I’m a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University (OU).
I joined the OU in 2009 in the final stages of my Ph.D. By training I am a philosopher (analytic & continental) and educational technologist. My main research focus is open education. I lead several research strands with the Open Education Research Hub where since 2012 we have focused on providing an evidence base for the impact of OER and building research capacity globally. Most recently I lead the research outputs for the Global OER Graduate Network and the innovation work of the European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education (ENCORE+).
My current research interests are in the use and evaluation of technology systems for learning and behavioural change; theoretical frameworks for learning and innovation; ethics; technology as a route to social justice; and generally in empowering people and what that means.
I have previously published work in the fields of: accessibility; action research; artificial intelligence; automation; collaborative research; critical pedagogy; critical theory; data visualisation; ethics; evidence hubs; impact; innovation; lifelong learning; methodology; mobile learning; MOOC; OER impact; open education; open textbooks; pedagogy; phenomenology; policy; theory.
I believe it is important to be a good generalist and retain a critical perspective.
I act as reviewer for dozens of academic journals (not Reviewer 2) and international conferences. I also act as an expert consultant for many high-profile organisations. In addition to supervising doctoral research in IET and other faculties, I support doctoral students worldwide who are working in the field of open education through the Global OER Graduate Network. I also mentor for the Open Education Leadership Program (SPARC); Open Education for a Better World (UNESCO) and the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships.
I hold degrees from the University of Kent at Canterbury, The University of Essex, and The Open University (UK) and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Biography
Rob holds several degrees in Philosophy, including a PhD. Rob completed his graduate study at the University of Essex, focusing on modern European philosophy in the critical tradition, and writing his PhD thesis on the normative foundations of the critical social theories of Jurgen Habermas and Axel Honneth.
Since 2009 Rob has worked on many high profile research projects in education and educational technology. These have EU funded projects like Mobile Technologies in Lifelong Learning (MOTILL); European Unified Framework for Accessible Lifelong Learning (EU4ALL); BizMOOC and ENCORE+ which involved working with a range of European partners. He has also worked on many projects funded by philanthropy with a focus on open education, such as the Hewlett funded Open Learning Network (OLnet); OER Research Hub; OER World Map; Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) and UK Open Textbooks projects.
Rob is a keynote speaker who has presented his work in many countries.
Rob has acted as a referee for a number of academic journals, including International Education Studies, British Journal of Educational Technology, Journal of Online Teaching and Learning, Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice andInquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Interactive Media in Education.
A full CV can be accessed via http://philosopher1978.wordpress.com.
Stracke, Christian M.; Sharma, Ramesh Chander; Bozkurt, Aras; Burgos, Daniel; Swiatek Cassafieres, Cécile; Inamorato dos Santos, Andreia; Mason, Jon; Ossiannilsson, Ebba; Santos-Hermosa, Gema; Shon, Jin Gon; Wan, Marian; Agbu, Jane-Frances Obiageli; Farrow, Robert; Karakaya, Özlem; Nerantzi, Chrissi; Ramírez-Montoya, María Soledad; Conole, Grainne; Truong, Vi and Cox, Glenda. (). Impact of COVID-19 on Formal Education: An International Review of Practices and Potentials of Open Education at a Distance. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning.
Farrow, Robert; Baas, Marjon; Cardoso, Paula; Cox, Glenda; Czerwonogora, Ada; DeWaard, Helen; Essmiller, Kathy; Helton, Emily; Huth, Kate; Iniesto, Francisco; Johnson, Kathryn; Peramunugamage, Anuradha; Pitt, Rebecca; Sousa, Lorena; Vizgirda, Vidiminas and Weller, Martin (). GO-GN Research Review 2022. Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN). The Open University (UK).
Farrow, Robert (). Constellations of Openness. In: Deimann, Markus and Michael, Peters eds. The Philosophy of Open Learning: Peer Learning and the Intellectual Commons (New ed) New York: Peter Lang.
McAndrew, Patrick and Farrow, Robert (). Open education research: from the practical to the theoretical. In: McGreal, Rory; Kinuthia, Wanjira and Marshall, Stewart eds. Open Educational Resources: Innovation, Research and Practice Vancouver, Canada: Commonwealth of Learning and Athabasca University, pp. 65-78.
Farrow, Robert and Rodwell, James (). That’s a Problem, Not a Gift. In: Ralkowski, Mark eds. Curb your enthusiasm and philosophy: awaken the social assassin within Open Court, pp. 155-170.
McAndrew, Patrick; Farrow, Robert; Law, Patrina and Elliott-Cirigottis, Gary. (). Learning the Lessons of Openness. In: Cambridge 2012: Innovation and Impact – Openly Collaborating to Enhance Education, a joint meeting of OER12 and OpenCourseWare Consortium Global 2012, 16-18 Apr 2012, Cambridge, UK.
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.
Farrow, Robert (). 'Adorno'. In: Mullarkey, John and Lord, Beth eds. The Continuum Companion to Continental Philosophy London: Continuum, pp. 279-280.
Farrow, Robert (). 'Habermas'. In: Mullarkey, John and Lord, Beth eds. The Continuum Companion to Continental Philosophy London: Continuum, pp. 299-300.
Farrow, Robert (). 'Frankfurt School'. In: Mullarkey, John and Lord, Beth eds. The Continuum Companion to Continental Philosophy London: Continuum, pp. 294-295.
Farrow, Robert (). Habermas. In: Mullarky, John and Lord, Beth eds. The Continuum Companion to Continental Philosophy Continuum, pp. 299-300.
Awards
Open Courseware Consortium ACE Award for Research Excellence
Annually awarded for outstanding research in open education
Open Education Consortium Award for Innovation
For the OER World Map
Open Education Consortium Award for Innovation
For the OER World Map
Open Education Consortium Award for Research Excellence
For the Global OER Graduate Network
Open Education Consortium Award for Research Excellence
For the GO-GN Research Methods Handbook
Open Education Consortium Award for Research Excellence
For the Global OER Graduate Network
Open Education Consortium Award for Research Excellence
For the GO-GN Research Methods Handbook
The Open University Engaging Research Award
A competitive internal award which recognises excellence in outreach and impact