The Team

Richard Millwood - Director

Also Reader at the University of Bolton Institute for Educational Cybernetics. Previously Director of Ultralab and caretaker of a global reputation, Richard founded Core Education in January 2007. With a background in teaching at secondary and university level his passion is the application of technology to make learning delightful and productive for the learner and employer. Richard has considerable research and consultancy experience in a range of areas including software, learning environments and digital creativity. His clients include government agencies, companies and UNESCO.

Sarah Jones - Director

Polar explorer and academic only begins to describe Sarah. As a lifelong learner she has always had an in interest in education, in its broadest sense. Her career has been varied but has always been public service driven – from the NHS in the UK to charity work on the African continent and finally into school and university education. Sarah has extensive experience in leading research projects, which develop the use of innovative and emerging technologies in educational settings. She has expertise at both developmental and project leadership levels in the variety of uses that new technologies have in enhancing educational opportunities in a wide variety of contexts, much of which she gained whilst working at Ultralab – world leaders in the application of technological innovations in e-learning. Recent projects include Consultant on the OU/eSkills Vital Project, Lead for the Innovation Strand on the TDA SEN portal, Lead for the Online element of the PGCME at HYMS, Mentor to the KM team at the IDeA. In her spare time she is doing her PhD at University of Bedfordshire, where she also holds the position of Associate Researcher.

Malcolm Moss - Senior Associate

An experienced educator in secondary, further and higher education his background includes entrepreneurship education, collaborative European projects, teacher professional development and the  teaching of design and technology. Malcolm was seconded via HTI to Tesco in 1998 as an adviser on the SchoolNet2000 project. Malcolm helped establish Talking Heads the innovative online community for headteachers, later to become the foundation of NCSL Talk2Learn, working closely with the Department for Education and Skills. Both projects started in Ultralab. He then joined Anglia Ruskin University working on a variety of initiatives including Ultraversity a unique, wholly online, research based, degree programme. With considerable expertise in online community he has a passion for realising its potential for revolutionising professional development. Recent projects include the Consultant on the OU/eSkills Vital Project and continuing involvement with ELvis the Eurolink Virtual International School

John Davitt - Associate

"John is an inspirational speaker and journalist" writes Dorothy Walker of TES online. He runs creative projects with schools, develops software and has delivered hundreds of training sessions that help teachers make the most of new technology. And, in all his work, bright new ideas are tempered with good old-fashioned common sense. "The more I think about it, the more I see myself as a guide to the blindlingly obvious," says John

Marilyn Leask - Associate

Marilyn Leask is Dean of Education, Sport and Tourism at the University of Bedfordshire. Her specialist area is knowledge management and improvement in the public sector through evidence-informed policy and practice strategies including using Web 2.0 technology. She is a teacher education specialist and her current research is into ways in which ICT tools can support knowledge sharing and building and thus improvement in children’s learning in the education sector.

Prior to her position at the University of Bedforshire, Marilyn was Professor of Education  at Brunel University. She has also worked as Head of Knowledge & Learning at the IDeA and prior to that she worked at the TDA as head of Effective Practices and Research Dissemination where she continues as a member of the TTRB board. She was instrumental in establishing Teachernet and the European SchoolNet both of which support knowledge building and sharing in the education sector.

Professor Leask has written and edited numerous books, including a series on teacher education – the Learning to Teach in the Secondary School series. She has managed many national and international projects in her field funded by the British Council, DFID, EU, DCSF, TDA, SSAT. She has been a consultant to many organisations and guest speaker on educational policy and practice, knowledge management and public sector improvement issues. We are pleased to have her as an Associate at Core Education, where we have worked together on joint projects over the course of many years.

Kris Popat - Associate

Kris is an experienced software developer and academic researcher. He has successes in research, software development, music and management. His experience is broad - starting from a background in music, playing composing and teaching, developing through academic research in educational technology, software development, project management and evaluation. He is now utilizing his skills as an independent consultant and software developer, associated with Core Education in the development of a Learner Needs Analysis tool for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Stephen Powell - Associate

Stephen is a long-term associate of the Core Education family, having worked alongside colleagues in the United Kingdom and New Zealand for many years. He is now Reader in Inquiry-Based Learning in the Institute of Educational Cybernetics at the University of Bolton and is working with  Richard to develop the IDIBL project - Inter-Disciplinary Inquiry-Based Learning which is creating new degree programmes that reach students for whom university does not fit. Stephen led the Ultraversity project in Ultralab developing a personalised approach, delivered entirely online supported through communities of inquiry.  This gave learners choices about what, how, and where they study; studying full-time whilst in full-time employment.   This was made possible by the use of learning technologies and an inquiry-based approach where learners identify real issues and opportunities in the work-place as the focus for their studies.

Hamish Scott-Brown - Associate

Hamish is also a a long-term associate of the Core Education family who along with Stephen Powell has worked with the Core Education team for over 10 years. With two highly successful careers in both photography and education (primary, further and higher), Hamish offers a unique blend of skills and experience. During the early stages of his career he was a successful freelance photographer. However, with a passion and recognised ability for teaching, he developed his career in primary education subsequently moving into research and teaching within the University sector. Over the last 10 years he has led, supported and managed a variety of creative learning projects at Ultralab, under Prof Stephen Heppell developing & facilitating creative learning paths in online learning. Projects have included ‘Input CBBC’, EveryObject, Create@BETT and the BBC Blast Tour ’06, Talking Heads and Ultraversity. Having progressed a variety of investigative projects at home and abroad, his work has a strong international perspective. A desirable combination of teaching and project delivery in education, coupled with extensive experience in digital media and creative photography ensures that he is uniquely equipped to offer curriculum delivery across a wide educational spectrum.

Tom Smith - Associate

Tom works with companies helping them make their web sites more effective. He uses a  blend of usability, search engine optimisation, information architecture, social media and persuasive design to attract more visitors to a site, make more sales or provide a more satisfying user experience. He works with both very large and very small companies offering ongoing marketing consultancy.

Between us, we are either fellows or members of the following communities, universities and societies: