Levina Yuen · Athabasca University, Canada
"Bridging the gap between theory and practice is essential for advancing education. While theoretical frameworks provide foundational understanding, their real-world application ensures relevance and impact. Educators and institutions are challenged to translate scholarly insights into actionable strategies that address challenges in open and distributed education. This dynamic exchange between research and practice fosters innovation, improves teaching effectiveness, and enhances learning outcomes. Extending scholarship to practice also enriches research, as practical applications often reveal new areas of inquiry, leading to a continuous cycle of knowledge generation and refinement." (Anderson et al., 2025)
In this session, Drs. Adnan Qayyum and Levina Yuen will outline key emerging online technologies and their potential to enable and transform education on a global scale.
Anderson, T., Cookson, P. S., Henderson, S., & McGreal, R. (2025). Twenty-Five Years of Innovation and Knowledge Sharing: The Legacy and Future of the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 26(1).
Presenters
Adnan Qayyum, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Education Innovation at Athabasca University and Director of the Doctorate in Distance Education. He has taught and researched at Penn State University, Concordia University, Montreal and the University of British Columbia. He has been a department chair, director of a distance education unit, an instructional designer, and a trainer. Adnan is an associate editor of the International Review of Open and Distributed Learning. He is the co-editor of two books comparing the state of open and distance education in 12 countries. He has consulted on education policy, evaluation, and online and distance education design, for international development agencies like the World Bank and Commonwealth of Learning, governments, educational institutions, unions, businesses, and accreditation agencies.
Dr. Levina Yuen is an Associate Professor of Educational Technology at Athabasca University, with over a decade of interdisciplinary experience spanning educational technologies, learning assessment, and instructional design. Her professional background includes roles as a K-12 educator, technology analyst, program evaluator, and higher education lecturer, giving her a well-rounded perspective on the intersection of pedagogy and emerging technologies.
Retrospective on Open Access Publishing
The Evolution of Open and Distributed Learning
