September 2024 Apereo Microconference with Martin Dougiamas
Join the Apereo Foundation as we welcome Martin Dougiamas, founder of Moodle and Open EdTech, who will share his session, Open EdTech in an AI Future.
Date: September 11, 2024
Time: 10 AM Eastern Time
Session Title: Open EdTech in an AI Future
Session Description
The majority of infrastructure that powers the whole internet is Open Source or open in a meaningful way, although we generally hear more noise from proprietary application vendors with large marketing budgets. If you’re seeing this you’re probably already a fan of Open Education Technology and know how important it is. But as we transition into a future where Generative AI will dominate a lot of the software environment, what does Open even mean and what do we want to see? As the founder of Moodle, the open source Learning Management System that is the most widely-used in the world, Martin has been thinking about these dynamics since 1999. In this session he offers his current thoughts about a future powered by Gen AI and how we might think about future EdTech.
About Martin
Martin Dougiamas is a highly influential figure in online education. He is known jokingly as “that Australian guy who founded and led Moodle,” an open-source learning management system that revolutionized online learning. Martin’s roots are in higher education. He developed Moodle while working at Curtin University, aiming to make education more accessible and collaborative. His vision grew into a global movement, with Moodle now used by millions of students and educators worldwide.
In recent years, Martin has shifted his focus to Open EdTech, an international association founded in 2023 dedicated to developing and promoting open source educational technology. They focus on creating a trustworthy, sustainable, and interoperable ecosystem that supports educators and community developers with enhancing lifelong learning opportunities.
Martin’s work has earned him honorary doctorates from universities in Spain, Belgium, and Greece, recognizing his contributions to education technology. Martin still lives in Perth with his family, enjoying time outside, cycling, and playing with new technologies.