#OTESSA25
Keynote Speakers
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from an inspiring lineup of scholars and practitioners as they dive into our conference theme: Reframing Togetherness. These exceptional voices are the first of our confirmed keynote speakers, and there’s more excitement to come—stay tuned for additional announcements! Be part of the conversation as we explore fresh perspectives on building connection and collaboration.
Jean-Paul Restoule
Jean-Paul Restoule
OTESSA Keynote June 6 Video
Considerations for Indigenous Centred
Online Course Design
Presenting Onsite in Victoria
Jean-Paul Restoule is an Anishinaabe scholar and educator. He is concerned with bringing Indigenous worldviews to a wide audience and infusing Indigenous perspectives into mainstream practice.
He is currently leading a study on how to centre Indigenous pedagogy and ways of knowing and being in online learning environments.
Jean-Paul is also investigating what motivates educators to incorporate Indigenous perspectives in their teaching practice and how teacher candidates and new teachers can best develop the knowledges, confidence and motivation to meaningfully include Indigenous knowledges and pedagogies in their classrooms.
Peter Scott
Peter Scott OTESSA Keynote June 2 Video
Multi-Laterally Open: A Commonwealth Story
Professor Peter Scott is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL).
His career reflects a deep commitment to open and distance learning, characterised by innovative leadership in various academic and administrative roles. He commenced his career in academia as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Sheffield, UK. His expertise in open learning innovation was further honed during a 20-year tenure at The Open University, UK, where he directed The Knowledge Media Institute, specialising in Artificial Intelligence and Education. In 2015, Professor Scott joined the University of Technology Sydney in Australia as Pro Vice-Chancellor, after which he became the President of Athabasca University, Canada in 2022.
Across all his roles, he has been a pioneering force in educational change, focusing on new modes of learning and teaching, particularly in the digital realm. His work has significantly contributed to the global transformation of education through technology.
George Veletsianos
George Veletsianos
OTESSA Keynote June 5 Video Part 1
George Veletsianos
OTESSA Keynote June 5 Video Part 2
What Might/Could/Should Education
Look Like in 2035?
Dr. George Veletsianos is Professor in the Learning Technologies program at the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where he holds the Bonnie Westby Huebner Chair in Education and Technology. His research focuses on (1) the design, development, and evaluation of online and blended learning environments, (2) the study of learning experiences and participation in emerging online environments, and (3) learning futures.
Thomas Reeves
Thomas Reeves OTESSA Keynote May 29 Video
Reframing Togetherness: Shifting our Focus from Technology to Problems
Thomas (Tom) C. Reeves, PhD is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at The University of Georgia. He was a Fulbright Lecturer in Peru and has given invited presentations in the USA and more than 30 other countries. He is the former editor of the Journal of Interactive Learning Research, and the author of nearly 200 scholarly papers. His co-authored books include Interactive Learning Systems Evaluation, A Guide to Authentic E-Learning, Conducting Educational Design Research (two editions), MOOCs and Open Education Around the World, and MOOCs and Open Education in the Global South. His research interests encompass educational technology in developing countries, educational design research, medical and public health education, and prison education. He currently lives at The Spires at Berry College in Rome, Georgia with his wife, Patricia M. Reeves, Professor Emerita of Social Work at The University of Georgia.
Dr. Reeves will join OTESSA virtually to discuss themes he has published on recently such as focusing our research and practical scholarship on problems and needs instead of things or tools. His keynote helps to frame our efforts in the Santa Fe colloquium to develop a strategic framework for research focused on grand challenges related to instructional design and educational technologies.
Brad Hokanson
Presenting Onsite ONLY in Santa Fe
No Recording
Brad Hokanson is a professor of Design at the University of Minnesota. He has a diverse academic record, including degrees in art (Carleton), architecture (Minnesota), urban design (Harvard), and received his PhD in Instructional Technology from the University of Minnesota.
He teaches in the area of creative problem solving and has published research in the fields of creativity and educational technology. He won his college’s awards for outstanding teaching in 2002 and 2008, and served as the Mertie Buckman Professor of Design Education from 2016–2021. His most recent book on the development of creativity is Developing Creative Thinking in Learners. He is currently the Director of Graduate Studies.
He served as President of the Association of Educational Communication and Technology in 2017 and as Interim President in 2020. Visits to Buenos Aires, when possible, support his Argentine tango habit.
He has recently completed research on the relationship between creativity and achievement in school children, comparing measured creativity with standardized achievement scores. He is now running his fourth massive online course on creativity for the University of Minnesota with an enrollment of over 212,000. Two previous courses each enrolled over 52,000 learners.
Helen Beetham
Addressing Challenges to Open Education in an Era of Authoritarianism and Big Tech
Catherine Cronin
Addressing Challenges to Open Education in an Era of Authoritarianism and Big Tech
Dr. Catherine Cronin is an independent scholar focusing on critical and social justice approaches in digital, open, and higher education. She has worked in the higher education sector for many years, most recently as digital/open education lead in Ireland’s National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in HE. Catherine has published widely and openly on topics including open education, digital and open education policy, critical literacies, and feminist and social justice approaches – including, most recently, the book Higher Education for Good: Teaching and Learning Futures (#HE4Good), co-edited with Laura Czerniewicz. A born New Yorker who has made her home in Ireland, Catherine blogs and shares scholarship at CatherineCronin.net.
Laura Czerniewicz
Addressing Challenges to Open Education in an Era of Authoritarianism and Big Tech
Laura Czerniewicz was the first director of the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT), at the University of Cape Town, (2014 to 2020) having previously led UCT’s Centre for Educational Technology, OpenUCT Initiative and Multimedia Education Group . Her many roles in education over the years include academic, researcher, strategist, advocate, teacher, teacher-trainer and educational publisher. Threaded through all her work has been a focus on equity and digital inequality. These have permeated her research interests which focus on the changing nature of higher education in a post-digital society and new forms of teaching and learning provision. She plays a key strategic and scholarly role in the areas of blended /online learning as well as in open education institutionally, nationally and internationally.
Jennifer Wemigwans
Jennifer Wemigwans
OTESSA Keynote June 5 Video
A Digital Bundle
Jennifer Wemigwans (She/Her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She teaches Indigenous Knowledge Education courses in the Adult Education & Community Development Program. Dr. Wemigwans is from Wikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. She is a new media producer, writer and scholar specializing in the convergence between education, Indigenous Knowledge and new media technologies. Her book, A Digital Bundle: Protecting and Promoting Indigenous Knowledge Online (2018) explores the prospects of Indigenous Knowledge education and digital projects in networked world.
Anatoliy Gruzd
Anatoliy Gruzd OTESSA Keynote June 4 Video
From Prompt to Propaganda:
How Generative AI Fuels Disinformation and Misinformation and What We Must Do
Dr. Gruzd’s interdisciplinary research program aims to advance the public’s understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of social media adoption by investigating how social media platforms are changing the way people and organizations communicate, share (mis)information, and conduct business. Dr. Gruzd specializes in analyzing online communities and social networks, as well as creating novel computational techniques and tools for examining public discourse on social media in various domains. His innovative approach to studying social media has led him to be named a Canada Research Chair (CRC) Tier 2 in 2015 (renewed in 2020), and his induction into the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in 2017. In addition to receiving funding from the CRC Program, his research has been supported by all three Tri-Council agencies in Canada: The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
James Slotta
James Slotta OTESSA Keynote June 3 Video
Critical Action Learning:
Empowering Students with Meaning and Purpose in 21st Century Classrooms
James P. Slotta holds the President’s Chair in Knowledge Technologies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. A professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Prof. Slotta’s innovative research is internationally acclaimed. His work focuses on technology and education, and has served as the Canada Research Chair in Education and Technology. Prof. Slotta teaches courses in technology, curriculum and instruction, as well as in knowledge media and learning.
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