This conference has a lot of significance for those working in this space of digital resources in any field, but especially those that rely on funding for sustainability. These are merely my opinions drawn from some of our experiences working with digital resources directed at cultural heritage and botanical biodiversity. None of us have any doubt as to the value of these materials, but without clear means of economic sustainability and clear measures of success (as in what does usage/market look like) then these things are destined to fail. I am just thrilled to see a conference that openly attempts to have this conversation.
By Michael Gallagher
My name is Michael Sean Gallagher. I am a Lecturer in Digital Education at the Centre for Research in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh. I am Co-Founder and Director of Panoply Digital, a consultancy dedicated to ICT and mobile for development (M4D); we have worked with USAID, GSMA, UN Habitat, Cambridge University and more on education and development projects. I was a researcher on the Near Futures Teaching project, a project that explores how teaching at The University of Edinburgh unfold over the coming decades, as technology, social trends, patterns of mobility, new methods and new media continue to shift what it means to be at university. Previously, I was the Research Associate on the NERC, ESRC, and AHRC Global Challenges Research Fund sponsored GCRF Research for Emergency Aftershock Forecasting (REAR) project. I was an Assistant Professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (한국외국어대학교) in Seoul, Korea. I have also completed a doctorate at University College London (formerly the independent Institute of Education, University of London) on mobile learning in the humanities in Korea.