About us
We offer a place to explore, develop and evaluate new ideas, promoting a culture of innovation at The Open University. Our goal is always to improve the experiences of students and support our academic and professional services colleagues.
Over the last four years we have worked on a variety of innovative products and projects, from developing Virtual Reality experiences, to building digital collaborative authoring tools, running Hack Days and conferences, and more.
We share our experiences across our channels and we use this website as a central point for our various updates.
Get in touch
We are strongly in favour of an evidence-led and iterative approach to innovation. We use human-centred design (HCD) to gain an in-depth understanding of users’ problems and combine this with our knowledge of distance and digital pedagogies, educational technologies and product development skills to deliver solutions.
It is this combination that allows us to develop products that meet the needs of students, while being innovative and pushing the boundaries. Our goal is to create effective, high quality, innovative solutions where pedagogy, technology and user experience are mutually supportive.
To do this, we use cycles of divergence and convergence until we get it right. HCD involves three main phases: Inspiration, Ideation, Implementation. We follow this pattern, iterating our designs, and testing and evaluating the results. It’s still reliant on having a good idea, as well as having the capacity and ability to deliver it, but using HCD helps us ensure we have done the right research, for the right people, for the right reasons. We’ve found that it helps us deliver solutions that do a better job of meeting users’ needs.
Graph from IDEO representing the main phases of human-centred design.
Credit: IDEO.org, https://www.ideo.org/approach
To find out more about human-centred design, it’s importance, and why we are among many who believe is the best approach for them, visit IDEO.org for a brief introduction, or you could use their Design Kit, as we have done: http://www.designkit.org/human-centered-design (opens in new tab) – it’s excellent! If you would like to know more about why we adopt HCD or learn about our experience using it, do get in touch.
The Learning Innovation team is built up of people from all backgrounds and specialities. We all share the same passion of inspiring positive and innovative thinking at The Open University.
Head of Learning Innovation
Been around the OU for ages, mostly thinking about the digital transformation of learning and changing the way things are done around here.
Senior Product Development Manager
I’m called the resident techie, but that probably is a polite term for nerd. I’m interested in digital authoring, educational and smart tech, VR/AR/MR, eBooks, Learning Systems and mobile learning. Basically, give me a device and I’m happy!
I’ve recently worked on new digital authoring tools and am currently working on a project to improve the student experience on mobile and smart tech devices.
For more info on strategic projects that I’ve contributed to, visit my OU biography (opens in new tab).
Senior Product Development Manager
With a background in computer science training and data analytics, I’m interested in how learning experiences can be improved through the application of new technologies in an evidence-based way.
I’m currently looking at how virtual reality can improve skills acquisition and boost confidence for students in healthcare settings.
Learning Application Developer
I am an experienced educational software developer with a passion for exploring the boundaries of new technologies to deliver and underpin impactful learning. I have been at the forefront of many landmark educational technologies in my 20-year career at the OU, including e-learning websites, mobile apps and most recently Virtual Reality.
Product Development Manager
With a background in classroom teaching, I am intrigued by the differences in distance and face-to-face learning. I also love to experiment with new educational technology with the aim of balancing novelty against utility.
For more info on strategic projects that I’ve contributed to, visit my OU biography (opens in new tab).
User Experience Designer
With a background in Linguistics, Marketing and Management Consulting, I’m fascinated by the intersection of people, environment and technology.
Having lived in Russia, China and the UK, I firmly believe that the best solutions come from diverse ideas. This is why I simply can’t get enough of talking to strangers and love all things user research!
User Experience Designer
I like the use of creative thinking and design to solve problems. I aspire to create designs that empower, enrich and delight people. I believe in observing what people do, not what they say.
For more info on strategic projects that I’ve contributed to, visit my OU biography (opens in new tab).
LDS-LearningInnovation@open.ac.uk
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Learning Innovation
