the company. Supported by case studies from companies including Etihad Airways, ING, ESF and FEDEX, this is essential reading from a leading learning innovator who has helped global organizations to rethink their learning strategies to achieve sustained business growth.

Talk Title TBA

Mark Brown, National Institute for Digital Learning, Dublin City University, Ireland

Bio: Professor Mark Brown is Ireland’s first Chair of Digital Learning and Director of the National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL) at Dublin City University, Ireland. Mark is a Senior Fellow of the European Distance and eLearning Network (EDEN) and also serves on the Management Board of EDEN Digital Learning Europe. Additionally, Professor Brown serves on the Supervisory Board of the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU). Originally from New Zealand, Mark continues to maintain strong “down under” links and, until recently, was Vice-President of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA). In 2017, the Commonwealth of Learning (CoL) recognised Mark as a world leader in the Open, Distance and Digital Education field. Shortly before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Brown was Chair of the 2019 ICDE World Conference on Online Learning in Dublin. In 2020, Mark contributed to the European Commission’s Higher Education Consultation Group on developing a EU-wide policy response to the growth of micro-credentials. In 2021, Mark completed a state-of-the-art literature review on the global development of micro-credentials on contract with the European Commission. In 2022, the OECD commissioned Professor Brown to review quality assurance processes for new blended, hybrid and online learning models worldwide. Mark also has a similar contract with Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) to develop new Statutory Quality Assurance Guidelines in this area. Mark offers a unique international perspective and has over 800 scholarly publications in his fields of interest. For more information, see: https://www.dcu.ie/nidl/director-nidl

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