About
I’m a Senior Lecturer at The Open University’s (UK) Institute of Educational Technology (IET). I have over fifteen years’ experience working in Higher Education with research interests in online learning, digital assessment and learner experiences of assessment, the role of innovative technology in teaching and in Teacher Professional Development at scale, quality enhancement, and Learning Design.
I am presently a Principal Investigator on the ‘Transforming Teacher Professional Development at Scale with Innovative Technologies’ project – an initiative supported by the OU’s Societal Challenge Programme. The focus of this work - which builds on previous research - isto improve the quality of Teacher Professional Development (TPD), classroom practice and teacher agency through harnessing emerging technologies at scale and of scale in low and medium resource contexts by providing research leadership, building partnerships and collaborating on research. I have also been Co-Investigator on funded research projects totalling over £1.5 million in UK, Europe, India and Africa. These include the award-winning TESS-India Programme (2016-19) and S4PK Project (2021-23), and the impactful ABC Learning Gains project (2016-18) and Open University Learning Design Initiative (OULDI) (2008-13). My university roles have included Associate Director (Quality Enhancement and Innovation) in IET between 2019-23.
Recently, in my academic work I’ve been thinking about how the ‘windows of disruptive potential’ created by new technologies are, and can be, employed for educational change and movement – either at the individual, collective or policy level. This applies to my interests in assessment, spherical 360-degree video, and digital badge micro-credentials but I’m also looking beyond this. How are spaces of contest created around and within the ever re-emerging Windows of Disruptive Potential and how do we understand, frame and theorise at scale what follows? I have also begun to explore the question of assessment as gendered social practice and the impact of this, ethnicity, age, and culture on learners’ preference for assessment and equity of access to supportive ‘assessment networks.’
My recent publications have explored how teachers engage and value digital badges for professional development in India drawing on results from field-trials involving teachers from over 220 schools, how spherical 360-degree video can support TPD and educational research, and how moving online impacts the student experience of exams. I draw on a background grounded in education, educational technology, and geography which means my focus is often on technologies that are, or may soon be, within the cost-competence reach of practitioners.
I have also led a variety of strategic work within the University. I have led the Student Experience of Revision, Assessment and Feedback (SEFAR) survey project since 2016. Recent analysis of our latest 2020 survey has identified significant difference in the assessment experience between students from different ethnic backgrounds and ages and highlighted the need for rethinking how dialogic feedback and assessment literacies can be supported in a distance learning context. The survey comprises over 100 question items. Also, I am presently leading a qualitative study about factors impacting students’ early engagement and retention in distance learning, and recently led an analysis of the assessment strategies used in over four hundred university modules.
If you would like to learn more about my work, explore new opportunities or discuss participation in UK or international bids, then please do get in touch. I have also expertise in supervision of PhD and EdD students so am always happy to be contacted by prospective post-doctorial students.
Biography
Dr Simon Cross is a Senor Lecturer at The Open University (UK). He has expertise in distance learning pedagogy, the design and embedding of innovative online learning and assessment, and in trailing and evaluation of emerging educational technologies in different contexts. Based in the Institute of Educational Technology, he has published and presented about distance and online learning, assessment at scale, learning design, and teacher professional development in the Global South. He has experience working on externally and internally funded projects and strategic work.Between 2019 and 2023 he was Associate Director in the Institute of Educational Technology. Simon's present interests include understanding how new technologies can support teacher professional development and improvement in classroom practice in the Global South, and how educators can improve assessment experiences by better understanding present interconnections and inequalities. Simon recently led a project that was shortlisted for the 2022 OU Research Excellence Awards and now leads a university-sponsored challenge project 'Transforming Teacher Professional Development at Scale with Innovative Technologies.' He regularly publishes in leading journals and presents at international events.