Dr Christothea Herodotou

I am interested in the evaluation of technologies for learning (web-based platforms, mobile applications, and digital games) through innovative research methodologies including crowdsourcing and learning analytics. I hold funding from the National Science Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and ESRC for researching learning in online citizen science communities with the aim to make learning science more accessible and productive for youth. I also hold funding from the British Academy for evaluating the impact of mobile maths applications on young children's learning and development. I run an eSTEeM funded project on improving online pedagogy around the use of virtual microscopy in VLEs and co-lead the Tomorrow's World nQuire, an online citizen science partnership between BBC and the OU.

Qualifications:I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).I received my Ph.D. degree in Digital Games and Psychology from the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education with very minor amendments (4 weeks), a MSc in Education, Technology, and Society at the University of Bristol, UK (with Distinction) and a BA (Hons) degree in Primary Education, University of Cyprus.

Teaching: I am chairing the master module H800:Technology-enhanced learning: practices and debates (MA in Open and Distance Learning; MAODE) and I am Data Wrangler for the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL). I also coordinate the evaluation of the Early Alert Indicators project, a university-wide initiative for assessing predictive learning analytics interventions and their impact on students' performance and attainment.

Dr Christothea Herodotou is a Lecturer at The Open University, UK. Herresearch interests focus on the evaluation of technologies for learning (web-based platforms, digital games, and mobile applications) through innovative research methodologies including crowdsourcing and learning analytics. She holds funding from the National Science Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and ESRC for researching learning in online citizen science communities with the aim to make learning science more accessible and productive for youth. She also holds funding from the British Academy for evaluating the impact of mobile maths applications on young children's learning and development. She runs an eSTEeM funded project on improving online pedagogy around the use of virtual microscopy in VLEs and work with a broader academic team on the BBC/OU online citizen science partnership. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). She received her Ph.D. degree in Digital Games and Psychology from the University College London (UCL) and her MSc in Education, Technology, and Society from the University of Bristol (with Distinction).She is chairing the master module H800:Technology-enhanced learning: practices and debates (MA in Open and Distance Learning; MAODE) and she is a Data Wrangler for the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL).  She also coordinates the evaluation of the Early Alert Indicators project, a university-wide initiative for assessing predictive learning analytics interventions and their impact on students' performance and attainment.

2018

• Ferguson, Rebecca; Herodotou, Christothea; Coughlan, Tim; Scanlon, Eileen and Sharples, Mike (2018). MOOC development: priority areas. In: Luckin, Rosemary eds. Enhancing Learning and Teaching with Technology: What the Research Says London: UCL IOE Press.

• Herodotou, Christothea (2018). Citizen science and informal learning: A brief commentary. In: Luckin, Rosemary eds. Enhancing Learning and Teaching with Technology: What the Research Says. London: UCL Institute of Education Press.

2017

• Herodotou, Christothea; Gilmour, Alison; Boroowa, Avinash; Rienties, Bart; Zdrahal, Zdenek and Hlosta, Martin. (2017). Predictive modelling for addressing students’ attrition in Higher Education: The case of OU Analyse. In: CALRG Annual Conference 2017, 14-16 Jun 2017, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

• Herodotou, Christothea; Heiser, Sarah and Rienties, Bart. (2017). Implementing Randomised Control Trials in Open and Distance Learning: A Feasibility Study. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-learning, 32 (2) pp. 147-162.

• Herodotou, Christothea; Rienties, Bart; Boroowa, Avinash; Zdrahal, Zdenek; Hlosta, Martin and Naydenova, Galina. (2017). Implementing predictive learning analytics on a large scale: the teacher's perspective. In: Proceedings of the Seventh International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference, ACM, NY, 267-271.

• Herodotou, Christothea; Sharples, Mike and Scanlon, Eileen (2017). Introducing citizen inquiry. In: Herodotou, Christothea; Sharples, Mike and Scanlon, Eileen eds. Citizen Inquiry: Synthesising Science and Inquiry Learning Routledge.

• Sharples, Mike; Aristeidou, Maria; Villasclaras-Fernández, Eloy; Herodotou, Christothea and Scanlon, Eileen. (2017). The Sense-it App: A Smartphone Toolkit for Citizen Inquiry Learning. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 9 (2) pp. 16-38.

• Herodotou, Christothea; Sharples, Mike and Scanlon, Eileen (2017). Citizen Inquiry: Synthesising Science and Inquiry Learning. Abingdon: Routledge.

• Ferguson, Rebecca; Coughlan, Tim; Herodotou, Christothea and Scanlon, Eileen (2017). MOOCs: What the research of FutureLearn’s UK partners tells us. Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes.

• FitzGerald, Elizabeth; Kucirkova, Natalia; Jones, Ann; Cross, Simon; Ferguson, Rebecca; Herodotou, Christothea; Hillaire, Garron and Scanlon, Eileen. (2017). Dimensions of personalisation in technology-enhanced learning: a framework and implications for design. British Journal of Educational Technology (In press).

• Muirhead, David K.; Herodotou, Christothea; Aristeidou, Maria; Hole, M. J.; Kelley, Simon; Scanlon, Eileen and Duffy, M.. (2017). A Comparative Study of Blended and Online Learning using the Virtual Microscope for Earth Sciences. In: Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference: Making Connections and Sharing Pedagogy, 39 June - 30 June 2017, Heriot-Watt University, UK.

• Rienties, Bart; Rogaten, Jekaterina; Nguyen, Quan; Edwards, Chris; Gaved, Mark; Holt, Deborah; Herodotou, Christothea; Clow, Doug; Cross, Simon; Coughlan, Tim; Jones, Jan and Ullmann, Thomas (2017). Scholarly Insight Spring 2017: A Data Wrangler Perspective. Open University UK.

• Rienties, Bart; Clow, Doug; Coughlan, Tim; Cross, Simon; Edwards, Chris; Gaved, Mark; Herodotou, Christothea; Hlosta, Martin; Jones, Jan; Rogaten, Jekaterina and Ullmann, Thomas (2017). Scholarly insight Autumn 2017:a Data wrangler perspective. Open University UK.

• Gilmour, Alison; MacLeod, Lucy; Naydenova, Galina; Boroowa, Avinash; Ward, Rebecca and Herodotou, Christothea. (2017). Predictive modelling and student retention: A collaborative enhancement project. In: 3rd International Enhancement in Higher Education Conference, 6 - 8 June 2017, Glasgow, UK.

• Herodotou, Christothea. (2017). Young children and tablets: A systematic review of effects on learning and development. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34 (1) pp. 1-9.

• Ferguson, Rebecca; Barzilai, Sarit; Ben-Zvi, Dani; Chinn, Clark A; Herodotou, Christothea; Hod, Yotam; Kali, Yael; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Kupermintz, Haggai; McAndrew, Patrick; Rienties, Bart; Sagy, Ornit; Scanlon, Eileen; Sharples, Mike; Weller, Martin and Whitelock, Denise (2017). Innovating Pedagogy 2017: Exploring new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators and policy makers. Open University Innovation Report 6. The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

• Herodotou, Christothea and Edwards, Chris (2017). Factors explaining students’ satisfaction and performance in Business and Law modules. The Open University.

• Herodotou, Christothea. (2017). Mobile games and science learning: A comparative study of 4 and 5 years old playing the game Angry Birds. British Journal of Educational Technology (Early view).

• Herodotou, Christothea. (2017). Do children learn from playing Angry Birds? A comparative study of 4 and 5 years old. In: CALRG Annual Conference 2017, 14-16 Jun 2017, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

• Herodotou, Christothea; Aristeidou, Maria; Kelley, Simon and Scanlon, Eileen. (2017). Students' engagement with practical science online: Pedagogical implications of the use of virtual microscope in distance learning. In: EARLI 2017, 29th August - 2nd Sept 2017.

2016

• Herodotou, Christothea; Heiser, Sarah and Rienties, Bart. (2016). A randomised control study about the effects of different assessment registration encouragements. In: 8th Biennial conference of EARLI Sig 1: Assessment & Evaluation, 24-26 August 2016, Munich, Germany.

• Sharples, Mike; de Roock, Roberto; Ferguson, Rebecca; Gaved, Mark; Herodotou, Christothea; Koh, Elizabeth; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Looi, Chee-Kit; McAndrew, Patrick; Rienties, Bart; Weller, Martin and Wong, Lung Hsiang (2016). Innovating Pedagogy 2016: Open University Innovation Report 5. The Open University.

• Ferguson, Rebecca; Coughlan, Tim and Herodotou, Christothea (2016). MOOCS: What The Open University research tells us. Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes.

• Rienties, Bart; Edwards, Chris; Gaved, Mark; Marsh, Vicky; Herodotou, Christothea; Clow, Doug; Cross, Simon; Coughlan, Tim; Jones, Jan and Ullmann, Thomas (2016). Scholarly insight 2016: a Data wrangler perspective. Open University UK.

• Mystakidis, Stylianos and Herodotou, Christothea. (2016). OpenQuest: Designing a Motivational Framework for MOOCs Instruction. In: MOOCs in Europe, European Commission, Maastricht, 141-145.

• Herodotou, Christothea. (2016). Touchscreen mobile games and science learning: Do preschoolers benefit from their use?. In: BERA conference 2016, 13-15 Sept 2016, Leeds, UK.

• Herodotou, Christothea. (2016). Are mobile games good for preschoolers? Angry Birds and science learning in a group of 5-years old. In: Proceedings of E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), Chesapeake, VA, 679-687.

2015

• Herodotou, Christothea; Kambouri, Maria and Winters, Niall. (2015). What characteristics of the gamers' profile should be taken into account in player-centred game design?. In: Workshop Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Intelligent Environments, IOS Press, 289-297.

• Herodotou, Christothea and Mystakidis, Stylianos. (2015). Addressing the Retention Gap in MOOCs: Towards a Motivational Framework for MOOCs Instructional Design. In: 16th Biennial EARLI Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction, 25-29 August 2015, Limassol, Cyprus.

• Herodotou, Christothea; Winters, Niall and Kambouri, Maria. (2015). An Iterative, Multidisciplinary Approach to Studying Digital Play Motivation: The Model of Game Motivation. Games and Culture, 10 (3) pp. 249-268.

• Sharples, Mike; Aristeidou, Maria; Villasclaras-Fernández, Eloy; Herodotou, Christothea and Scanlon, Eileen. (2015). Sense-it: A Smartphone Toolkit for Citizen Inquiry Learning. In: The Mobile Learning Voyage – From Small Ripples to Massive Open Waters, 366-377.

2014

• Herodotou, Christothea; Villasclaras Fernandez, Eloy and Sharples, Mike (2014). The design and evaluation of a sensor-based mobile application for citizen inquiry science investigations. In: Rensing, Christoph; de Freitas, Sara; Ley, Tobias and Muñoz-Merino , Pedro J. eds. Open Learning and Teaching in Educational Communities: 9th European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning, EC-TEL 2014, Graz, Austria, September 16-19, 2014, Proceedings SpringerInternational Publishing, pp. 434-439.

• Herodotou, Christothea; Villasclaras-Fernandez, Eloy and Sharples, Mike. (2014). Scaffolding citizen inquiry science learning through the nQuire toolkit.. In: EARLI SIG 20: Computer Supported Inquiry Learning, 18-20 August 2014, Malmö University, Sweden.

• Kyza, Eleni A.; Herodotou, Christothea; Nicolaidou, Iolie; Redfors, Andreas; Hansson, Lena; Schanze, Sascha; Saballus, Ulf; Papadouris, Nicos and Michael, Georgia (2014). Adapting web-based inquiry learning environments from one country to another: the CoReflect experience. In: Bruguière, Catherine; Tiberghien, Andrée and Clément, Pierre eds. Topics and Trends in Current Science Education Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 567-582.

• Herodotou, C.; Kambouri, M. and Winters, N.. (2014). Dispelling the myth of the socio-emotionally dissatisfied gamer. Computers in Human Behavior, 32 pp. 23-31.

2012

• Herodotou, Christothea; Kyza, Eleni A.; Nicolaidou, Iolie ; Hadjichambis, Andreas ; Kafouris , Dimitris and Terzian, Freda . (2012). The development and validation of the GMOAS: an instrument measuring secondary students’ attitudes towards Genetically Modified Organisms.. International Journal of Science Education, Part B: Communication and Public Engagement, 2 (2) pp. 131-147.

• Herodotou, Christothea; Winters, Niall and Kambouri, Maria. (2012). A Motivationally Oriented Approach to Understanding Game Appropriation. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 28 (1) pp. 34-47.

2011

• Herodotou, Christothea; Kambouri, Maria and Winters, Niall. (2011). The role of trait emotional intelligence in gamers' preferences for play and frequency of gaming. Computers in Human Behavior, 27 (5) pp. 1815-1819.

2009

• Herodotou, Christothea (2009). Game Appropriation: Where does the gamer fit?. PhD thesis UCL Institute of Education.

Current

	Examining learning processes through the integration of two informal science learning approaches: Natural History Museum-led citizen science	2017 - 2021
	m-Evaluate (mEvaluate: Devising an evaluation framework for the design and use of mobile learning applications in early years' education)	2017 - 2018

Completed

	How can touchscreen mobile game applications support inclusion and participation in science learning of preschoolers from disadvantaged backgrounds?	2015 - 2016
	nQuire (nQuire: Young Citizen Inquiry)	2013 - 2014
	PKF (Police Knowledge Fund)	2015 - 2017

Past

Invited Talk

24th January 2018

From Early Years to Higher Education: Capturing learning with technologies

Department of Education, University of Oxford

Invited Talk

6th June 2017

Youth learning in citizen science programmes

Citizen science conference Natural History Museum London

Conference Presentation

16th March 2017

Implementing Predictive Learning Analytics on a Large Scale:

Learning Analytics and Knowledge conference Vancouver, Canada

Conference Presentation

14th September 2016

Touchscreen mobile games and science learning: Do preschoolers benefit from their use?

BERA Annual Conference 2016 Leeds, UK

Awards

BERA BJET Fellowship

British Academy Mid-career fellowship

The Open University Inaugural Engaging Research Award

External Appointments

• Honorary Research Associate, PhD supervisor, UCL (2016)