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Sue CranmerDr Sue Cranmer PhD MA PGCE BA (Hons)

Senior Researcher

Sue Cranmer has spent over 10 years researching how children, young people and adults engage with digital technologies. She brought this expertise to Futurelab in 2009 to take up a senior researcher post.

Sue is mainly interested in digital media and learning, and particularly research which explores and promotes access to digital media for young people and adults who may otherwise be excluded from experiencing the potential benefits. Aligned with this, Sue is very interested in creative and innovative research designs which are intended to be inclusive.

At Futurelab, Sue is leading the Research Interest Group in 'Everyday Learning' to understand how children, young people and adults use ICTs to learn informally in everyday settings.

Sue is building a strong list of publications in international and UK journals. In 2010, Continuum will publish her first book ‘Primary schools and ICT: learning from pupil perspectives’ co-authored with Neil Selwyn and John Potter.

Sue has presented extensively at both international and UK conferences. Her PhD was awarded by London University in 2006 on ‘Families’ Uses of the Internet’ supervised by Professor David Buckingham at the Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media, Institute of Education, University of London.

Current Projects

  • Gaming in Families - Sue is leading this project with Mary Ulicsak as researcher. The aim is to understand the role that computer games play in the social, leisure and informal learning activities of families; the attitudes and perceptions of family members towards the benefits and risks of playing computer games; and, in turn, to develop guidance for parents in order that the benefits of playing computer games can be achieved in family settings.
  • Creativity in European Schools - Sue is leading this project with researcher Carlo Perrotta and Dr Shakuntala Banaji, (Institute of Education, University of London). The project aims to analyse the role and relevance of creativity and innovation in education in EU member states, providing a detailed analysis of how educational stakeholders understand and conceive creative learning and innovative teaching, and to present examples of good practice within the wider context of educational policy and institutional innovation.

Previous Posts

Sue worked from April 2008 to May 2009 as Researcher/Coordinator on 'the Learner and their Context' project at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. The project (ongoing) is investigating learners’ uses of digital media outside formal educational environments (from age 8 to adult) across the primary, secondary, further and higher education sectors. Sue also contributed to the MSc E-Learning course.

Prior to working at Oxford University, Sue worked at the London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, University of London, from 2005 to 2008 on a range of projects which included the following:

  • Learner voice and technology: 7 – 11 which investigated primary school children’s uses of ICTs for learning (with Neil Selwyn and John Potter; funded by BECTA)
  • Courses for all? Improving access to online courses: aimed at improving accessibility to online courses for disabled students (with Will Gibson; funded by the University of London’s Centre for Distance Education)
  • Media Smart: an evaluation of Media Smart’s ‘Be Adwise 2’ materials from teachers’ and students’ perspectives in a range of UK primary schools (with David Buckingham, Rebecca Willett and Shakuntala Banaji; funded by the Advertising Industry)
  • Evaluation tools which reviewed existing evaluation tools for online and mixed mode courses (with Magdalena Jara and Fitri Mohamad, funded by the University of London’s Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund)
  • Mediappro: investigated young people’s uses of the internet and mobile technologies (with Andrew Burn in the UK; funded under the European Commission’s Internet Safety Action Plan).

Sue also taught on a range of research methods courses at Doctoral and Masters level at the Institute of Education (2006-2008); and the IT and Society undergraduate module at London Metropolitan University (2007-2008).

Prior to working at the London Knowledge Lab, Sue carried out research within the School of Lifelong Learning and International Development, Institute of Education, University of London (1999 - 2004). Projects included:

  • Reintegration: Transnational evaluation of social and professional reintegration programmes for young people (with Karen Evans, funded under the European Commission’s Leonardo scheme)
  • Evaluation of delivery of literacy, numeracy and other key skills in Foundation and Advanced Modern Apprenticeships (with Karen Evans and Natasha Kersh; funded by the Department for Education and Skills)
  • Tacit skills and knowledge in work re-entry (with Karen Evans; funded by the Economic and Social Research Council)
  • How Higher Education enhances the employability of graduates (with Geoff Mason (NIESR), Gareth Williams and David Guile (Institute of Education); funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England).

Publications

  • Selwyn, N., Potter, J. and Cranmer, S. (In press) ‘Primary schools and ICT: learning from pupil perspectives’ London, Continuum.
  • Selwyn, N., Potter, J. and Cranmer, S. (2009) ‘Primary pupils’ use of information and communication technologies at school and home’ British Journal of Educational Technology, 40 (5) 919-932.
  • Cranmer, S.,Selwyn, N. and Potter, J. (2009) ‘Exploring primary pupils’ experiences and understandings of ‘e-safety’ Education and Information Technologies, 14 (2), 127-142.
  • Mason, G., Williams, G. and Cranmer, S. (2009) ‘Employability skills initiatives in higher education: what effects do they have on graduate labour market outcomes?’ Education Economics, 17 (1), 1–30.
  • Cranmer, S. (2009) ‘Children’s understandings of safer uses of digital technologies’ Primary Leadership Today. 15.
  • Burn, A. and Cranmer, S. (2007) A glass half full? Schools and young people's internet use in the UK. In Birgitte Tufte and Karin Ekstrom (Eds.) Year Book on Children, Youth and Media. Denmark: Nordicom; Goteborg University.
  • Cranmer, S. (2006) ‘Children and young people's uses of the internet for homework’ Learning, Media and Technology. 31 (3), 301-315.
  • Cranmer, S. (2006) ‘Enhancing graduate employability: Best intentions and mixed outcomes’ Studies in Higher Education, 31 (2), 169-184.

External Grants Held

Learner Voice and Technology: 7 – 11 project which investigated primary school children’s uses of ICTs for learning (with Neil Selwyn and John Potter; funded by BECTA); 2007-2008

Selected conference presentations

  • Cranmer, S., Good, J. and Davies, C. (2009) ‘The role of family and peers in supporting the development of skills and abilities to use digital technologies’ paper presented to EU Kids Online Conference. London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London.
  • Cranmer, S. and Good, J. (2009) ‘Developing awareness of safer online practices: Accounting for children’s and young people’s perspectives’ paper presented to BERA (British Educational Research Association). University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
  • Cranmer, S (2009) ‘Towards an inclusive broadband society? Mainstream and excluded young people's awareness of safer on-Line practices’ paper presented to Cost 298: The Good, the Bad and the Challenging. Participation in the Broadband Society. The Copenhagen Institute of Technology, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • Selwyn, N., Potter, J. and Cranmer, S. (2008) ‘Learners and technology 7 to 11: an investigation of primary pupils and ICT’ paper presented to BECTA Harnessing Technology Annual Research Conference, Sheffield.
  • Davies, C. and Cranmer. S. (2008) ‘Giving voice to experience’ paper presented to Futurelab: Challenging Learner Voice Conference. Warwick University Conference Park, UK.
  • Cranmer, S (2008) ‘Developing internet literacy within the Home: A UK perspective’ paper presented to American Educational Research Association Conference. New York, USA.
  • Cranmer, S (2007) ‘Finding time for the internet’ paper presented to Cost 298: The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected. Participation in the Broadband Society. The Academy of National Economy (ANE), Moscow, Russian Federation.

Project Reports

Professional bodies

  • Advisory Board Member- UKCCIS (UK Council for Children's Internet Safety) Better Education Working Group (set up following Byron Report Recommendations)
  • Visiting Fellow, University of Bristol
  • Member of the British Educational Research Association

sue [dot] cranmer [at] futurelab [dot] org [dot] uk
0117 915 8212

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