Using Technology Wisely

Kari Nieminen received a MSc in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Theoretical Physics from University of Turku in 1979, got a permanent position at Tampere Teacher Training School in 1982. He continued his studies in Computer Science, Educational Science and Philosophy and received his Lic. Phil. from University of Tampere in 1993.

Nieminen specialized in Artificial Intelligence and worked as a Knowledge Engineer at the Technical Research Centre of Finland in 1990. He has experience from many different school-systems: International Baccalaureate (IB)-school of Tampere (1992-1996), European School of Luxembourg (1999-2006) and European School of Karlsruhe, Germany (2016-17).

For the past six years, he has been working hard to combine his two professions, that of a teacher and that of a computer scientist. He has developed a pedagogically sound method for learning with modern technology.

Indira Pallaro is a Project Manager at IE Publishing with 8 years of experience in four different countries in the Education sector. She is passionate about pedagogy and international education. She holds a Master’s degree in International Education Development from Columbia University’s Teachers College.  

Alex has worked in education for a decade. After starting out as an English teacher in a London comprehensive, he completed his MA at the Institute of Education before joining Teach For All, a growing network of independent organizations working to ensure that all children fulfil their potential. He is fortunate to spend his time travelling the world in search of the practices that will shape the future of learning and has written about his experiences for the Independent, Guardian, Financial Times and Wired. His book Natural Born Learners is a user's guide to transforming learning in the twenty-first century, taking readers on a dazzling global tour into the future of education, from Silicon Valley to Seoul, Helsinki to Hounslow.

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With experience in a wide range of educational settings including museum education, secondary education continued professional development and higher education in both the UK and the Netherlands, Marlies Gration has specialised in the digital and online delivery of customised learning products. Her academic background in arts and media studies in combination with a teaching degree has enabled her to critically examine the pedagogical design of online courses as well as their ability to capture the learner.

Her mission is as follows: "The world is rapidly changing and this creates new challenges in life and business. Innovation, creativity and change are on the agenda of almost every company and this has a big impact on what is expected from the learning industry. Designing great instruction means defining the learner and their needs for the future, choosing the right media to facilitate this learning and enhancing the content by shaping it into a comprehensive module. This is the architecture, the underlying instructional design. It is my job to help companies, both in and outside of the learning industry, to tailor their educational needs for the future."

Fields of interest: Shaping new, personalised online places for learning, using language and design