Alexander Mikroyannidis's profile document
Description for Alexander Mikroyannidis
Alexander Mikroyannidis
Alexander Mikroyannidis
Alexander
Mikroyannidis
Senior Research Fellow
alexmikro
Dr Alexander Mikroyannidis is a Senior Research Fellow (Associate Professor) in the Knowledge Media Institute of The Open University. His research expertise is in the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning. He has been investigating the use of novel educational technologies for enhancing personalised learning, self-regulated learning, lifelong learning, as well as open education. He is currently working on the transformative applications of Generative AI and decentralisation blockchain technology in the context of distance and higher education. He is the author of over 120 peer-reviewed publications that have received over 1,500 citations. He has extensive experience in developing rich interactive learning materials for Open Educational Resources (OERs), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), Badged Open Courses (BOCs), and eBooks. He has been awarded and worked on a wide range of European and nationally funded research projects, including QualiChain, DEL4ALL, OpenLang Network, Open Networking Lab, Institute of Coding, SlideWiki, EDSA, HUB4NGI, FORGE, weSPOT, EUCLID, ROLE, OpenScout, CASPAR, and PARMENIDES.
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The Open University account for Alexander Mikroyannidis
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Alexander Mikroyannidis's membership at KMi
Alexander Mikroyannidis on LinkedIn
Alexander Mikroyannidis on SlideShare
@alexmikro (Alexander Mikroyannidis on Twitter)
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in FlashMeeting Technology
FlashMeeting Technology
FlashMeeting Technology
2003-07-04
The lightest possible video-conferencing software application
Hook-up your web cam, plug in your microphone, go to a web page ...
and the Centre for New Media's FM Technology you to make an instant meeting - any time, any place, any platform! FM technology comes from the prize-winning FlashMeeing Project. It provides a host of features packed into a small applet direct in a web page. As the applet is implemented in using Adobe's Flash, the most widely available and most compatible of browser plugins, it is incredibly lightweight, efficient, good looking, and you probably will not have to download anything extra at all for it to work!
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in GenAI-OU
GenAI-OU
GenAI-OU
Generative AI at the Open University
Together with colleagues from IET, LDS and other OU schools and units, we are looking into the ways that Generative AI, such as ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion, can enhance teaching and learning at the OU. Towards this goal, we are developing, testing and evaluating Generative AI prototypes for improving OU module production and for offering personalised learning services to our students.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in ROLE
ROLE
ROLE
2009-02-01
2013-01-31
Responsive Open Learning Environments
The cross-disciplinary innovations of the ROLE project will deliver and test prototypes of high responsive TEL environments, offering breakthrough levels of effectiveness, flexibility, user-control and mass-individualisation.
The work of ROLE will advances the state-of-the-art in human resource management; self-regulated and social learning; psycho-pedagogical theories of adaptive education and educational psychology; service composition and orchestration; and the use of ICT in lifelong learning.
ROLE offers adaptivity and personalization in terms of content and navigation and the entire learning environment and its functionalities. This approach permits individualization of the components, tools, and functionalities of a learning environment, and their adjustment or replacement by existing web-based software tools. Learning environment elements can be combined to generate (to mashup) new components and functionalities, which can be adapted by lone learners or collaborating learners to meet their own needs and to enhance the effectiveness of their learning. This empowers each user to generate new tools and functions according to their needs, and can help them to establish a livelier and personally more meaningful learning context and learning experience.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in OpenScout
OpenScout
OpenScout
2009-09-01
2012-08-31
Skill based scouting of open user-generated and community-improved content for management education and training
OpenScout stands for "Skill based scouting of open user-generated and community-improved content for management education and training" and is a project co-funded by the European Commission within the eContentplus Programme. The project started in September 2009 and has a duration of three years.
OpenScout aims at providing an education service in the internet that enables users to easily find, access, use and exchange open content for management education and training.
The management education market is largely diversified, training topics range from general management and leadership to very specific issues like managing risks in banking industry. Despite the resulting growing need for management education and content the potential of already existing open learning materials is hardly exploited, neither in the business sector nor in SMEs where the need for lifelong learning is even greater.
To reduce the usage barriers OpenScout plans to offer easy-to-use skill-based federated search and retrieval web services, provide an openly accessible tool library for improvement and re-publishing of open contents and establish an open user community that opens up their content and adopts OpenScout web services in real contexts of use.
OpenScout will be used by learners directly but also by training and education institutions that search for learning content to be integrated into their learning offerings.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in PT Anywhere
PT Anywhere
PT Anywhere
PT Anywhere offers a network simulation environment via a web interface.
PT Anywhere offers a network simulation environment via a web interface that can be accessed from any web browser or as a widget inside an interactive eBook. PT Anywhere is based on the Packet Tracer network simulator for Windows and Linux developed by the Cisco Networking Academy.
Rather than replicate Packet Tracer's functionality in a web application, PT Anywhere is offering its basic functionality from a minimalistic interface that can be adapted to different learning contexts and purposes. PT Anywhere is available as a widget that can be embedded inside an online course, a Learning Management System (like Moodle or Sakai), or an interactive eBook (like Apple's iBooks).
PT Anywhere has been jointly developed by the Open University and Cisco in the context of the projects FORGE and Open Networking Lab.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in WESPOT
WESPOT
WESPOT
2012-10-01
2015-09-30
Working Environment with Social, Personal and Open Technologies for Inquiry Based Learning
The weSPOT project, supported by the European Commission, aims to propagate scientific inquiry as the approach for science learning and teaching in combination with today's curricula and teaching practices.
weSPOT will create a Working Environment with Social, Personal and Open Technologies that supports users (from 12 to 25) to develop their inquiry based learning skills by means of:
(i) a European reference model for inquiry skills and inquiry workflows,
(ii) a diagnostic instrument for measuring inquiry skills,
(iii) smart support tools for orchestrating inquiry workflows including mobile apps, learning analytics support, and social collaboration on scientific inquiry,
(iv) social media integration and viral marketing of scientific inquiry linked to school legacy systems and an open badge system.
In inquiry-based learning co-learners take the role of explorers and scientists and are motivated by their personal curiosity, guided by self-reflection, and develop knowledge personal and collaborative sense-making and reasoning.
weSPOT will work on a meta-inquiry level in that it will:
1. define a reference model for inquiry-based learning skills,
2. create a diagnostic instrument for measuring inquiry skills, and
3. implement a working environment that allows the easy linking of inquiry activities with school curricula and legacy systems.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in EUCLID
EUCLID
EUCLID
2012-05-01
2014-04-30
EdUcational Curriculum for the usage of LInked Data
As the popularity of Linked Data increases, so does the demand for data practitioners possessing the skills and knowledge necessary to understand its main concepts, and apply the associated technologies for data-analytics purposes. The availability of such expertise is a driver for the sustainable future development of the Linked Data community. It can be achieved through targeted knowledge transfer, in particular through easily accessible training programs addressing the real needs of data practitioners, as proposed in the EUCLID project.
EUCLID will facilitate professional training for data practitioners aiming to use Linked Data in their daily work, through a curriculum implemented as a combination of living learning materials and activities (eBook series, webinars, face-to-face training), validated by the user community through continuous feedback.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in FORGE
FORGE
FORGE
2013-10-01
2016-09-30
Forging Online Education through FIRE
Forging Online Education through FIRE (FORGE) is a project bringing the FIRE and eLearning worlds together. FORGE will align FIRE (Future Internet Research and Experimentation) with the ongoing education revolution. This project will specify development methodologies and best practices for offering FIRE experimentation facilities to learners and to the learning community in general. FORGE relates to communications and IT, as well as to other disciplines including the physical and social sciences. It will lead to a strong connection between the learning community and existing FIRE platforms and supporting tools.
The eLearning community will benefit from the use of very high performance facilities, provided as reusable learning solutions. Educators, content providers and students will acquire access to world-class facilities and use them to create and execute scientific experiments. The FIRE eLearning tools and services developed by FORGE, as well as the associated learning materials will be made available as OERs, so that they can be reused and repurposed by the eLearning community for a variety of learning contexts. Finally, FIRE will benefit through the addition of an ever-growing set of FIRE-specific learning materials for an increasing number of FIRE-based students, leading to increased awareness and use. The openness and reusability of FIRE will be promoted to the eLearning community, thus leading to the development of new FIRE facilities and the extension of existing ones in order to address specific learning requirements.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in EDSA
EDSA
EDSA
2015-02-02
2018-01-31
European Data Science Academy
Data explosion on the web, fuelled by social networking, micro-blogging, as well as crowdsourcing, has led to the Big Data phenomenon. This is characterized by increasing volumes of structured, semi-structured and unstructured data, originating from sources that generate them at an increasing rate. This wealth of data provides numerous new analytic and business intelligence opportunities to various industry sectors. Therefore, more and more industry sectors are in need of innovative data management services, creating a demand for Data Scientists possessing skills and detailed knowledge in this area. Ensuring the availability of such expertise will prove crucial if businesses are to reap the full benefits of these advanced data management technologies, and the know-how accumulated over the past years by researchers, technology enthusiasts and early adopters.
The European Data Science Academy (EDSA) will establish a virtuous learning production cycle whereby we: a) analyse the required sector specific skillsets for data analysts across the main industrial sectors in Europe; b) develop modular and adaptable data science curricula to meet these needs; and c) deliver training supported by multiplatform and multilingual learning resources based on our curricula. The curricula and learning resources will be continuously evaluated by pedagogical and data science experts during both development and deployment.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in SlideWiki
SlideWiki
SlideWiki
2016-01-01
2018-12-31
Large-scale pilots for collaborative OpenCourseWare authoring, multiplatform delivery and Learning Analytics
A major obstacle to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of education in Europe is the lack of widely available, accessible, multilingual, timely, engaging and high-quality educational material (i.e. OpenCourseWare). The creation of comprehensive OpenCourseWare (OCW) is tedious, time-consuming and expensive with the effect that often courseware employed by teachers, instructors and professors is incomplete, outdated, inaccessible to those with disabilities and dull.
With the open-source SlideWiki platform (available at SlideWiki.org) the effort of the creation, translation and evolution of highly-structured remixable OCW can be widely shared (i.e. crowdsourced).
Similarly to Wikipedia for encyclopaedic content, SlideWiki allows to collaboratively create comprehensive OCW (curricula, slide presentations, self-assessment tests, illustrations etc.) online in a crowdsourcing manner:
1. to semi-automatically translate this content into more than 50 different languages and
2. to improve the translations in a collaborative manner and
3. to support engagement and social networking of educators and learners around that content.
Several hundred comprehensive course materials are available in SlideWiki in dozens of languages. In this large-scale trial project, we will further mature the SlideWiki technology platform, integrate it with a state-of-the-art MOOC delivery platform and perform four large-scale trials in:
1. secondary education,
2. vocational and professional training,
3. higher education and
4. community-driven open-education.
Each of these large-scale trials will be performed with hundreds of educators and thousands of learners in countries all over Europe. A particular focus of the technology development and testing in the trials will be the suitability for academics, teachers and learners with disabilities.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in HUB4NGI
HUB4NGI
HUB4NGI
2017-01-01
2018-12-31
Unlocking the value of the Next Generation Internet
HUB4NGI is the first Coordination and Support Action dedicated to transforming the Next Generation Internet initiative into an increasingly dynamic, collaborative, vibrant and participatory Research and Innovation Ecosystem.
HUB4NGI aims to offer a collaborative platform capable of effectively supporting and coordinating activities across the whole NGI context by combining knowledge, tools and processes to reach and engage top-notch Internet researchers and innovators.
The selected and carefully designed activities HUB4NGI will pursue have been organised around 5 main work packages: the NGI APPROACH, the NGI GUIDE, the NGI CATALYST, the NGI BOOST and the NGI FIGHTER. By close interaction of these activities, HUB4NGI is covering strategy and operation by:
Defining a methodology for collecting and assessing the information in the NGI domain.
Grounding the NGI vision, strategy and plans.
Accelerating the NGI programme implementation.
Running community building and outreach activities.
HUB4NGI will ultimately help the whole NGI community to grow and liaise with relevant European, international, national and regional initiatives.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in Open Networking Lab
Open Networking Lab
Open Networking Lab
2017-12-01
2020-09-30
Practical learning about computer networking
The Open Networking Lab makes available introductory practical computer networking skills training, in order to service the needs of vocational learners (Further Education and Apprenticeship levels), educators, and industry. The project is carried out by the Open University Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and is funded by the Ufi Charitable Trust.
PT Anywhere is the underlying technology the project uses to teach networking concepts. The platform offers a network simulation environment via a web interface that can be accessed from any browser or as a widget inside an interactive eBook. PT Anywhere is based on the Packet Tracer network simulator for Windows and Linux developed by the Cisco Networking Academy.
The project has produced a free online course, which is available through the Open University's OpenLearn platform.
The Open Networking Lab Accessibility project allows visually impaired learners to acquire basic computer networking skills through the use of accessible network simulation software.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in OpenLang Network
OpenLang Network
OpenLang Network
2018-09-01
2021-12-31
A language learning network for Erasmus+ KA1 mobility participants
The OpenLang Network addresses the needs for linguistic skills and culture awareness of Erasmus+ KA1 mobility participants and the training needs of language teachers:
a) Erasmus+ KA1 mobility participants (HE students & staff, Vocational education and training, Adult & School education staff, Youth learners, Youth Workers, Youth Entrepreneurs) that need to boost their language skills and cultural awareness.
b) Volunteer language teachers who will support the Erasmus+ KA1 mobility participants offering their professional experience while receiving professional certified training on the creation, sharing and use of language Open Educational Resources (OERs).
The OpenLang Network envisages to:
1) Connect these 2 groups in an interactive collaborative environment (web-based and mobile-based) that will support more efficiently their effort to raise language awareness of the target mobility EU languages and to develop European intercultural knowledge covering all EU cultures.
2) Foster the Open Education European multicultural and multilingual vision to all OpenLang Network members.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in QualiChain
QualiChain
QualiChain
2019-01-01
2021-12-31
Decentralised Qualifications' Verification and Management for Learner Empowerment, Education Reengineering and Public Sector Transformation
QualiChain targets the creation, piloting and evaluation of a decentralised platform for storing, sharing and verifying education and employment qualifications and focuses on the assessment of the potential of blockchain technology, algorithmic techniques and computational intelligence for disrupting the domain of public education, as well as its interfaces with private education, the labour market, public sector administrative procedures and the wider socio-economic developments.
The project focuses more specifically on the assessment of the implications (technical, political, socio-economic, legal and cultural) as well as the impact - in terms of benefits and risks - of the prescribed solution's utilisation, whose disruptive potential lies both in the exploitation of the innovative features of the aforementioned individual technologies, as well as in their unique combination in a new territory for the provision of a set of baseline services (Awards / Qualifications Archiving; Awards / Qualifications Verification; Qualifications Portfolio Management) and a number of value-adding services (Career Counselling and Intelligent Profiling and Competency Management including Recruitment; Competencies Evaluation and Development; Consulting and Decision Support).
The proposed solution will be piloted through four representative scenarios: (i) lifelong learning; (ii) smart curriculum design; (iii) staffing the public sector; (iv) providing HR consultancy and competency management services.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in DEL4ALL
DEL4ALL
DEL4ALL
2020-01-01
2021-12-31
Digital Enhanced Learning for All
The main goal of DEL4ALL is to transform the current European research and innovation initiatives in the area of digital enhanced learning into an increasingly cohesive, dynamic, participatory and sustainable ecosystem, capable of effectively stimulating collaboration among all key players in an inclusive an impactful way. While consolidating outcomes of ongoing projects by analysing best-practice and success stories at the benefit of the whole community, dedicated dissemination and stakeholders' engagement activities will ensure to inject into the broader Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative. DEL4ALL will guide the community and its efforts in a forward-looking perspective, analysing challenges and opportunities offered by the increasing adoption of digital technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, etc., for more inclusive and personalised learning solutions. This will be done by engaging experts in a multidisciplinary perspective to understand legal, organisational and technological defies to overcome, especially to scale up such solutions. This shall be the basis for providing guidelines on future research directions, as well as policy recommendations to transition from Horizon 2020 to Horizon Europe.
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in OpenSTEM Africa Blockchain
OpenSTEM Africa Blockchain
OpenSTEM Africa Blockchain
2021-09-01
2022-07-31
Leveraging Blockchain for OpenSTEM Africa
This project, led by WELS and funded by HEIF, is developing a business case and implementation model which leverages blockchain capacity to create a smart and sustainable future for OpenSTEM Africa, BlueScreenIT's education offerings and explores the wider potential for this model across the Open University. The key project objectives are to work collaboratively with BluescreenIT to:
- keep track of existing patterns of OpenSTEM resource use to understand actual and potential demand better
- monetise where appropriate additional delivery to ensure both sustainability and expanded project reach
- validate the integrity of high value Open Educational Resources (OER) such as onscreen science applications
- use blockchain to feasibly manage existing and expanded delivery in diverse and complex educational contexts by reducing the administrative cost and overheads through the use of smart contracts and other measures
- use blockchain (particularly through the use of smart contracts) to monitor and manage expansions of both existing content and platform usage to allow a wider range of users to access and benefit from this content in new creative ways. In particular, use blockchain to facilitate opportunities to licence and appropriately charge for educational resources to be used on various platforms
- integrate this business case and implementation model with relationships in developing countries and organisations and foundations involved in international development
- use this expansion of provision to facilitate wider additional sales such as activities and CPD training
- use this business case and implementation model as a template for other projects in BluescreenIT, WELS, STEM and across the Open University as a whole
- be consistent with the ethics around the use of OER whilst recognising the context of OER provision - particularly around the amount of available grant funding - has changed
- scope the possibility of an OpenSTEM Africa app which can be used in various ways with blockchain
Alexander Mikroyannidis's participation in SAGE-RAI
SAGE-RAI
SAGE-RAI
2023-12-01
2025-05-31
Smart Assessment and Guided Education with Responsible AI
Can responsible Generative AI (GenAI) lead to improved student outcomes? In SAGE-RAI, we utilise partner-applied education-oriented GenAI tools to explore this. Inspired by Bloom's 1984 study on 1-to-1 teaching's efficacy and the potential for cost-effective, scalable personalised education, we aim to unlock this potential. Addressing tutor limitations in accommodating large cohorts, we investigate how responsible GenAI can enhance tutoring, offer tailored more personalised learning experiences and generate student feedback. Our goal is to create a platform supporting assessment and student guidance while responsibly applying GenAI, addressing challenges of misinformation, copyright, and bias. The journey embodies educational innovation for better outcomes.