Norm Friesen is Canada Research Chair in E-Learning

E-learning

E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific media to implement the learning process...

 Practices at Thompson Rivers University

Thompson Rivers University

Thompson Rivers University is a comprehensive university located in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. It offers students a broad range of courses, career streams, and the ability to ladder credits from diploma programs into full degrees...

 in Kamloops, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Norm Friesen studied German Literature, Secondary Education, and Communication at the Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

, University of Alberta

University of Alberta

The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...

 and Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...

 (respectively). He has undertaken teaching and research at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, the University of Innsbruck and Athabasca University

Athabasca University

Athabasca University is a Canadian university in Athabasca, Alberta. It is an accredited research institution which also offers distance education courses and programs. Courses are offered primarily in English with some French offerings. Each year, 32,000 students attend the university. It offers...

.

He has been leading the CanCore Learning object metadata

Learning object metadata

Learning Object Metadata is a data model, usually encoded in XML, used to describe a learning object and similar digital resources used to support learning...

 initiative since 2003, and is co-editor of the peer reviewed open content

Open content

Open content or OpenContent is a neologism coined by David Wiley in 1998 which describes a creative work that others can copy or modify. The term evokes open source, which is a related concept in software....

 journal Phenomenology and Practice. Dr. Friesen is also a member of the Canadian delegation to the ISO/IEC JTC1

ISO/IEC JTC1

ISO/IEC JTC 1 is Joint Technical Committee 1 of the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission . It deals with all matters of information technology....

 subcommittee 36, for Learning, Education and Training.

Dr. Friesen's research interests include media theory, alternative pedagogies, technical e-learning standardization, phenomenology and ethnomethodology.

Works

• Friesen, N., Fisher, S., Roberts, A. (2004). CanCore Guidelines for the Implementation of Learning Object Metadata., Athabasca University.
• Friesen, N. (2004). Three Objections to Learning Objects. In McGreal, R. (ed.) Online Education Using Learning Objects. London: Routledge. pp. 59–70.
• Friesen, N. (2009). Re-Thinking E-Learning Research: Foundations, Methods and Practices. New York: Peter Lang.
• Friesen, N. (2011). The Place of the Classroom and the Space of the Screen. New York: Peter Lang.
• Friesen, N. (2013). Forgotten Connections: On Culture and Upbringing. Translation of: Klaus Mollenhauer
  Klaus Mollenhauer
  Klaus Mollenhauer is one of the most important German pedagogical theorists of the post-war era. His work focused on questions of critical pedagogy and the cultural and historical nature of education and upbringing, and his final monograph, Forgotten Connections: On Culture and Upbringing, is...
  
  . (1983). Vergessene Zusammenhänge: Über Kultur und Erziehung. Munich: Juventa Verlag.