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I am a Professor in the Institute of Educational Technology where I lead on research and innovation, with a focus on pedagogical transformations and future learning scenarios across informal and formal settings. I have 35 years' experience researching, conceptualising and evaluating learning technologies in distance education, language learning and informal learning, and have spent 20 years developing the field of mobile learning. My current focus is on opening up education to marginalised populations and the use of mobile technologies and intelligent personal assistants for widening participation. The research is often conducted in collaboration with colleagues in Sweden, Norway, Canada, Italy, Spain, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and India. I've led major research projects as well as cross-university projects on mobile learning, e-book adoption, video reuse, and pedagogical aspects of synchronous group tuition. I have chaired the production and presentation of modules in the Masters in Online and Distance Education, and have worked with module teams across the OU on learning design and professional development for academic and academic-related staff. In my external work I've authored or contributed to guides for English language teachers on mobile learning, personalisation and artificial intelligence (published by British Council, Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press), developed teachers in leadership programmes, and informed policy makers on mobile learning adoption. I supervise PhD and EdD students and support early career colleagues through mentoring.
I joined the Open University in 1996, having previously worked for 10 years at Aston University in Birmingham where I was based in the Languages and European Studies Department as a Research Fellow and then a Lecturer in Computational Linguistics and French. For my PhD awarded at Aston University, I mapped the knowledge needs and questions posed by individuals responsible for computer security in their organisations against the information they could (or could not) obtain from technical documentation. This was a first step in what became my lifelong pursuit to discover how people learn informally about emerging topics and technologies, and how this informal activity can transform established practices, the design of teaching materials, and user interfaces across a variety of media.
Biography
Agnes Kukulska-Hulme is Professor of Learning Technology and Communication in the Institute of Educational Technology (IET) where she leads the Learning Futures research and innovation programme. As a recognised expert in mobile learning, she has led many projects and participated in international initiatives, including the EU MOTILL project on mobile lifelong learning, the EU MASELTOV project's Learning Services for social inclusion of immigrants, British Council-sponsored research on Mobile Pedagogy for English language teaching and on Marginalisation in low-resource contexts, and the SALSA project on language learning in smart cities. Professor Kukulska-Hulme's research has been supported by external funding and commissions from the EU, The British Council, UKRI, RCUK, UNESCO, Refugee Action, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Jisc, Commonwealth of Learning, MK Smart, Becta, TIRF, National College of School Leadership, Mellon Foundation, RCoN, and Cambridge University Press.
She is Past-President of the International Association for Mobile Learning, and serves on several journals' Editorial Boards including ReCALL, RPTEL, and International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning. She has been an invited Visiting Scholar or Fellow at several institutions where she led developments in mobile learning: English Language Institute of Singapore (Ministry of Education); Beijing Foreign Studies University in China (High End Expert); University of Technology, Sydney; National Central University, Taiwan; Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid. She has published over 250 journal articles, papers and books, and has been a keynote or invited speaker at over 100 conferences and workshops. Recent keynotes include AI and Methodology 2024 Poland, IADIS Mobile learning Lisbon 2023, mLearn 2022 Netherlands, Supertabi 2022 Portugal, ChinaCALL 2020 Beijing, WSA-EC Forum 2018 Singapore, AELFE 2018 Madrid, ELECC 2018 Hong Kong, mInclusion 2017 Gothenburg.
Professor Kukulska-Hulme has served in management and leadership roles, as Associate Director (Learning & Teaching and Academic Professional Development), Deputy Director IET, Co-Head of the Technology Enhanced Learning Group; Programme Lead for Next Generation Distance Learning, Innovating Pedagogy, and Learning Futures. She has chaired several conferences, including the international mLearn conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning. She has served as an External Examiner of over 30 doctoral theses and an External Evaluator for grant-giving bodies and for overseas universities' research quality assessments (Hong Kong Institute of Education, University of Gothenburg, Athabasca University).
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Friend Wise, Alyssa; Coughlan, Tim; Biswas, Gautam; Bossu, Carina; Burriss, Sarah K.; Charitonos, Koula; Crossley, Scott A.; Enyedy, Noel; Ferguson, Rebecca; FitzGerald, Elizabeth; Gaved, Mark; Herodotou, Christothea; Hundley, Melanie; McTamaney, Catherine; Molvig, Ole; Pendergrass, Emily; Ramey, Lynn; Sargent, Julia; Scanlon, Eileen; Smith, Blaine E. and Whitelock, Denise (). Innovating Pedagogy 2024. The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). A hopeful future for mobile language learning. In: Hampel, Regine and Stickler, Ursula eds. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Language Learning and Technology London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Charitonos, Koula; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Huxley, Sarah; Hedges, Claire; Law, Patrina; Power, Tom; Akyeampong, Kwame; Mwoma, Teresa; Al-Awidi, Hamid and Whitelock, Denise (). Consultation for the 2023 GEM Report on Technology and Education. The Open University.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (). Assistance for Mobile Language Learners. In: Proceedings of 10th International Conference on e-Learning, Belgrade Metropolitan University, Belgrade, 9-11.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Traxler, John (). Design principles for learning with mobile devices. In: Beetham, Helen and Sharpe, Rhona eds. Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing for 21st Century Learning. 3rd edition. Routledge, pp. 181-196.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Mobile assistance for personal learning on a massive scale. In: Orsini-Jones, Marina and Smith, Simon eds. Flipping the blend through MOOCs, MALL and OIL - new directions in CALL Research-publishing.net, pp. 1-8.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Pegrum, Mark (). Linguistic diversity in online and mobile learning. In: Creese, Angela and Blackledge, Adrian eds. The Routledge Handbook of Language and Superdiversity Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 518-532.
Gaved, Mark; Peasgood, Alice and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Learning when out and about. In: Luckin, Rose eds. Enhancing Learning and Teaching with Technology: What the research says London: UCL Institute of Education Press, pp. 76-80.
Traxler, John; Read, Timothy; Barcena, Elena and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Mobile open social language learning: towards a paradigm shift. In: Read, Timothy; Montaner, Salvador and Sedano, Beatriz eds. Technological Innovation for Specialized Linguistic Domains: Languages for Digital Lives and Cultures (Proceedings of TISLID'18) Mauritius: Éditions Universitaires Européennes, pp. 397-406.
Norris, Lucy and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Teacher Training and PD in Mobile Pedagogy for English Language Teaching. In: Power, Robert; Ally, Mohamed; Cristol, Dean and Palalas, Agnieszka eds. IAmLearning: Mobilizing and supporting educator practice International Association for Mobile Learning, pp. 112-137.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Lee, Helen and Norris, Lucy (). Mobile Learning Revolution: Implications for Language Pedagogy. In: Chapelle, Carol A. and Sauro, Shannon eds. The Handbook of Technology and Second Language Teaching and Learning Oxford: Wiley & Sons, pp. 217-233.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Gaved, Mark; Jones, Ann; Norris, Lucy and Peasgood, Alice. (). Mobile language learning experiences for migrants beyond the classroom. In: The Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants / L’intégration linguistique des migrants adultes: Some lessons from research / Les enseignements de la recherche, De Gruyter Mouton, Berlin, 219-224.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Mobile Assistance in Language Learning: A critical appraisal. In: Palalas, Agnieszka and Ally, Mohamed eds. The International Handbook of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning Beijing: China Central Radio & TV University Press Co., Ltd., pp. 138-160.
Read, Timothy; Bárcena, Elena and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Exploring the application of a conceptual framework in a social MALL app. In: Pareja-Lora, Antonio; Calle-Martínez, Cristina and Rodríguez-Arancón, Pilar eds. New perspectives on teaching and working with languages in the digital era Research-Publishing.net, pp. 223-232.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Sharples, Mike (). Waypoints along learning journeys in a mobile world. In: Ng, Wan and Cumming, Therese M. eds. Sustaining Mobile Learning: Theory, Research and Practice Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp. 43-56.
Read, Timothy; Bárcena, Elena and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Mobile and Massive Language Learning. In: Martín-Monje, Elena; Elorza, Izaskun and García Riaza, Blanca eds. Technology-Enhanced Language Learning for Specialized Domains: Practical applications and mobility Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 151-161.
2015
Bárcena, Elena; Read, Timothy; Underwood, Joshua; Obari, Hiroyuki; Cojocnean, Diana; Koyama, Toshiko; Pareja-Lora, Antonio; Calle, Cristina; Pomposo, Lourdes; Talaván, Noa; Ávila-Cabrera, José; Ibañez, Ana; Vermeulen, Anna; Jordano, María; Arús-Hita, Jorge; Rodríguez, Pilar; Castrillo, María Dolores; Kétyi, Andras; Selwood, Jaime; Gaved, Mark and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (). State of the art of language learning design using mobile technology: sample apps and some critical reflection. In: Critical CALL – Proceedings of the 2015 EUROCALL Conference, Padova, Italy, Research-publishing.net, Dublin, 36-43.
Gaved, Mark; Luley, Patrick; Efremidis, Sofoklis; Georgiou, Iakovos; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Jones, Ann and Scanlon, Eileen. (). Challenges in context-aware mobile language learning: the MASELTOV approach. In: 13th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning 2014, 3-5 Nov 2014, Istanbul, Turkey.
Pearson, Charlie; Gaved, Mark; Brasher, Andrew; Jones, Ann; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Scanlon, Eileen; Jones, Janet; Neumann, Lukas and Busta, Michal (). Mobile Situated Language Learning. MASELTOV Consortium, Graz, Austria.
de Waard, Inge; Gallagher, Michael Sean; Zelezny-Green, Ronda; Czerniewicz, Laura; Downes, Stephen; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Willems, Julie. (). Challenges for conceptualising EU MOOC for vulnerable learner groups. In: European MOOCs Stakeholder Summit 2014, 10-12 Feb 2014, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Traxler, John (). Design principles for mobile learning. In: Beetham, Helen and Sharpe, Rhona eds. Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing for 21st Century Learning (2nd ed.) Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 244-257.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Gaved, Mark; Brasher, Andrew; Jones, Ann; Scanlon, Eileen and Paletta, Lucas. (). Designing for inclusion through incidental language learning. In: ICT for Language Learning (5th Edition), 15-16 Nov 2012, Florence, Italy.
Shrestha, Prithvi; Fayram, Joanna; Demouy, Valérie; Eardley, Annie and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (). Innovations in EAP oral assessment: the IOA project. In: 46th Annual IATEFL conference, 19-23 Mar 2012, Glasgow.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Prospects for inclusive mobile learning. In: Allegra, M.; Arrigo, M.; Dal Grande, V.; Denaro, P.; La Guardia, D.; Ottaviano, S. and Todaro, G. eds. Mobile Learning for Visually Impaired People Palermo: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche, pp. 13-25.
Smith, Martin; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Page, Anna (). Educational use cases from a shared exploration of e-books and iPads. In: Goh, Tiong-Thye eds. E-Books and E-Readers for E-Learning Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria Business School, Victoria University of Wellington, pp. 25-53.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Mobile-assisted language learning. In: Chapelle, Carol A. eds. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics Blackwell Publishing Ltd..
Pettit, John and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Mobile 2.0: crossing the border into formal learning?. In: Lee, Mark J.W. and McLoughlin, Catherine eds. Web 2.0-Based E-Learning: Applying Social Informatics for Tertiary Teaching Hershey & New York: IGI Global, pp. 192-208.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Pettit, John; Bradley, Linda; Carvalho, Ana A.; Herrington, Anthony; Kennedy, David M. and Walker, Aisha. (). Mature students using mobile devices in life and learning. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 3 (1) pp. 18-52.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Sharples, Mike; Milrad, Marcelo; Arnedillo-Sánchez, Inmaculada and Vavoula, Giasemi (). The genesis and development of mobile learning in Europe. In: Parsons, David eds. Combining E-Learning and M-Learning: New Applications of Blended Educational Resources Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global), pp. 151-177.
Eardley, Annie; Demouy, Valérie; Shrestha, Prithvi and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (). The Interactive Oral Assessment (IOA) Project. In: International Conference ICT for Language Learning, 20-21 Oct 2011, Florence, Italy.
Arnedillo-Sánchez, Inmaculada; Arrigo, Marco; Crehan, Freida; Dal Grande, Paola; Di Giuseppe, Onofrio; Farrow, Robert; Fulantelli, Giovanni; Gabor, Andras; Gentile, Manuel; Kismihok, Gabor; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Merlo, Gianluca; Peasgood, Alice; Pettit, John; Seta, Luciano and Taibi, Davide (). Best Practices. In: Arrigo, M.; Di Giuseppe, O.; Fulantelli, G.; Gentile, M.; Merlo, G.; Seta, L. and Taibi, D. eds. MOTILL Mobile Technologies in Lifelong Learning: Best Practices Italian National Research Council - Institute for Educational Technology, pp. 34-37.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Sharples, Mike. (). Mobile and contextual learning. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 17 (3) pp. 159-160.
Demouy, Valérie; Eardley, Annie; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Thomas, Rhodri. (). The L120 Mobile Project. In: Mobile Learning and autonomy in second language acquisition (MLASLA), 17-19 Sep 2009, Toledo, Spain.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Conclusions: Future Directions in Researching Mobile Learning. In: Vavoula, Giasemi; Pachler, Norbert and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes eds. Researching Mobile Learning: Frameworks, tools and research designs Oxford, UK: Peter Lang Verlag, pp. 353-365.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Sharples, Mike; Milrad, Marcelo; Arnedillo-Sánchez, Inmaculada and Vavoula, Giasemi. (). Innovation in Mobile Learning: A European Perspective. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 1 (1) pp. 13-35.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Encyclopedic knowledge in the mobile age. In: Needham, Gill and Ally, Mohamed eds. M-libraries: libraries on the move to provide virtual access London, UK: Facet Publishing, pp. 29-36.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Sharples, Mike; Milrad, Marcelo; Arnedillo-Sánchez, Inmaculada and Vavoula, Giasemi. (). Innovazione nel mobile learning. Tecnologie Didattiche, 44 (2) pp. 4-21.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Human Factors and Innovation with Mobile Devices. In: Hansson, Thomas eds. Handbook of Research on Digital Information Technologies: Innovations, Methods and Ethical Issues Hershey: Information Science Reference (IGI Global), pp. 392-403.
Pettit, John and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (). Do smart devices make smart learners?. In: Proceedings of the MLearn 2008 Conference, 7-10 Oct 2008, Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire, UK.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Traxler, John (). Designing for mobile and wireless learning. In: Beetham, Helen and Sharpe, Rhona eds. Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: designing and delivering e-learning London, UK: Routledge, pp. 180-192.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Mobile language learning now and in the future. In: Svensson, Patrik eds. Från vision till praktik: Språkutbildning och Informationsteknik (From vision to practice: language learning and IT) Sweden: Swedish Net University (Nätuniversitetet), pp. 295-310.
Pettit, John and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (). Going with the grain: mobile devices in practice. In: 23rd Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (Ascilite): 'Who’s Learning? Whose Technology?', 3-6 Dec 2006, Sydney.
Ralston, J.; Cooke, D.; Twining, P.; Dillon, G.; Evans, D.; Jones, A.; Kukulska-Hulme, A.; McAndrew, P.; Scanlon, E.; Selwood, I.; Sheehy, K. and Underwood, J.. (). Introducing Tablet PCs in schools - a national study - some lessons learned. In: IFIP Conference, Imagining the future for ICT and Education, 26-30 Jun 2006, Norway.
2005
Twining, Peter; Evans, Diane; Cook, Deirdre; Ralston, John; Selwood, Ian; Jones, Ann; Underwood, Jean; Scanlon, Eileen; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Dillon, Gayle; McAndrew, Patrick and Sheehy, Kieron. (). Should there be a future for Tablet PCs in schools?. Journal of Interactive Media in Education.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Group Leadership in Online Collaborative Learning. In: Howard, Caroline; Boettcher, Judith; Justice, Lorraine; Schenk, Karen; Berg, Gary and Rogers, Patricia eds. Encyclopedia of Distance Learning United States of America: Information Science Publishing, Idea Group Inc., pp. 975-983.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Mobile Usability and User Experience. In: Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Traxler, John eds. Mobile Learning: A handbook for educators and trainers London, UK: Routledge, pp. 45-56.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Do Online collaborative groups need leaders?. In: Roberts, Tim S. eds. Online collaborative learning: Theory and practice USA: Idea Group Publishing, pp. 262-280.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes and Shield, Lesley. (). Usability and Pedagogical Design: Are Language Learning Websites Special?. In: Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2004--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), Lugano, Switzerland, 4235-4242.
van der Zwan, Robert; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Di Paolo, Terry; Evers, Vanessa and Clarke, Sarah (). The Informedia Digital Video Library System at the Open University. In: Harper, D.J. and Eakins, J.P. eds. CIR-99: The Challenge of Image Retrieval The University of Northumbria, Newcastle-on-Tyne: BCS Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWIC).
1998
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (). The Concept Navigator: A Web-Based Concept Tracking Glossary Tool. In: Teleteaching '98 - Distance Learning, Training and Education, Österreichische Computer Gesellschaft (Austrian Computer Society) on behalf of the International Federation for Information Processing, Vienna, Austria, 607-614.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). A Dictionary View of Technical Writing. In: Holt, Patrik and Williams, Noel eds. Computers and Writing: State of the Art Bristol: Intellect, pp. 244-253.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (). La méthodologie en terminologie et la rédaction technique. In: Terminologie et Enseignement des Languages: Actes du colloque international organise par l'Association europeenne des linguistes et des professeurs de langues (AELPL), les 31 janvier et 1er fevrier 1991, a Cergy-Pontoise au Conseil general du Val-d'Oise, La Tilv éditeur (La Tribune Internationale des Langues Vivantes), Paris, 33-35.
1990
Knowles, Frank and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Modern Studies of Modern Languages. In: Miall, David S. eds. Humanities and the Computer: New Directions Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 171-182.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (). Computer-assisted reference skill development. In: Ager, D. E. eds. Written Skills in the Modern Languages Degree Birmingham, U.K.: AMLC in association with CILT (Centre for Information on Language Teaching & Research), pp. 149-157.
Article written by Executive Director Torhild Slaatto, following my keynote at mInclusion conference in Gothenburg
Flexible Education Norway | 25th August 2017
Mobile Learning and the Future of Learning
Interview for the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association
HETL | 28th February 2012
Mobile technology and global issues
Podcast interview for International Association for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) as part of a series
IATEFL archive | 18th December 2014
Awards
Collaborative Development Award 2014
For partnership development with the National Institute of Education at Nanyang Technological University Singapore - UK Government and British Council.
Open University Teaching Fellowship 2001
As Chair of H802 (Masters) course team for “innovation and excellence in global on-line course delivery".
Outstanding Paper Award 2004
Kukulska-Hulme, A. & Shield, L. (2004). Usability and Pedagogical Design: Are Language Learning Websites Special? ED-MEDIA’04 World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Lugano, Switzerland, 22-26 June.
Outstanding Paper Award 2006
Pettit, J. & Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2006). Going with the grain: mobile devices in practice. ASCILITE’06 Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education conference: Who’s learning? Whose Technology? Sydney, Australia, 4-6 December.