Designing for Virtual Mobility : Potentials and Caveats

This paper reflects on the joint pilot development and implementationof an international master level online course in Educational Design by three universities from different European countries. The pilot targeted curriculum internationalization and provision of international learning experiences to studentswith less mobility opportunities through online learning and use of technology.The key focus was on connecting students from different countries by collaborative learning and working on an authentic task in the professional domain of theirstudy - educational media design - via a joint platform and digital media. In smallinternational groups, students collaboratively developed mobile game apps foreducational settings. Students enjoyed full freedom in design choices, startingfrom theories in which they anchored their designs to subject matter and the waythey implemented designs in mobile applications.In the eight weeks of online learning and collaboration, students demonstratedtheir collaborative and digital learning skills and made extensive use of tools andtechnologies. The pilot provided designers with insights on co-designing and coteaching international technology-enhanced online courses. It demonstrated thepotentials and the caveats of designing for virtual mobility.