Purpose This paper is based on the emergency changes we have had to make in the European DEIMP Project (2017-2020), “Designing and Evaluating Innovative Mobile Pedagogies” (DEIMP). DEIMP is undertaken by a transnational consortium comprising partner institutions and schools from the UK (coordinating), Australia, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland and The Netherlands. As well as the enforced changes to the project, there have been major adjustments in how education is being provided in each of our countries, across all sectors: primary, secondary and tertiary. The purpose of this paper is to provide pragmatic guidelines that will help us respond effectively in the uncertain present, and plan systematically for an unpredictable, post-pandemic future. Design/methodology/approach The authors outline 21 design principles underpinning innovative mobile learning, which will be of pragmatic use to all using mobile learning in the COVID-19 pandemic. These principles have emerged in the context of the three-year European DEIMP Project (2017-2020). The authors also examine major educational changes that have recently been imposed upon teachers and educational researchers, and key aspects of the current emergency response in education internationally, and resultant implications for educational technology and mobile learning. Findings A living record highlighting what is currently happening in the educational systems of the DEIMP project’s respective partner countries. The paper outlines design concerns and issues, which will need to be addressed as the authors endeavour to bridge both the digital divide and digital use divide in remote education. Furthermore, the paper illustrates 21 pragmatic design principles underpinning innovative mobile pedagogies. Originality/value A comparative study of the effects of the pandemic across six countries, including The UK, Australia, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland and The Netherlands. The authors outline 21 design principles for mobile learning, which is hoped will help us respond effectively in the uncertain present, and plan systematically for an unpredictable, post-pandemic future.

As schools and universities worldwide tentatively move beyond an initial emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the prospect of socially-distanced learning spaces prompts us to ask how we can maintain good educational relationships. Supporting students in a time of far-reaching changes means acknowledging that certain normalised practices, and the conceptual frameworks embedded within them, have come under significant duress. Resisting the urge to rush to quick solutions and seeing our common vulnerability and uncertainty as an opportunity for growth, we, a multidisciplinary teacher education faculty, chose to pause and use this moment of recalibration to develop a new set of orienting priorities for teacher educators. We reflect on dynamics of care, control and power inherent in educational relationships and demonstrate how relatedness in education expands beyond the human and the local towards fostering a common sense of global and ecological responsibility.

No abstract

Esports has generated an industry of increasing economic and cultural importance. In recent years, universities and other higher education institutions have responded to its growth by establishing programmes of study which aim to satisfy the needs of innovators operating in the area. However, there is not yet consensus on what an esports curriculum should include. Despite being a technology-driven sector with ethical and professional dimensions that intersect computing, current ACM and IEEE curricula do not mention esports. Furthermore, existing courses tend to provide teaching and training on a wide variety of topics aside from those traditionally in computer science. These include: live events management; psychological research; sports science; marketing; public relations; video (livestream) production; and community management; in addition to coaching and communication. This working group examined the requirements for developing esports studies at universities with a focus on understanding career prospects in esports and on the challenges presented by its interdisciplinary complexity. Thereby, paving the way for a framework to support the design of esports curricula in higher education.

The launch of a Computer Science curriculum specification in upper secondary schools in Ireland in 2018 was a landmark and a historic development in Irish education. Addressing the historical policy decisions adopted towards establishing the specification, this paper presents an analysis of developments from the 1970s as revealed in key policies and other documents. Positioning the policy change within the context of influences, context of policy text production and within the context of practices, the paper presents an overview of the Irish Computer Science specification. Alongside the background to the evolution in computer science education over the period, the article takes into account the national and cultural contexts and narrates the journey travelled to arrive at this pivotal position. Developments in a global context are presented in comparison with curricula in other countries and some similarities and differences identified. The article uncovers consequences of the specification for the national curriculum, key skills integration and computer science teacher preparation. The article provides an important analysis of the policy trajectory of computer science in Ireland based on a visibly relevant corpus of documents tracing the different stages of this policy and comparing it to similar experiences implemented in other European countries.