David works in the overlapping space between education, academia and technology. He co-manages Technology-Assisted Lifelong Learning (TALL), an award winning elearning research and development group in the University of Oxford.
In 2007 he released some of the first data on what was then called ‘web 2.0’ which included diagrams with ‘social’, ‘studying’ and ‘professional’ nestling alongside each other to highlight out how traditional boundaries are blurring. He has also researched the wild frontiers of Virtual Worlds and Massively Multiplayer Online games in the context of teaching and learning.
In 2010 David lead a study of UK online learning for the HEFCE Online Learning Task Force and continues to research what motivates learners to engage with the web based around his Visitors & Residents principle.
Alongside overseeing the creation and delivery of over 50 online distance courses David was the Creative Director of the ‘Maths in the City’ project working with Professor Marcus du Sautoy. He has also recently completed a study of the use/reuse of Open Educational Resources.
David is an has spoken as a Social Media expert on BBC Radio 4 and delivered keynotes at many conferences. He is keen to see beyond the technology to the larger underlying trends that are emerging as society moves online. Visit the TALL blog for some of his recent thoughts, or follow his thinking as ideas occur to him: @daveowhite.