I'm currently a Learning Technologist at Keele University in the UK.

I also work freelance as a consultant and/or developer on projects related to educational technology and human-computer interaction.

My background is in Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction. Prior to joining Keele I worked on a number of research projects exploring next generation communication and learning at the University of Birmingham and the University of Nottingham.

I have recently completed my PhD in Educational Technology at the Learning Sciences Research Institute (Nottingham).

Some of the kinds of things I'm interested in are:

• Using technology to enhance learning, particularly in social or physical contexts
• Human-computer interaction, especially psychological and social perspectives
• User interface design and evaluation
• Mobile learning, especially location- and context-aware applications
• Visualisations for exploring data gathered from field studies
• Using games for learning, especially outdoor, location-based activities

For more info on what I've been up to, take a look at my CV [PDF].

consultancy

I work as a consultant in the areas of educational technology and human-computer interaction, specialising in field trials, heuristic evaluations, and development of concept demonstrator software.

I have been involved in a number of projects, working on design requirements, project reports, evaluation studies, and software development (mainly C#, .NET, Flash/Flex and XML/Web Services).

highlights

L-Mo: co-developer of a concept demonstrator of a mobile language learning tool combining interactive text and games, for Sharp Labs of Europe.

MyArtSpace / OOKL: worked as a consultant on the design and evaluation of OOKL, a service that lets children 'collect' items in museums and galleries using mobile phones and then build presentations with them. [OOKL website]

Literature Review on Learning with Mobile Technologies: co-authored a major literature review on mobile learning, commissioned by NESTA FutureLab. [download from Futurelab website]

phd research

I have completed my PhD in Educational Technology in 2011 at the University of Nottingham's Learning Science Research Institute.

My PhD focused on the design and evaluation of mobile learning games using physical environments as playing spaces, using GPS-enabled PDAs to create location-based activities.

I have used this toolkit to create a location-based learning activity called BuildIt! which was used by school children to learn about the physical environment of their school, using the environment itself as a learning resource. The focus of my study was to use a goal-oriented game to help structure the children's planning and reflection within the learning activity, exploring the use of failure as a prompt for reflection and discussion.

This work also involved the development of a game server and authoring environment called PaSAT (Participatory Simulation Authoring Toolkit) that I used to deploy the BuildIt game.

You can download my thesis as a PDF.

Last updated May 2011