Investing in education is the single most effective way of reducing poverty.

Global Partnership for Education

Education is vital in encouraging participation in civil society, improving health and wellbeing, reducing poverty, and boosting economic growth.

The Learning Futures team at the University of Bedfordshire is directly focused in shaping the future of learning and improving the quality of education through the critical evaluation and exploitation of digital technologies.

We have a record of more than 20 years’ worth of research and through collaborations nationally and internationally have researched the opportunities for digital technologies to improve the quality of school and university based education, professional development and knowledge mobilization.

Professor Leask and Professor Carmichael led the Learning Futures Centre which additionally benefits from the expertise of visiting professors from the education sector as well as industry professionals.

Combining the specialist areas of pedagogy and curriculum creation, online communities and practice, teacher education, technology in education and change management, our research aims to address the challenges of contemporary compulsory and post compulsory education. Our researchers engage with practitioners, technology developers, and the commercial sector through business and public seminars.

Professor Preston and Dr Younie’s work with digital technology businesses through research and consultancy directly benefits teachers and educators, businesses and learners. They have worked directly with the British Education Suppliers Association that represents 80% of the UK education market and has 300 member companies, with 150 of those being in the educational technology field.

Members of the Learning Futures Centre work in partnership with other institutions through the Education Futures Collaboration charity, networks and associations such as Mirandanet and the Association for IT in Teacher Education, and collaborations such as the online MESH initiative and EdComms, used by thousands of members, including educators, policy makers and businesses from 129 countries.

The 80 member strong Bedford Borough Learning Exchange network, that includes state and private schools, colleges, and universities, is actively engaged with university staff in developing and testing models of evidence-based practice.

As digital learning technologies continue to evolve, so does our research into exploring their use in education.