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This paper reports on an iterative design‐based research project to develop an online design tool (the Learning Designer) to support "teachers as designers." The aim is to evaluate the potential of the tool to develop and support a knowledge‐building teaching professional community. The Learning Designer was embedded and evaluated through international online "design challenge" events, and a series of MOOCs, providing both quantitative and qualitative data. Findings indicate that the Learning Designer enables an online community of teachers from across the K‐12, further and higher education sectors (~400 per day) to build and share their developing knowledge of learning design, and that this would be strengthened by further functionality to support collaboration and peer review of the learning designs created. The research shows how digital technology could bring about large‐scale improvements in teacher professional development of TEL. The paper concludes with users' priorities for new features to mobilise community knowledge via large‐scale professional development of teachers as innovative TEL designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive open online courses ( MOOCs) attract learners with a variety of backgrounds. Engaging them using game development was trialled in a beginner's programming course, 'Begin programming: build your first mobile game,' on Future Learn platform. The course has completed two iterations: first in autumn 2013 and second in spring 2014 with thousands of participants. This paper explores the characteristics of learner groups attracted by these two consecutive runs of the course and their perceptions of the course using pre- and post-course surveys. Recommendations for practitioners are offered, including when the audience is different to the one expected. A MOOC is unlikely to please everyone, especially with such large cohorts. Nevertheless, this course, using game development as a vehicle to teach programming, seems to have offered a balanced learning experience to a diverse group of learners. However, MOOC creators and facilitators should accept that a course cannot be made to please everyone and try to communicate clearly who the intended audience for the course are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the striking differences between massive open online courses ( MOOCs) and previous innovations in the education technology field is the unprecedented interest and involvement of the general public. As MOOCs address pressing problems in higher education and the broader educational practice, awareness of the general public debate around MOOCs is essential. Understanding the public discourse around MOOCs can provide insights into important social and public problems, thus enabling the MOOC research community to better focus their research endeavors. While there have been some reports looking at the state of the MOOC-related research, the analysis of the public debate surrounding MOOCs is still largely missing. In this paper, we present the results of a study that looked at the content of the public discourse related to MOOCs. We identified the most important themes and topics in MOOC-related mainstream news reports. Our results indicate that coverage of MOOCs in public media is rapidly decreasing: by the middle of 2014, it decreased by almost 50% from the highest activity during 2013. In addition, the focus of those discussions is also changing. While the majority of discussions during 2012 and 2013 were focused on MOOC providers, the announcements of their partnerships, and million dollar investments, the current focus of MOOC discourse seems to be moving toward more productive topics focused on the overall position of MOOCs in the global educational landscape. Among different topics that this study discovered, government-related issues and the use of data and analytics are some of the topics that seem to be growing in popularity during the first half of 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on educators' experiences of a massive open online course ( MOOC) focused on the Carpe Diem learning design process. The MOOC was developed in-house using Blackboard Course Sites by a university innovation and development unit, Learning Transformations, at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. We report on a study of MOOC participants' experiences. Conclusions include illumination of MOOCs' value as professional development opportunities that can provide an authentic relevant experience for educators, as well as promote new skills in learning design and delivery for their own teaching. We propose that participation in relevant MOOCs may provide appropriate professional development for academics, and additionally encourage them to develop their teaching practices. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]