Group Members
Darragh Coakley
Darragh Coakley a senior technical officer in the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning in Munster Technological University. He has been working in the digital education and higher education space for over 17 years with a unifying theme across his research relating to the role of education as an egalitarian force at an individual and societal level.
Donna Lanclos
Donna Lanclos, PhD, is an anthropologist whose research interest centers on academic behaviors, and the impact of larger digital and physical contexts on staff, students, and community members in and around universities. Her applied approach brings insights from this research into workshops and professional development courses, providing space for participants to gain insight into their own practices, the circumstances that shape them, and whether and how things might change.
Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin
Dr Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin is head of the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning in the Munster Technological University (MTU), Cork, Ireland, with responsibility for developing and managing the university’s online and blended mode programmes, supporting the mainstream use of technology enhanced learning by staff and students and conducting ongoing research in the field. Gearóid has worked at the intersection of learning and technology for more than twenty-five years, during which time he has led out on a range of large-scale EU-funded and commercial ed-tech and technology enhanced learning projects. He has also published and presented widely on related research topics. Gearóid chairs the Ed Tech and E-learning research group in MTU and is course director for MTU’s online MA in E-learning Design and Development.
Larkin Cunningham
Larkin is a lecturer in computer science and teaches modules and supervises student projects on topics such as game design / development, serious games, extended reality, and generative AI. His research interests include game-based learning / serious games, learning analytics, and the use of generative AI in teaching and learning. Larkin has a PhD in Digital Humanities and as part of his doctoral research developed an iterative model for the development of serious games, and developed a VR-based serious game that teaches the subject of graph theory in a hands-on way.
Lawrie Phipps
Lawrie Phipps is the Senior Research Lead at Jisc, his portfolio includes research into institutional digital practices, digital leadership, and issues impacting on digital experiences in education and digital transformation. His previous research has included the use of fieldwork in teaching, disability and inclusion, the impact of social media in teaching, and “next generation” learning technologies. He is a Visiting Professor of Digital Education at the University of Chester, and Honorary Professor of Digital Leadership at Keele University. Lawrie is a qualified executive coach and has worked with a range of individuals and teams to support change initiatives in universities over more than 25 years.
Louise Nagle
Delivering on the National Technological University Transformation for Recovery and Resilience (NTUTORR) programme for MTU. An active researcher and supervisor in the areas of Gen AI, Digital learning and ePortfolios.
Roisin Garvey
Roisin Garvey is a learning technologist in the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning in Munster Technological University. Her research interests focus on the affordances of digital media and accessible digital practices for improving inclusion at all levels of education.
Sarah Pattison
Sarah Pattison has a BA in Multimedia and an MA in E-Learning Design and Development from Cork Institute of Technology (now MTU). Sarah has worked in Munster Technological University since 2020, during which she has made significant contributions across a wide range of mainstream and externally-funded digital learning projects and initiatives. In her mainstream role in the university she supports staff and students with their use of edtech tools with training sessions, help articles, and personalised support. Sarah leverages her background in technical writing to transform complex topics into engaging educational content. Sarah’s research interests include digital accessibility and finding ways to encourage interaction between time-poor academic staff and instructional designers.
Shane Cronin
Shane Cronin is a Senior Learning Technologist in the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) at Munster Technological University. With over 19 years in the e-learning space, Shane is experienced in leading and managing the design and development of bespoke e-learning solutions at national and European level. He is also responsible for the supervision and administration of mainstream technical staff within the department and for the management and rollout of e-learning services and infrastructure across the university. Additionally, Shane lectures on various programmes including the online Masters of Arts in E-Learning Design and Development.
Tadhg Leane
Dr. Tadhg Leane is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning at Munster Technological University (MTU) with over two decades of experience in higher education. He has significant experience in institutional governance, policy development, change management and academic leadership. His work has contributed to the advancement and strategic management of the institution, particularly in the transition towards becoming a Technological University. Holding a Doctorate in Business Administration in Higher Education Management from the University of Bath, Dr. Leane recently achieved a Masters qualification in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at MTU.
Tom Farrelly
In both his role as a lecturer and academic developer in higher education, Dr Tom Farrelly has been an advocate for the effective use of digital teaching and learning strategies in general and the employment of the Learning Management System/Virtual Learning Environment (LMS/VLE) in particular. In addition to his doctoral research on the topic, he has researched, presented and written extensively about LMS use; adopting a viewpoint that he characterises as a critical technophile regarding their use. An advocate for open practices, especially in the form of open-access publishing he has been a member of the editorial team of the Irish Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (IJTEL) for seven years.
He has worked in a variety of roles for over twenty years in higher education and currently works as an Academic Developer/Senior lecturer at Munster Technological University (MTU) with the N-TUTORR project
Jeremiah Spillane
Dr Jeremiah Spillane is an instructional designer and digital learning specialist with a background in music and audio-visual technologies. He has worked in a variety of roles for over 12 years in higher education in the U.K and Ireland - lecturing, libraries and digital repositories, digital learning and educational technologies - and currently works as an e-learning technical officer in the Dept. of TEL at Munster Technological University (MTU).