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I am Professor of Technology Enhanced Assessment and Learning in the Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology, with over twenty years experience in designing, researching and evaluating online and computer-based learning in Higher Education.
I am currently leading the UK’s contribution to the Adaptive Trust e-Assessment System for Learning (TeSLA) project, which started in January 2016 https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/six-million-pound-european-union-eu-project-aims-to-stamp-out-cheating-in-online-assessment. The overall objective of the TeSLA project is to define and develop an e-assessment system, which ensures learners authentication and authorship in online and blended learning environments while avoiding the time and physical space limitations imposed by face-to-face examination.
I am leading the UK's contribution to the European CODUR project http://in3.uoc.edu/opencms_in3/opencms/webs/projectes/codur/en/index.html This work builds on the digital tools already developed to measure the quality of online education and integrate thse into the EU's existing international ranking system, U-Multirank.
I am also co PI for the HEFCE funded Learning Gains Project with Surrey and Oxford Brookes Universities. It is a three year longitudinal study assessing the suitability and scalability of the Affective-Behaviour-Cognition (ABC) Learning Gains model across the HE sector in England.
Biography
Denise has over twenty years experience in designing, researching and evaluating online and computer-based learning in Higher Education. She is Professor of Technology Enhanced Assessment and Learning in the Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology.
Denise has recently finished directing the SAFeSEA project. http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/safesea/The aim of this research was to provide an effective automated interactive feedback system that yields an acceptable level of support for university students writing essays in a distance or e-learning context.
She is currently working on the European funded TeSLA project http://tesla-project.eu/ This TeSLA software will support any e-assessment model (formative, summative and continuous) covering teaching and learning processes as well as ethical, legal and technological aspects. TeSLA will offer to educational institutions, accrediting agencies and to society, an unambiguous proof of learners’ academic progression, authorship and authentication during the whole learning process.
Other ongoing projects include CODUR (Creating an online dimension for University rankings) http://in3.uoc.edu/opencms_in3/opencms/webs/projectes/codur/en/index.html and the HEFCE funded Learning Gains project which is a three year longitudinal study assessing the suitability and scalability of the Affective-Behaviour-Cogition (ABC) Learning Gains model across the Higher Education sector.
She has also led a series of projects from 2009 which were funded by the Spanish Government which addressed ways in which online materials with feedback could be used to support students with chronic illness who could only attend school infrequently.
She was a regular Programme Committee member of the Computer Assisted Assessment Conference which she chaired from 2010 to 2013. This has now been renamed as the Technology-Enhanced Assessment Conference where she still remains a Programme Committee member.
She has edited four special journal issues on e-Assessment for BJET, LMTECI, IJCELL and IJEA. She was appointed the Editor of the Journal of Open Learning in 2018. Her work has received international recognition as she holds visiting chairs at the Autonoma University, Barcelona and the British University in Dubai. Denise has also served as a member of the governing council for the Society for Research into Higher Education, for the last nine years.
Publications
2024
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.
Whitelock, Denise; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Pitt, Rebecca; Ferguson, Rebecca and Cross, Simon. (). [Editorial] Capacity building for digital education. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-learning, 39 (2) pp. 105-111.
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.
Edwards, Chris; Whitelock, Denise; Cross, Simon and Wild, Fridolin. (). Developing automated ways to give essay writing feedback to students. In: INTED2022 Proceedings: 16th International Technology, Education and Development Conference, IATED Academy, Valencia, Spain, 5446-5450.
Rienties, Bart; Hampel, Regine; Scanlon, Eileen and Whitelock, Denise (). Reflecting on the main findings and practical applications. In: Rienties, Bart; Hampel, Regine; Scanlon, Eileen and Whitelock, Denise eds. Open World Learning: Research, Innovation and the Challenges of High-Quality Education New York, USA: Routledge, pp. 264-272.
Scanlon, Eileen; Herodotou, Christothea; Whitelock, Denise and Edwards, Chris (). STEM Learning: Foundations. In: Ferguson, Rebecca; Jones, Ann and Scanlon, Eileen eds. Educational Visions: Lessons from 40 years of innovation London: Ubiquity Press, pp. 127-138.
Herodotou, Christothea; Scanlon, Eileen and Whitelock, Denise (). STEM Learning: Futures. In: Ferguson, Rebecca; Jones, Ann and Scanlon, Eileen eds. Educational Visions: Lessons from 40 years of innovation London: Ubiquity Press, pp. 139-150.
Whitelock, Denise (). Advice for Action with Automatic Feedback Systems. In: Caballé, Santi and Conesa, Jordi eds. Software Data Engineering for Network eLearning Environments Springer, pp. 139-160.
Holmes, Wayne; Bektik, Duygu; Whitelock, Denise and Woolf, Beverly. (). Ethics in AIED: Who cares?. In: 19th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED'18), 27-30 Jun 2018, London.
Perrotta, Carlo and Whitelock, Denise (). Assessment for learning. In: Duval, Eric; Sharples, Mike and Sutherland, Rosamund eds. Technology Enhanced Learning: Research Themes Cham: Springer, pp. 127-135.
Ras, Eric; Whitelock, Denise and Kalz, Marco (). The Promise and Potential of E-Assessment for Learning. In: Reimann, Peter; Bull, Susan; Kickmeier-Rust, Michael D.; Vatrapu, Ravi and Wasson, Barbara eds. Measuring and Visualising Learning in the Information-Rich Classroom London: Routledge, pp. 21-40.
Sharples, Mike; Adams, Anne; Alozie, N; Ferguson, Rebecca; FitzGerald, Elizabeth; Gaved, Mark; McAndrew, Patrick; Means, B; Remold, J; Rienties, Bart; Roschelle, J; Vogt, K; Whitelock, Denise and Yarnall, L (). Innovating Pedagogy 2015: Open University Innovation Report 4. The Open University.
Mittelmeier, Jenna; Heliot, Yingfei; Rienties, Bart and Whitelock, Denise. (). The role culture and personality play in an authentic online group learning experience. In: Proceedings of the 22nd EDINEB Conference: Critically Questioning Educational Innovation in Economics and Business: Human Interaction in a Virtualising World, EDiNEB Association, 139-149.
Whitelock, Denise (). Design narrative: Open Mentor. In: Mor, Yishay; Mellar, Harvey; Warburton, Steven and Winters, Niall eds. Practical Design Patterns for Teaching and Learning with Technology Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, pp. 263-268.
Whitelock, Denise and Mellar, Harvey (). Pattern: feedback on feedback. In: Mor, Yishay; Mellar, Harvey; Warburton, Steven and Winters, Niall eds. Practical Design Patterns for Teaching and Learning with Technology Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, pp. 311-314.
Ferguson, Rebecca and Whitelock, Denise (). Taking on different roles: how educators position themselves in MOOCs. In: Rensing, Christopher; de Freitas, Sara; Ley, Tobias and Muñoz-Merino, Pedro J. eds. Open Learning and Teaching in Educational Communities Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 562-563.
Whitelock, Denise (). GCP18: New forms of assessment for social TEL environments. In: Fischer, Frank; Wild, Fridolin; Sutherland, Rosamund and Zirn, Lena eds. Grand Challenges in Technology Enhanced Learning: Outcomes of the 3rd Alpine Rendez-Vous. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 53-54.
Whitelock, Denise (). GCP15: evaluating informal TEL. In: Fisher, Frank; Wild, Fridolin; Sutherland, Rosamund and Zim, Lena eds. Grand Challenges in Technology Enhanced Learning: Outcomes of the 3rd Alpine Rendez-Vous Cham: Springer, pp. 47-49.
Whitelock, Denise; Gilbert, Lester; Hatzipanagos, Stylianos; Watt, Stuart; Zhang, Pei; Gillary, Paul and Sauedo, Alejandra. (). Supporting tutors with their feedback using OpenMentor in three different UK Universities. In: CBLIS 2012 (10th International Conference on Computer Based Learning in Science): Learning Science in the Society of Computers, 26-29 Jun 2012, Barcelona, Spain.
Hench, Thomas and Whitelock, Denise (). Towards a model for evaluating student learning via e-assessment. In: Zacharia, Zacharias; Constantinou, Constantinos and Papaevripidou, Marios eds. Computer Based Learning in Science, Conference Proceedings 2010 Warsaw, Poland: OEIiZK, pp. 15-21.
Ruedel, Cornelia; Whitelock, Denise and Mackenzie, Don (). Key Factors for Effective Organisation of e-Assessment. In: Khandia, Farzana eds. Proceedings of the 11th CAA International Computer Assisted Assessment Conference Loughborough, UK: Professional Development, Loughborough University, pp. 357-370.
Whitelock, Denise M. and Brasher, Andrew (). Developing a Roadmap for e-Assessment: Which Way Now?. In: Danson, Myles eds. Proceedings of the 10th CAA International Computer Assisted Assessment Conference Loughborough, UK: Professional Development, Loughborough University, pp. 487-501.
Littleton, Karen and Whitelock, Denise (). Creating meaning through a community of collaborative learners. In: Mason, Lucia; Andreuzza, Silvia; Arfè, Barbara and Del Favero, Laura eds. 10th European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction Padova: Cooperativa Libraria Editrice Università di Padova, pp. 57.
Whitelock, Denise; Holland, Simon and Howard, Patricia. (). Understanding harmony and technology in music education. In: Proceedings of the ICTE 1995: the 12th International Conference on Technology and Education, University of Texas, Texas, 382-384.
£6m EU project aims to stamp out cheating in online assessments
An adaptive trust-based e-assessment system for learning (TeSLA). The project aim is to define and develop an e-assessment system that ensures learner authentication and authorship in online and blended learning environments while avoiding the time and space limitations of place-based examination.
Times Higher Educational Supplement | 14th April 2016
e-Assessment Research
THE No. 1,777, article by Harriet Swain, 2007
Times Higher Educational Supplement | 20th November 2007
Expert view on video conferencing system
Appeared on Channel 5 News in the role of an I.T. expert commenting on a new video conferencing system produced by Manchester University for teaching at a distance