About
I am a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Educational Technology in the Open University (OU). My research is concerned with understanding aspects of human learning supported by technology in ways that contribute to projects of educational justice. My research is integrative and spans three areas: 1. Professional learning for complex professional knowledge work; 2. Socio-technical practices for learning across formal and informal settings and 3. Participatory approaches to research and development of educational technology. My current research projects maintain a strong interest in education in crisis contexts and foreground that educational spaces and practices are political; they can be transformative and bring possibilities to help create more just futures. I draw on ethnographic and participatory approaches in my scholarly work that help develop disciplinary expertise while expanding disciplinary boundaries. I have taught in a range of educational settings and take a collaborative approach to the research and design of technology, partnering with students, educators, researchers, civil-society organisations and policy organisations. I hold a role within the OU Open Societal Challenges strategy programme as the Tackling Inequalities Lead.
I am currently the co-lead of the Fleming Fund - Phase II project (UK Aid, 2024-2025) focusing on health-systems strengthening and workforce capacity around antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This builds on two previous Fleming Fund grants to the OU, where I served as the Academic Lead - Learning (2018-2023). Alongside colleagues, we designed and implemented an evaluation framework to bring change in professional practice, and delivered a Global AMR online collection. Its design as micro-modules (n=25) mapped against bespoke pathways (n=10) tailored to specific roles in health-settings is innovative. Within this project, and to support locally-rooted forms of learning and connections between the learning and work context, I led the co-design of the AMR Toolkit across twelve health-settings in Ghana and Nepal.
My research takes an original view on aspects of professional work associated with expanding and evolving knowledge fields and navigating fluid epistemic spaces. To explore this, I am working with colleagues at University of Oslo (Norway), University of Gothenburg (Sweden), UCL (UK) and University of Regensburg (Germany) on the project Professional Learning in the Multi-layeredness of Digital Transformation: Synthesising contributions to further developing a collaborative research agenda (funded by University of Oslo, 2024-2025).
I am also a co-I in the OU-funded Open Societal ChallengeUs! Scheme on Improving at-home abortion experiences through a digitally enabled AI chatbot: A scoping study with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (2025-2026) where we explore the introduction of a digital solution in service delivery to ensure timely care and reduce wider health sector burdens.
My current teaching responsibilities include chairing the online microcredential Online Teaching: Embedding Social, Race and Gender-Related Equity. I chair the production of the CPD course 'Elevating equity in digital education' (Autumn 2025). I was also a member of the authoring team of the online course "Online Teaching: Addressing climate emergency", leading on the topics 'Climate Justice' and 'Education Futures with Climate uncertainty'. I advocate using open educational resources (OER) to maximise the potential of equitable teaching and learning. I led and/or contributed to OER development, including i. Open Sanctuary Hub - curated resources relevant to refugees, developed in consultation with affected communities; ii. course Digital Education for youth and adult learning in contexts of forced displacement – developed through a grant from UNESCO UIL and UNHCR, aimed at policymakers and officials (launched November 2023).
Recently completed projects include: 1. the AHRC GCRF Network+ Mobile Arts for Peace (co-I, 2020-2024) that investigated participatory arts-based methods to support peacebuilding processes in conflict and post-conflict societies. As part of this project, I led the podcasting series Everyday peacebuilding through the arts, which centres on arts and youth-led participation for peacebuilding and is novel due to its multi-linguistic production; 2. the OU-funded cross-faculty project Transitions to distance and online education for students from refugee backgrounds’ that focused on the first cohort of forcibly displaced students at the OU on the Open Sanctuary programmes (PI, 2022-23), and generated evidence from students and educators that fed into institutional strategies and initiatives; 3. Connected learning in crisis contexts: Educators’ perspectives on needs and support in the context of refugee tertiary education, a participatory project with teachers in refugee settings in Jordan that examined communicative approaches to English Language learning during Covid19 pandemic (PI, 2021-2022, funded by ASU/Mastercard Foundation and QR GCRF); 4. ACCESS - Approaches in Complex and Challenging Environments for Sustainable Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (UK Aid, 2019-2021).
Past research activities also include leading the Evaluation of the Frontline Immigration Advice Project (FIAP) (2018-2019) through funding received by the Refugee Action, a national charity in the UK (2018-19) and involvement in two OU-funded Impact Accelerator Projects: (i) Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance through professional learning: Impact Insights from Nepal (PI, 2021-2022) and (ii) Developing contextually-sensitive Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for out-of-school adolescents in refugee settings (co-I, 2021-2023).
I joined the OU as a Lecturer in 2017 and since then I have had academic responsibility in two university-wide strategic projects: i. Project MINERVA that explored new ways in course production (March-July 2017); ii. Academic Evaluation of the Group Tuition Policy (March 2017 - January 2018). I have further led the analysis of the work practices developed by the Teaching Excellence & Innovation (TEI) workstream team as part of the Students First strategic objectives (August 2017 - February 2018).
I am acting as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Interactive Media in Education JIME.
I am an active member of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) through my role as the convenor of the Digital Education SIG.
I also serve as a member of the Sanctuary Advisory Network that aims to create pathways into studying at the OU for refugees and people seeking asylum and led the process for the OU to receive the national award as a University of Sanctuary (May 2024).
I lead the OU’s involvement in the Connected Learning in Crises Consortium that promotes, coordinates, and supports the provision of quality higher education in contexts of conflict, crisis and displacement through connected learning, and in 2022, with UNHCR, we jointly run a webinar series.
I am currently supervising three doctoral students.
In 2019 I received the OU Early Career Research Excellence Award in 2019.
Biography
Dr Koula Charitonos is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Educational Technology in the Open University (OU). Her research is concerned with understanding aspects of human learning supported by technology in ways that contribute to projects of educational justice. Her research is integrative and spans three areas: 1. Professional learning for complex professional knowledge work; 2. Pedagogies and educational practices for connected learning across formal and informal settings and 3. Participatory approaches to research and development of educational technology. Her current research projects maintain a strong interest in education in crisis contexts and foreground that educational spaces and practices are political; they can be transformative and bring possibilities to help create more just futures. She draws on ethnographic and participatory approaches in her scholarly work that help develop disciplinary expertise while expanding disciplinary boundaries. She has taught in a range of educational settings and take a collaborative approach to the research and design of technology, partnering with students, educators, researchers, civil-society organisations and policy organisations.
Dr Charitonos is currently leading a pan-university, cross-faculty project ‘Transitions to distance and online education for students from refugee backgrounds’ that focuses on the first cohort of forcibly displaced students at the OU on the Open Sanctuary programmes (OU-funded, 2022-23). She is also the co-Investigator in the AHRC GCRF Network+ Mobile Arts for Peace (2020-2024) that investigates participatory arts-based methods to support peacebuilding processes in conflict and post-conflict societies. As part of this project, the podcasting series 'Everyday peace building through the arts" she will be co-producing will be out in Autumn 2023. She is also a co-I in the OU-funded Open Societal Challenge project "Addressing antimicrobial resistance through professional learning" (2023-24). In her role at the OU, she is also serving as a member of the working group of the University of Sanctuary at the OU that aims to create pathways into studying at the OU for refugees and people seeking asylum.
Her current teaching responsibilities include chairing the online course Online Teaching: Embedding Social, Race and Gender-Related Equity on Futurelearn platform. She is the academic lead of the blended course "Digital Education for youth and adult learning in contexts of forced displacement"(to be launched in Autumn 2023) in collaboration with UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR and the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium. She is also a member of the authoring team of the online course "Online Teaching: Addressing climate emergency", leading on the topics 'Climate Justice' and 'Education Futures with Climate uncertainty'.
Koula serves as the OU co-lead in the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium that promotes, coordinates, and supports the provision of quality higher education in contexts of conflict, crisis and displacement through connected learning.
She is currently supervising two PhD students and two EdD students.
In 2019 she was awarded the OU's Research Excellence award for Early Career Researchers.
Further to her academic posts, Koula has worked as a teacher in formal education settings for more than five years. She also has work experience as a Community co-ordinator in the Learning and National Partnerships Department at The British Museum (2012-2016).
Publications
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2012
2011
2010
Awards
Best Early Career Researcher
Open University Research Excellence Awards
British Academy Schools Language Awards.
Project: Close-Up on Heritage Language Learners: An inquiry learning project
Projects
Research programmes
Expertise
Professional memberships
- Member of the British Educational Research Association