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Speakers

 
Prof. dr. Theo Bastiaens is professor of Didactics of New Media and rector magnificus of the Open University since 2019. He attended the PABO in Heerlen, studied Educational Science at the University of Utrecht, received his doctorate in Twente and made an academic career at the Open University. In 2006 he became professor, dean and finally vice president at the FernUniversität in Hagen. In addition to his work as rector, his current positions include editor-in-chief of the scholarly journal Open Education Studies, member of the Supervisory Board of the FernUniversität in Hagen and president or EADTU.
  Azusa Nakata is a project manager and doctoral researcher in the Learning and Educational Technology (LET) Research Lab, at University of Oulu, Finland. She has coordinated and contributed to multiple European projects, including Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership projects, focusing on the design and implementation of digital tools informed by robust pedagogical principles to enhance distance education, hybrid learning, and student-centered collaborative learning.
Her doctoral research examines students' productive interactions in online computer-supported collaborative learning, with an emphasis on negotiation processes in group-level regulation of learning and their impact on the socio-emotional climate within the group.
  Prof. dr. Margus Pedaste is a Full Professor of Educational Innovation at the Institute of Education of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Tartu. He is also the head of the Institute of Education. Prof. Pedaste’s teaching and research focus is on improving learners’ digital literacy, inquiry skills and problem solving, as well as on educational technology in supporting teaching and learning. For 15 years he taught biology in school. He has led or participated as a principal investigator in several international research and development projects to support students' learning, teachers’ professional development and the teacher education reform in Estonia. The president of Estonia has awarded him the Order of the White Star. He is also Research fellow of the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence Under the Auspices of UNESCO.
Prof. dr. Armin Weinberger is head and founder of the EduTech department at Saarland University. Formerly, he was Associate Professor at the Department of Instructional Technology, Faculty of Behavioral Sciences, University of Twente, the Netherlands. He was lecturer and research fellow at the University of Munich, the University of Tübingen, and the Knowledge Media Research Center, Germany. His main research interests are educational technology, technology-enhanced learning, computer-supported collaboration scripts, argumentative knowledge construction, cross-cultural education, knowledge convergence, and methodological issues in small group learning.
Prof. dr. Annelies Raes is Assistant Professor in Educational Technology at KU Leuven, Belgium. As an educational scientist with a Ph.D. from Ghent University, she draws on her extensive research experience at itec, imec research group at KU Leuven and her role as Guest Professor and Chair Holder on Technology-Enhanced Learning Spaces at Université de Lille, France, to advance understanding of technology-enhanced learning environments and the evolving educational landscape in higher education. Her research agenda comprises two overarching and interconnected topics, namely a) the changing role of teachers in an AI-driven world, and b) synchronous hybrid education. Her research on synchronous hybrid learning environments examines how to effectively combine in-person and remote learning in real-time classroom settings, which has become particularly relevant as educational institutions increasingly adopt hybrid learning models. Her methodological approach emphasizes design-based research, where she forges crucial collaborations between students, teachers, and teaching support staff to ensure practical applicability and theoretical advancement.
Prof. dr. Tamara van Gog is Professor of Educational Sciences at the Department of Education of Utrecht University and Distinguished International Professor of Learning and Instruction at the LEAD Graduate School and Research Network of the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany. At Utrecht University, Tamara coordinates the research program of the Department of Education and until recently she coordinated the Research Master Educational Sciences: Learning in Interaction.
learning from examples; multimedia learning; and (training) self-regulation, reflection, and critical thinking. This research is conducted at all levels of education and with physicians (in training). Tamara frequently uses eye tracking in her research and has explored innovative techniques in which eye tracking is used to both study and promote learning.
  Prof. dr. Marco Kalz is full professor of educational technology and Chief Information/Chief Digital Officer (CIO/CDO) at the Heidelberg University of Education. His research interest lies on the use of open education, pervasive technologies and formative assessment to support (lifelong) learning and knowledge construction. Marco is a researcher at the intersection of educational science, computer science and psychology with an interest in addressing global societal challenges like energy conservation, marine litter, resuscitation support and cancer education with educational technology.
Marco is associate editor of the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education and editorial board member of the Journal of Computing in Higher Education. He is director of the study program E-Learning and Media Education and director of the Heidelberg Centre for Digital Transformation in Education.
Prof. dr. ir. Karel Kreijns is full professor (em.) at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the Open Universiteit of the Netherlands. His primary research interest is in the domain of technology enhanced collaborative learning (CSCL) with a particular focus on the role of social presence in mediated communication and collaboration. Further interests are the adoption of technology in education, motivation theory and innovative behavior in organizations.
Prof. dr. Carlos Santos is a full professor at the University of Aveiro. He is the Programme Director of the Master in Communication and Web Technologies. His research interests are related with promotion of Social Web in educational contexts, gamification, peer-learning and technology for building communities. He is an integrated member of the DigiMedia Research Centre and coordinator of the research group Social Media and Learning.
  Dr. Ana Balula is an associate professor at the University of Aveiro, Águeda School of Technology and Management of the University of Aveiro (ESTGA-UA). Ana holds PhD in Multimedia in Education (University of Aveiro - UA), and a Master's Degree in Multimedia in Education (e-assessment). She is an integrated member of the Research Centre on Didactics and Technology in the Education of Trainers (CIDTFF) and the Laboratory of Digital Contents (LCD) of the Department of Education and Psychology (DEP–UA). She has also been a member of scientific committees of international congresses and journals and has participated as a researcher in several scientific projects in her main research areas, namely: e-learning, b-learning, the use of digital technology in education, e-assessment/evaluation, Open Educational Resources (OER), English for Specific Purposes (ESP), foreign language didactics and intercultural business communication.
Dr. Ellen Rusman is an associate professor, designer and researcher at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the Open University. She conducts research on collaborative and networked learning, skills learning and the design of technologically supported seamless ('Seamless') learning pathways in which learners, both in schools and work settings, connect their learning experiences in and across contexts. Since 1998 Ellen has built a wide experience in national and international projects around the application of technology in education, has given advice and done workshops for various clients and publishes in (inter)national scientific journals.
Dr. Leen Catrysse currently works as an assistant professor at the group Online Learning and Instruction at the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the Open University in the Netherlands. Her research focuses on bridging the gap between online and offline measures in order to examine students' learning strategies. More specifically, she focuses on how eye movement registration can be used to examine differences in levels of processing when learning from text.

Prof. dr. Susan McKenney is a researcher, educator, consultant, and designer based at the University of Twente, Netherlands. She is especially interested in exploring and supporting the interplay between curriculum development and teacher professional development. This includes the supportive role of technology in curriculum and teacher development, as well as particular attention to these issues in science education, citizenship development, and early childhood literacy.

The book on Educational Design Research by McKenney and Reeves is standard work in many university programs in Educational Science, including the Open Universiteit.

Chaired by: dr. Maartje Henderikx, dr. Olga Firssova and dr. Slavi Stoyanov.