Mary Thorpe
Professor, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, United Kingdom.
Mary Thorpe is Professor of Educational Technology at the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University, United Kingdom. Since joining the university in 1975, she has evaluated course materials, tuition and learner support systems, and authored courses in Third World Studies, Adult Learning, and Open and Distance Learning. She also contributed to the development of courses for the professional accreditation of teachers in higher education. As director of the institute between 1995 and 2003, she led a centre of international excellence for the teaching, research, evaluation and development of educational technology in the service of student learning. The institute received a rating of five in the 1992, and the 1996 Research Assessment Exercises. Her current projects include research into interaction in OU courses, funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and research funded by the National College for School Leadership, on online participation. She is also co-leader of a TLRP Thematic Seminar Series on “Contexts, Communities and networks: Mobilising learners' resources and relationships in different domains”. Professor Thorpe also contributes to the university-wide project for development and review of course models, with particular responsibility for pedagogy and the student experience.