Forums | E-Learning Practitioners

12 December 2012, 12:33

Hi everyone

There is a date that you really should get into your diaries during the long bleak month of January. Martin Bean, Pro-VC at the OU is presenting this year's Draper's lecture , he's a great speaker and the idea of Open Online Education is certainly very topical. Here is the blurb from connect:

MOOCs, Napster and the Tyranny of Conventional Wisdom: Where’s the Next Giant Leap for Higher Education?

Wednesday 16 January 2013, 1.30pm-7.30pm, ArtsTwo Lecture Theatre and Foyer, Mile End Campus

Register here.

This year, for the first time, the annual Drapers’ Lecture is being combined with the Teaching and Learning conference as its final address. The lecture is being delivered by Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor of Open University, who will be exploring some of the big opportunities for education – and the biggest obstacles to progress – as technology advances and pedagogy evolves.

Martin Bean is Vice Chancellor of The Open University, the UK’s largest academic institution and a global leader in the provision of flexible and inspiring learning.

He is the fifth person to lead the institution in the four decades since its creation in 1969, in which time it has provided quality, innovative, accessible education to millions.

Before joining The Open University in October 2009, he was General Manager within Microsoft’s Worldwide Education Products Group where he was focused on developing solutions to help the global education community address its challenges. In this role he was responsible for product management, business development and marketing.

As well as commercial roles ranging from Europe to Asia Pacific to North America, he is heavily involved in shaping education in the developed and developing world, and is currently a member of The British Council’s Board of Trustees and the Commonwealth of Learning’s Board of Governors.

The 47-year-old Australian holds a Bachelors degree in Adult Education from the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. He now lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife and three daughters.

You can find out more about the Teaching and Learning Conference 2013 here on Connect.