About
I have many years of experience in producing and delivering OU modules, including the masters modules H880 Technology-enhanced learning and the now ended H817 Openness and Innovation in eLearning in the Instute of Educational Technology's (IET's) Online Teaching programme. I help run this programme through staff tutor and assessment responsibilities. I share IET's strong interest in the use of AI in education and have led a university project on the opportunities to use GenAI in curriculum development. Currently, I am leading the creation of a CPD couse on GenAI for Educators and am developing approaches to using GenAI in course production. My contribution to teaching also includes supporting faculties in areas of learning analytics. Primarily through supporting projects in the University's Scholarship Centres, and in particular, PRAXIS, the Scholarship Centre for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) by providing analyses and reflection that enables colleagues to better pursue the enhancement of their curriculum and the student experience.
My current research projects are ADMIT looking at the use of GenAI in HE and Every1 which is creating networks and materials to ensure no EU citizen is left behind in the energy transition. My research and scholarship interests call on extensive experience of working across faculties and University units, and centres on methods to better structure and understand student study pathway and experience data (Edwards, 2017; Rienties et al, 2018; Clow et al, 2019; Edwards and Gaved, 2020). This links strongly to the my contribution as CO-I on the Erasmus+ Complex Trajectories project. This interest in the student experience also encompasses assessment and feedback. Including the development of a permanently available, automated feedback tool for the coherence in essay writing, the Open Essay Optimiser. This further develops OpenEssayist (Edwards et al, 2022). Previously, my research activity was directed towards the TeSLA project, which explored the use of e-authentication tools within online student assessment (Edwards et al, 2018 (a) and (b); Edwards et al, 2019; Okada et al, 2019). Also, The MOVEME project, also called 'MOOC Italiano Inglese in Tandem', in the project section (Perez-Cavana and Edwards, 2017).
Biography
Chris is a senior lecturer in the Open University's Institute of Educational Technology IET. He has extensive experience of developing and delivering curriculum at all levels ahd has authored on the OU's Moodle based virtual learning environment and on the FutureLearn Platform. He provides learning analytics support to faculties, and has held institutional responsibilities for the Stage-gate process and for scrutiny and use of learning outcomes. Chris has a range of research interests that centre on understanding and improving the student experience. Currently, he is co-investigator on two EU funded projects, ADMIT and Every1 and is a consultant on a review of AI based language learning tools. Chris is deeply involved in the University's developing use of AI and is leading a career and professional development (CPD) course on GenAI for Educators. He has developed a student experience pathways model that introduces a step change in enabling a full understanding of the student experience; advised in the development of the Open Essay Optimiser, and led the trial of this student facing tool; and reviews wider issues, for example, the impact of different assessment strategies and students' experience of the National Student Survey.