Orna Farrell
Dr
Dr Orna Farrell is Associate Professor of Education, specialising in digital education based in the School of Policy Practice, Institute of Education in Dublin City University (DCU). Orna holds a PhD in Education from Trinity College Dublin. She is a fellow of EDEN Digital Learning Europe.
Previously, Orna was Head of the Open Education Unit at Dublin City University, which provided online programmes to off campus students through the DCU Connected platform. From 2020-21, Orna led the Digital Learning Design Unit, created to support DCU’s pivot to hybrid learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. From 2017-20, she was Chair of the DCU Connected Online Humanities programmes.
Orna's research interests centre around digital innovative pedagogy and include online pedagogy, learning design, digital assessment, eportfolio and open education. She has a growing publication record in her fields of interest, including a range of book chapters, journal articles, invited presentations and conference papers. She has published in high ranking journals such as Distance Education, the Journal of Interactive Media in Education, Research in Learning Technology, and the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education.
In the Irish context, Dr Farrell was principal investigator of the recent National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education funded project #Openteach: professional development for open online educators. Previously Orna was a member of both the Y1 Feedback and Student Success Toolbox projects also funded by the Irish National Forum.
Orna is involved in two EU funded projects currently. Firstly, she is the DCU Principal Investigator for the Encore+ European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education Project, which aims to create a European network that supports innovation and entrepreneurship with Open Educational Resources (OERs) and involves a partnership with: The International Council for Open and Distance Education, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University, The Open University, International University of La Rioja, Fondazione Politecnico di Milano.
Secondly, Orna is a member of the DCU team for the BUKA: Better Universities and Knowledge for All – Advancing equity and access to higher education through open and distance learning. This project aims to enable increased access to higher education for people in rural and remote regions as well as those with diverse in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Dr Farrell is involved in a number of Irish and European networks in the area of digital, online and open education. She is an active member of the NIDL digital learning network. Orna is a founding member of Eportfolio Ireland, a professional learning network of eportfolio practitioners and researchers. She is deputy chair of the European Distance and E-Learning (EDEN) Network of Academics and Professionals (NAP) committee.
Doctoral supervision
Orna is available to supervise doctoral students in the areas of blended, online and digital learning in a range of educational settings.
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Orna Farrell (2022) 'Learning Design in the Time of COVID-19: The Digital Learning Design Unit Story'. Open Praxis, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Orna Farrell; Karen Buckley; Lisa Donaldson; Tom Farrelly (2021) 'Eportfolio in Ireland: A landscape snapshot of current practice'. Irish Journal Of Technology Enhanced Learning, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Orna Farrell; Karen Buckley; Lisa Donaldson; Tom Farrelly (2021) 'Editorial: Good bye exams, hello eportfolio'. Irish Journal Of Technology Enhanced Learning, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Orna Farrell; James Brunton; Caitriona Ni She; Eamon Costello (2021) '#Openteach: Open Course, Open Online Teaching, Open Textbook'. EDEN Conference Proceedings, . [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Farrell, O.; Brunton, J.; Costello, E.; Delaney, L.; Brown, M.; Foley, C. (2020) 'This is two different worlds, you have the asylum world and you have the study world’: An exploration of refugee participation in online Irish higher education'. Research in Learning Technology, 28 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | Shé, C.N.; Farrell, O.; Brunton, J.; Costello, E. (2022) 'Integrating design thinking into instructional design: The #OpenTeach case study'. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 38 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Farrell, O., Buckley, K., Donaldson, L., & Farrelly, T. (2021) 'Editorial: Good bye exams, hello eportfolio'. Irish Journal Of Technology Enhanced Learning, 6 (1). [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Farrell, O., Buckley, K., Donaldson, L., Farrelly, T., (2021) 'Eportfolio in Ireland: A Landscape Snapshot'. Irish Journal Of Technology Enhanced Learning, 6 (1). [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Farrell, O. (2021) 'The evolution of portfolio in higher education: past, present and future'. Distance Education in China, 4 . [Link] | |
| 2021 | Farrell, O (2021) 'Review of Veletsianos, G. Learning Online: The student experience'. TechTrends, 65 . [Link] https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-021-00582-z | |
| 2020 | Farrell, O.; Brunton, J. (2020) 'A balancing act: a window into online student engagement experiences'. International Journal Of Educational Technology In Higher Education, 17 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Farrell, O., Brunton, J., Costello, E., Delaney, L., Brown, M., Foley, C. (2020) 'This is two different worlds, you have the asylum world and you have the study world’: an exploration of refugee participation in online Irish higher education'. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 28 (2020) . [Link] https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2368 | |
| 2020 | Farrell, Orna (2020) 'From Portafoglio to Eportfolio: The Evolution of Portfolio in Higher Education'. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, (1). [DOI] | |
| 2019 | Farrell, O., Brunton, J., & Trevaskis, S. (2019) 'If I had missed it I would have been the lost little sheep: Exploring student narratives on orientation to first year'. Journal of Further and Higher Education, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2019 | Orna Farrell; James Brunton; Eamon Costello; Caitriona Ni She; Enda Donlon; Samantha Trevaskis; Sinead Eccles; (2019) 'An investigation of effective online teaching: a needs analysis of online educators and online students'. Zenodo, . [DOI] | |
| 2019 | James Brunton; Orna Farrell; Eamon Costello; Lorraine Delaney; Colum Foley; Mark Brown; (2019) 'Duelling identities in refugees learning through open, online higher education'. Open Praxis, . [DOI] | |
| 2019 | Orna Farrell; Aidan Seery; (2019) 'I am not simply learning and regurgitating information, I am also learning about myselfâ: learning portfolio practice and online distance students'. Distance Education, 40 (1). [DOI] | |
| 2018 | Orna Farrell; (2018) 'Failure to Launch: The Unfulfilled Promise of Eportfolios in Irish higher education: An Opinion Piece'. Dbs Business Review, . [DOI] | |
| 2018 | Brunton, J.; Brown, M.; Costello, E.; Farrell, O. (2018) 'Head start online: flexibility, transitions and student success'. Educational Media International, 55 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2018 | (2018) 'Reflections on ePortfolio Professional Learning: Harnessing an Unconference Approach'. Aepr, . | |
| 2018 | (2018) 'Pre-induction supports for flexible learners: The Head Start Online MOOC pilot. A Practice Report'. Student Success, . [DOI] | |
| 2016 | O'Regan, L., Harding, N., Brown, M., Maguire, M., Munro, M., McDermott, G., Ryan, S., Farrell, O., Cranny, D., Gallaher, G., & McKevitt, C. (2016) 'Y1 Feedback - the story so far: Progress and reflections from an Irish multi-institutional learning and teaching enhancement project'. AISHE-J: THE ALL IRELAND JOURNAL OF TEACHING AND LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION, 8 (3):2991-2994. [Link] |
Published Report
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Farrell, O., Breen, E., Brunton, J., Cox, R., Costello, E., Delaney, L., Gallagher, E., Smyth, V. (2021) Go Open: A Beginners Guide to Open Education. DCU, . [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Farrell, O., Brunton, J., Costello, E., Donlon, E., Trevaskis, S., Eccles, S., Ní Shé, C. (2020) Openteach Pilot Evaluation Report. #Openteach Project, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2019 | CaitrÃona Nà Shé; Orna Farrell; James Brunton; Eamon Costello; Enda Donlon; Samantha Trevaskis; Sinead; (2019) Teaching online is different: critical perspectives from the literature. . [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Y1Feedback (2016) Feedback in First Year: A Landscape Snapshot Across Four Irish Higher Education Institutions. Y1 Feedback, . [Link] | |
| 2016 | Y1Feedback (2016) Technology-Enabled Feedback in the First Year: A Synthesis of the Literature. Y1 Feedback, . [Link] | |
| 2019 | Ní Shé, C., Farrell, O., Brunton, J., Costello, E., Donlon, E., Trevaskis, S., & Eccles, S. (2019) Teaching online is different: critical perspectives from the literature. Dublin City University, . [Link] [DOI] |
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Orna Farrell; James Brunton; Caitriona Ni She; Eamon Costello (2022) 'Professional Learning for Open Online Educators: The #Openteach Story' In: Developing Online Teaching in Higher Education. Singapore : Springer. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2017 | Nuala Harding; Lisa O'Regan; Moira Maguire; Mark Brown; Seamus Ryan; Geraldine McDermott; Orna Farrell; Morag Munro; Gerry Gallagher; David Cranny; Conor McKevitt; Edel Healy; Ronan T. Bree; Don Faller; Anne Mulvihill; J.M. Bird; Akinlolu Akande; David Doyle; David N. Dowling; Dina Brazil; Gina Noonan (2017) 'Developing Digital Pedagogy: The Impact of National Strategy and Enhancement Themes in an Irish Institute of Higher Education' In: [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Farrell, O., Brunton, J., Ní Shé, C., Costello, E., (2021) 'Professional learning for online educators' In: 7th e-Learning Excellence Awards 2021. Berlin : 7th e-Learning Excellence Awards 2021. [Link] | |
| 2017 | Nuala Harding, Lisa O’Regan, Moira Maguire, Mark Brown, Seamus Ryan, Geraldine McDermott, Orna Farrell, Morag Munro, Gerry Gallagher, David Cranny, Conor McKevitt, Edel Healy, Ronan Bree, Don Faller, Anne Mulvihill, Jeremy Bird, Akinlolu Akande, David Doyle, David Dowling, Dina Brazil and Gina Noonan (2017) 'Developing Digital Pedagogy: The Impact of National Strategy and Enhancement Themes in an Irish Institute of Higher Education' In: Empowering 21st Century Learners Through Holistic and Enterprising Learning. Singapore : Springer. [DOI] | |
| 2022 | Orna Farrell; James Brunton; Caitriona Ni She; Eamon Costello (2022) 'Professional Learning for Open Online Educators: The #Openteach Story' In: Developing Online Teaching in Higher Education. Professional and Practice-based Learning, vol 29. Singapore : Springer. [Link] https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5587-7_2 |
Book
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Farrell, O.; Bruton, J.; Ni She, C.; Costello, E. (2021) #Openteach: Professional development for open online educators. Dublin, Ireland: #Openteach Project. [DOI] | |
| 2017 | (2017) Giving flexible learners a head start on higher education: Designing and implementing a pre-induction socialisation MOOC. [DOI] |
Conference Publication
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Farrell, O., & Brunton, J. (2020) European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN). Human and artificial intelligence for the society of the future . In: Kucina Softic, S., Andone, D., & Szucs, A. (eds) eds. Walking the tightrope: Online student engagement experiences Online/Spain, 22/06/2020- 24/06/2020 [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2018 | Brunton, J.; Costello, E.; Farrell, O.; Oâkeeffe, N.; (2018) Proceedings of the European Conference on e-Learning, ECEL Attaining 21st century skills online: A programmatic approach | |
| 2017 | Farrell, O., Curran, C., Brunton, J. (2017) EdTech 2017 TEL in an Age of Supercomplexity - Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies, Annual Conference of the Irish Learning Technology Association The History Lab: Developing digital research skills | |
| 2016 | Brunton, J.; Farrell, O.; Brown, M.; Mahon, C.; Costello, E.; (2016) ASCILITE 2016 - Conference Proceedings - 33rd International Conference of Innovation, Practice and Research in the Use of Educational Technologies in Tertiary Education: Show Me the Learning Head start online: A MOOC for effectively supporting flexible learner transition into higher education | |
| 2017 | (2017) Empowering 21st Century Learners Through Holistic and Enterprising Learning Empowering 21st Century Learners Through Holistic and Enterprising Learning | |
| 2017 | (2017) Digital Education: Out to the World and Back to the Campus Digital Education: Out to the World and Back to the Campus | |
| 2017 | Farrell, O. (2017) AAEEBL Regional Conference The learning portfolio differs to other modes of learning, I am not simply learning and regurgitating information, I am also learning about myself | |
| 2017 | Farrell, O. (2017) (2017) EdTech 2017 TEL in an Age of Supercomplexity - Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies, Annual Conference of the Irish Learning Technology Association Student voices on eportfolios The learning portfolio differs to other modes of learning, I am not simply learning and regurgitating information, I am also learning about myself | |
| 2017 | Farrell, O. (2017) annual European Association for Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU), Online, Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference What is it like learning with an eportfolio for online distance learners? | |
| 2017 | Brunton, J., Brown, M. Costello, E., & Farrell, O (2017) UK/Ireland MoodleMoot Head start for online study: Reflections on a MOOC for new learners | |
| 2017 | Brunton, J., Brown, M. Costello, E., & Farrell, O. (2017) EdTech 2017 TEL in an Age of Supercomplexity - Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies. Annual Conference of the Irish Learning Technology Association New models of flexible learner socialisation in the digital age: The Head Start Online MOOC | |
| 2017 | Brunton. J., Brown, M., Costello, E., Delaney, L., & Farrell, O. (2017) 27th ICDE World Conference on Online Learning Promoting effective, strategic pre-entry and on-entry socialisation for flexible learners in higher education | |
| 2017 | Brunton, J., Farrell, O., (2017) 22nd Annual SEDA Conference 2017 Distributed and Disaggregated: Developing excellence in teaching and learning in online distance learning teams | |
| 2016 | Farrell, O. (2016) The Next Generation Digital Learning Research Symposium The next generation of online learning: How can digital portfolios enhance the nature of the learning experience and the development of criticality among flexible learners? | |
| 2016 | Farrell, O., & Brunton (2016) The Online, Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference Using online primary sources to foster historical thinking | |
| 2016 | Farrell, O. (2016) ePIC 2016 Conference Opening minds with eportfolios: How can eportfolios enhance the nature of the learning experience and the development of criticality among flexible learners? | |
| 2016 | Brunton, J., Brown, M., Costello, E., Farrell, O., & Mahon, C. (2016) 9th European Distance and eLearning Network (EDEN) Research Workshop Head start online: Thinking about, or preparing for, flexible study | |
| 2016 | Brunton, J., Brown, M., Costello, E., & Farrell, O. (2016) The Next Generation Digital Learning Research Symposium A MOOC to facilitate flexible learner transition into higher education - Head Start Online: first steps to flexible study | |
| 2016 | Brunton, J., Brown, M., Costello, E., & Farrell, O. (2016) The Online, Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference ‘A good start is half the work’: Developing a MOOC to aid flexible learner transition into higher education |
Conference Contribution
Pre-print
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Farrell, Orna; Brunton, James; Trevaskis, Samantha (2019) Induction by Design: Strategically supporting student transition into higher education. PREPRINT [DOI] | |
| 2018 | Farrell, Orna; Seery, Aidan (2018) Developing critical thinking through eportfolio based learning: an exploration of the experiences of online distance learners. PREPRINT [DOI] |
Review Articles
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Farrell, Orna (2021) Review of Veletsianos, G. (2020) Learning Online: The student experience. Johns Hopkins University Press. REV [DOI] |
Other Publication
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Orna Farrell; Maeve O Regan; Ann Whyte; Stefania Aceto; Mark Brown; James Brunton (2022) Strategic support for OER value proposition. [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Farrell, Orna; Brunton, James; Brown, Mark; Aceto, Stefania; Baldiris, Silvia (2021) The Current State of OER in Europe: Going Beyond Altruism The Current State of OER in Europe: Going Beyond Altruism ENCORE+ OER Policy and Strategy Position Paper No. 1 Coordinator of this work: Report Authors. [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Farrell, Orna; Brunton, James (2020) OEU Humanities Team Module Learning Design Guide 2020. [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Caitriona Ni She; Farrell, Orna; Brunton, James; Costello, Eamon; Trevaskis, Samantha; Sinead Eccles; Donlon, Enda (2020) DCU case study: Using ABC to design an online teaching course for open online educators. [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Orna Farrell (2020) (e)Portfolio: a history. [DOI] | |
| 2019 | Farrell, Orna (2019) Developing critical thinking through eportfolio based learning: an exploration of the experiences of non-traditional online distance learners. [DOI] | |
| 2019 | Farrell, Orna (2019) Transforming learning portfolio practice: The Critical Folio Thinking Framework. [DOI] |
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2023) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.
Professional Associations
Committees
Education
Research Interests
Orna's research interests include online pedagogy, online student success and engagement, eportfolio and
open educational practice. She has a growing publication record in her fields
of interest, including a range of book chapters, journal articles, invited presentations
and conference papers. She has published in high ranking journals such as Distance Education, the Journal of Interactive Media in Education, Research in Learning Technology, and the International Journal of Educational
Technology in Higher Education.
Research Projects
Teaching Interests
Anything digital...digital teaching and learning, assessment,