Dr Koula Charitonos is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Educational Technology in the Open University. Her research is integrative and spans three areas: 1. Professional learning for complex professional knowledge work; 2. Pedagogies and educational practices for connected learning across formal and informal settings and 3. Participatory approaches to research with educational technology. Her current research activity contributes to understanding contemporary issues in education; in particular the role of digital, mobile and online technologies in widening access and participation to quality education with a particular focus on education in contexts affected by crises. Her research involves work with academic and non-academic partners, across geographies and disciplines. Koula is currently leading a participatory project with teachers in refugee settings in Jordan that examines communicative approaches to English Language learning during Covid19 pandemic (2021-2022, funded by ASU/Mastercard Foundation and QR GCRF). She is also the co-Investigator in an AHRC GCRF research project ‘Mobile Arts for Peace’ (2020-2024). In the academic year 2021-22, Koula leads the monthly knowledge exchange events called ‘Connected Higher Education in Crisis contexts’ with UNHCR and the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium. https://iet.open.ac.uk/people/koula.charitonos