European Open and Digital Learning Week (EODLW) 2024
November 11 @ 08:00 – November 15 @ 17:00
European Open and Digital Learning Week (EODLW) – November 11-15, 2024 – JOIN AND NETWORK!
EDEN proudly hosts the European Open and Digital Learning Week (EODLW) for the ninth year in a row.
This year’s theme is: Tomorrow’s Teaching&Learning
The event is organised in partnership with, the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), which will be holding its National Distance Learning Week (NDLW), and the Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ) and Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA), who joined efforts to offer the Asia-Pacific Online and Distance Education Week (APODE).
The EDEN activity aims to discuss and share ideas and experiences on teaching and learning today and tomorrow. What influences teaching and learning, on what it depends, how it can be better and of high quality, what we perceive tomorrow’s teaching and learning will look like, and how we want to design it. We welcome sessions with discussions on this topic, exchange experiences and examples of good practice in open, and digital education, and practices on the use of AI in education and we want to contemplate how we want teaching and learning to look like.
During EODLW, you will have access to daily online webinars and panel sessions of expert scholars and practitioners who will present best practices and expertise in online and distance education as well as discuss with the audience the challenges in shaping the future of education and how we can more fully harness the potential of new models of online and distance learning. The initial program for EODLW can be found here:
Be sure to mark November 11-15 on your calendar!
Topic: AI and Education: Enhancing Learning and Pedagogy
Format: Presentations and discussion with participants
Description: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming education across sectors, from vocational education and training and adult education to traditional academic settings. However, a pressing challenge remains: how can we harness AI tools to reinforce and support effective teaching and learning practices without disrupting or diminishing the critical role of educators or learners’ agency?
This 90-minute session brings together experts and AIPioneers project (https://aipioneers.org/) researchers from the fields of education and AI to discuss strategies for leveraging AI technologies in ways that foster learners’ agency, preserve pedagogical integrity, and drive positive outcomes. The session will feature three key presentations, each addressing different aspects of AI in education, followed by a moderated discussion where participants can ask questions and engage with the presenters.
Moderators: Giedrė Tamoliūnė & Graham Attwell
Giedre Tamoliune 
Giedrė Tamoliūnė is an associate professor at the Education Academy of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) and a researcher and senior specialist at the Institute for Study Innovations at VMU. Her work focuses on technology-enhanced teaching and learning, covering areas such as digital assessment, artificial intelligence in education, learning analytics, and micro-credentials. Giedrė is involved in European and national R&D and applied projects, such as DigiProf, AIPioneers and Digital Micro-Credentials in higher education. She has been a Steering Committee member of the EDEN Network of Academics and Professionals (NAP) since 2023.
Speakers:
Graham Attwell 
Graham Attwell is Director of the Spanish research and development SME, Pontydysgu. He has a degree in History and his current work as part of the European AI Pioneers project is looking at how interdisciplinary approaches to Generative AI can foster capacity building in Education and new understandings of innovation and knowledge development.
lobally. Her key interest lies in exploring the impact of educational technology on creativity, pedagogical innovation, and teaching quality.
George Bekiaridis
George Bekiaridis, is Director of Active Citizens Partnership, a Non Profit organisation in Greece. He has a bachelor’s degree in informatics and a master’s degree in Distance Learning. He is specialized in research and development into digital pedagogies and technology enhanced learning. George Bekiaridis participated as researcher in AI Pioneers , Taccle AI and AI@School projects.
Ludger Deitmer 
Dr. Ludger Deitmer has been working as a senior researcher at the Institute technology and education, ITB, University of Bremen. He acted as Convenor for the European Vocational Education research network under the European Educational Research Association (EERA). LD initiated regional, national and European pilot projects in the design and implementation of work-based curricula for TVET teachers and published a large variety of articles preferably.
Frieda Klaus 
Frieda Klaus, M.A., is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Institute Technology and Education (ITB) at the University of Bremen in Germany. She has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in educational science. Her research interests focus on the innovation and internationalisation of vocational education and training. As part of the AI Pioneers project, she is working on the use of AI in VET.
Topic: The European Digital Education Hub. Bridging the gaps and growing together
Format: Presentations and discussion
Description: The session is dedicated to reviewing the activities of the European Digital Education Hub that contribute to the development of the Community of Practice which discusses and develops knowledge on digital education in Europe. The challenges addressed in the Hub by CoP members, as well as focused and dedicated activities will be showcased live from the Hub with a lively discussion during the session.
Moderator: Prof. dr. Airina Volungevičienė, Director of the Institute of Study Innovations at Vytautas Magnus University
Prof. dr. Airina Volungevičienė has been working among leading researchers, methodology specialists and education policy makers in the area of online and digital education development in Europe and Lithuania since 1997. Having established the national association Lithuanian Distance and e-Learning association (2010), she continued as a leader in research and project work to promote the development of TEL in in HE, schools, VET and adult learning. She researched, experimented with and searched for the added value of educational technology since 2004 before mainstreaming it for education, including quality assurance tools, virtual mobility, open educational resources, learning analytics, microcredentials, AI and many other EdTech solutions.
She joined EDEN governance since 2010, as the Board member, Vice President for Research (2016 – 2019) and the President (2016 – 2021). She founded EDEN Digital Learning Europe in Estonia after Brexit, and continues to serve as a director in the Management Board. She is the team leader and senior expert for Knowledge building activities in the European Digital Education Hub since 2022, a member of the European Commission DELTA (Digital Education: Learning, Teaching and Assessment) working group, and researcher and director of the Institute of Study Innovations at Vytautas Magnus University.
Speakers:
Björn Bachmann
Björn Bachmann from DAAD is the current Deputy Project Manager of the EDEH service contract. As the Acting Project Lead in 2022-2023, he oversaw the management of the 13-partner consortium and the coordination with the EACEA and DG EAC. In the EDEH community workshops taking place in Brussels, Björn has been responsible for the programme’s conceptual development and the moderation of participants from policy, research, Edtech, and other education and training backgrounds. Before joining DAAD in 2022, Björn worked as Project Coordinator in the Science Education Department of European Schoolnet (EUN). He managed EUN’s activities in the STEM Alliance and its affiliated projects such as the “STEM Alliance – Dell PolicyHack™.” He managed the pedagogical activities with partners, including the elaboration of a MOOC on aerospace in class. Björn has previously coordinated the development and launch of the STEM School Label website. In the spaceEU project, Björn coordinated European teacher training institutes in their development of training plans. He holds a Master of Science in Educational Studies (KU Leuven), a Master of Arts in International Studies (Aarhus University) and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Sciences and Public Administration (University of Konstanz).
Dr. Sandra Kučina Softić
Dr. Sandra Kučina Softić is the vice president of EDEN Digital Learning Europe, Assistant Director at the University of Zagreb University Computing Centre (Croatia) and Head of the E-learning Centre. She has over 25 years of experience working in higher education. Her work is focused on monitoring and fostering e-learning in Croatian higher education and providing support and advice to institutions, teachers and students in implementing new technologies in learning and teaching. She has a master’s degree in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh, UK and a PhD in Information and Communication Technologies at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. In 2021, she authored a book on digital transformation in higher education (published in Croatian). She is a professor at the University of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, DOBA University, Slovenia and University North, Croatia. She was EDEN president 2019- 2022. Since 2023 she has been EDEN DLE Vice-President for Open Professional Collaboration.
Vlad Mihaescu 
Vlad Mihaescu has a PhD in educational and technological models of MOOCs and has more than 20 years of experience as a trainer and teacher in areas like multimedia technologies, social media, e-tourism, e-learning, usability, entrepreneurship, programming, soft skills, leadership, and project management. Author of over 50 scientific papers and book chapters published in international conferences and journals, Vlad is involved in several European research projects in the field of eLearning, digital culture, and digital entrepreneurship. He is also an associate professor for UPT. For more than 10 years, Vlad has been part of the technical support team of the UPT Virtual Campus (Moodle). Between 2020-2023, Vlad has served in the position of Chair of the Steering Committee of EDEN’s NAP (Network of Academics and Professionals), which he is still a member of. Since 2022, he has also been a member of the Management Board of EDEN, organising several workshops and webinars and participating as a speaker or moderator in EDEN events. Vlad was the Local Conference Manager for EDEN’s AC in 2020. Vlad is also the Vice-President of the UPT Senate.
Topic: AI and the Future of Teaching and Learning
Format: Presentations and discussion with participants
Description: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning are important for educators, teachers, students and policymakers. Many educators are actively exploring the use of AI tools to support students with a range of disabilities and to achieve what the early pioneers in Ed Tech were trying to achieve and that was the personalisation of learning. This session will consist of 4 international speakers, Bart Rienties, Thomas Ullmann, Mychelle Pride and Paul Prinsloo who will present their current research and views about AI for teaching and learning. They will also situate their work within a framework of current challenges and opportunities. Then it is over to you, the audience, to participate in a lively debate about these issues, Chaired by Denise Whitelock, who has spent her career developing AI systems for Teaching and Learning.
Moderator: Professor Dr. Denise Whitelock Director for the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University, UK
Professor Denise Whitelock is the Director for the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University. She is a Professor of Technology Enhanced Learning and has over twenty-five years of experience in Artificial Intelligence for designing, researching and evaluating online and computer-based learning in Higher Education
She led the Supportive Automated Feedback for Short Essays(SafeSea) project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council with Oxford University, providing students with automatic feedback on electronic drafts of their assignments supplementing tutor support.
She is currently leading the UK’s contribution to two European projects. The first is Generative AI anD large language Models In higher educaTion (ADMIT )aims to establish the necessary educational and ethical conditions that enable the utilization of large language models (LLM) and generative AI as a means of enhancing teaching and learning in higher education.Every1( Enable EVeryone’s Engagement in the eneRgY transition) is the second project, which brings together leading experts in energy, education, energy ecosystems and the social sciences to enable all European stakeholders to participate effectively in the digital energy market.
In 2018, she was appointed Editor of Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance & e-Learning. Her work has received international recognition through holding visiting Chairs at the Autonoma University, Barcelona and the British University in Dubai. Denise is currently a serving Board Member, Fellow and Vice President of Research for EDEN Digital Learning Europe. Denise is also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. For a complete publication list see: http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/dmw8.html
Speakers:
Dr. Bart Rienties
Dr Bart Rienties is a Professor of Learning Analytics and programme lead of the learning analytics and learning design research programme at the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University UK. He leads a group of academics who provide university-wide learning analytics and learning design solutions and conduct evidence-based research on how students and professionals learn. As an educational psychologist, he conducts multi-disciplinary research on work-based and collaborative learning environments and focuses on the role of social interaction in learning, which is published in leading academic journals and books. His primary research interests are focused on Learning Analytics, Learning Design, and the role of motivation in learning. Furthermore, Bart is interested in broader internationalisation aspects of higher education. He has successfully led a range of institutional/national/European projects and has received a range of awards for his educational innovation projects. He is President of the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), the largest research community on learning analytics. He has published over 300 academic outputs and is the 1st most published and cited author on learning design and learning analytics in the period 2014-2023 (Drugova et al. 2023), and the 2nd most published author on Networks in Education in the period 1969-2020 (Saqr et al. 2022).
Dr. Thomas Ullmann
Dr. Thomas Ullmann is a lecturer at the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). He has over 15 years of experience in educational technology, developing and evaluating online learning and teaching solutions. He leads projects related to learning analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, and innovative methods, especially text analytics, to support and measure teaching and learning. Dr Ullmann is currently the Academic Learning Analytics and Insight Lead for the OU-led Fleming Fund Global Learning Grant, evaluating the learning progress of professionals in LMICs.
Mychelle Pride
With more than twenty years’ experience in the sector, Mychelle’s work has focused on enabling students to achieve to the best of their abilities, meaningful student voice and engagement, and learning, teaching & assessment. In her current role as Academic Director, PVC-Students at the Open University, Mychelle provides learning, teaching & assessment direction aimed to enhance the academic experience and to ensure high standards across the PVC-Students’ portfolio. Mychelle is leading a strategic change initiative to evolve how the Open University facilitates and assesses learning, preparing the institution for the future. She also has a lead role in Generative AI in Education and has presented across the sector.
Paul Prinsloo
Paul Prinsloo is a Research Professor in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in the Department of Business Management, College of Economic and Management Sciences, University of South Africa (Unisa). He is a visiting professor at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), a Research Associate for Contact North/Contact Nord (Canada), a member of the Center for Open Education Research at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany, a Senior Fellow of the European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN), member of the Executive Committee for the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) and serves on several editorial boards. Paul is an internationally recognised scholar and has published numerous articles in the fields of teaching and learning, student success in distributed learning contexts, the ethical collection, analysis, and use of student data in learning analytics, and digital identities.
Topic: Shaping Tomorrow’s Education: Strategies for Delivering High-Quality Teaching and Learning in a Transforming World
Format: Panel with discussion
Description: The session explores the future of teaching and learning, reflecting on current educational practices and outlining the steps needed to ensure high-quality education in tomorrow’s world. The topic will address the evolving demands of education in the face of technological advances, changing student needs, and global challenges. By examining what is already being done and identifying the gaps that remain, this discussion will focus on how educators, policymakers, associations and institutions can work together to create an adaptive, flexible, equitable, and innovative learning environment.
Moderator: Dr. Sandra Kučina Softić, University of Zagreb University Computing Centre, EDEN DLE Vice president
Dr. Sandra Kučina Softić is the vice president of EDEN Digital Learning Europe, Assistant Director at the University of Zagreb University Computing Centre (Croatia) and Head of the E-learning Centre. She has over 25 years of experience working in higher education. Her work is focused on monitoring and fostering e-learning in Croatian higher education and providing support and advice to institutions, teachers and students in implementing new technologies in learning and teaching. She has a master’s degree in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh, UK and a PhD in Information and Communication Technologies at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. In 2021, she authored a book on digital transformation in higher education (published in Croatian). She is a professor at the University of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, DOBA University, Slovenia and University North, Croatia. She was EDEN president 2019- 2022. Since 2023 she has been EDEN DLE Vice-President for Open Professional Collaboration.
Speakers:
Dr. Josep M. Duart
Josep M. Duart holds a doctorate in Pedagogy from Ramon Llull University (URL), Barcelona, and a Master in Business Administration from ESADE Business School, Barcelona. He qualified from the University of Barcelona (UB) with a bachelor’s degree in History and Education and also has a teaching qualification.
He is former vice president for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning, and former director of the International Graduate Institute at the Open University of Catalonia, UOC (2007-2013). The UOC is a benchmark online university, internationally recognised for quality e-learning, and Dr Duart has played an active role in the development of its educational model, which makes intensive use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Today he is a research professor in the Educational Sciences and Technology department at the UOC. He is the EDEN DLE MB member and EDEN past president (2022-2024)
Dr. Farah Bennani 
Dr. Farah Bennani is a distinguished leader in higher education, with over 23 years of experience in academic administration, pedagogy, and research. Currently serving as the Dean of Math, Science, and Engineering at Elgin Community College, Dr. Bennani is responsible for overseeing the strategic planning, development, and administration of academic programs in one of the institution’s most pivotal divisions. She holds a PhD in Microbiology from Ibnou Tofail University, Morocco, where she secured a research patent. Fluent in six languages, Dr. Bennani brings a global perspective to higher education, making her uniquely equipped to cultivate international partnerships and promote cross-cultural collaboration. A highly respected scholar and presenter, Dr Bennani has published and presented extensively on topics ranging from STEM pedagogy, online learning technologies and AI in education to the global perspectives of distance learning. She has been recognized with numerous awards for her contributions to e-learning, instructional technology, and diversity in education.
Kae Novak
Kae Novak is the Assistant Director of Learning Design at Front Range Community College. She has over a decade of experience as a learning designer and started in distance learning as an online student success coordinator. Kae has championed and led multiple grants on innovation, game-based learning, online learning and emerging technologies. Kae Novak is a Ph.D. student in Education at the University of Colorado-Denver. Her coursework is in critical studies and learning design and technology.
Benoit Berthou
Senior lecturer, Benoit Berthou was from 2015 to 2023 vice-president in charge of relations with the socio-economic world of the Sorbonne Paris Nord University and then director of the continuing education services of the Paris Panthéon Sorbonne University. Currently vice-president of the Digital Engineering and Technology University, he is in charge of developing international relations for the French University Lifelong Learning Education Network.