MOOCS FOR TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: INVESTIGATING VIEWS AND PERCEPTIONS OF THE PARTICIPANTS Konstantina Koutsodimou, Athanassios Jimoyiannis Department of Social and Educational Policy, University of Peloponnese, Greece kkoutsodimou@gmail.com, ajimoyia@uop.gr Abstract Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are currently one of the most debated and dynamically evolving e-learning topics with regards to application in practice, research and development. This paper reports on the implementation of a MOOC designed to support primary education teachers’ development in using Web-based tools in their instruction. The findings of an empirical post-course investigation indicated that the MOOC presented helped teachers to acquire the knowledge and skills to integrate Web tools in their classroom. The great majority of the teachers attending this MOOC were satisfied of their participation and the key course design and implementation issues, and they reported that this program had a positive impact to their professional development. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research and analysis of teachers’ learning in MOOCs designed to support teacher professional development. Keywords: MOOCs, open learning, teacher professional development, design factors 1 INTRODUCTION The emergent Web technologies, like e-learning platforms, social media, Web 2.0 applications, and open educational resources, have received a growing interest across higher education institutions, schools and educational policy authorities. The dynamic growth and diffusion of Web-based tools, which promote interaction among people, has led to the development of open, distributed and flexible learning environments that support active, collaborative, self-directed and lifelong learning, without time and distance barriers [1], [2]. Among new forms of e-learning, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are gaining an intense educational and pedagogical interest during the last years; they constitute an alternative to the conventional e-learning courses and programs offering enhanced opportunities to large numbers of learners to participate in educational programs. Weller and Anderson argued that MOOCs will be highly disruptive for on-line education since they will fundamentally change the way higher education and lifelong learning are offered [3]. The number of MOOCs have been exponentially growing in recent years. Many institutions around the world have realised their potential and they have adopted MOOCS as an essential part of the educational programs they offer to their students as well as to the public. Despite that MOOCs continue to proliferate globally, educational research is, rather, in the beginning to address major themes to be investigated [4]. Research in open learning environments is only become interested in MOOCs as a significant topic for investigation, in the context of e-learning and higher education. A main challenge for educational research in MOOCs is the large and diverse body of the participants which makes analysis modes and schemata more difficult. Independent researchers have been directed to the investigation of students’ related factors (motivation to participate, values and expectations, personal or psychological barriers) and factors related to MOOC design (discipline and pedagogy, course resources and learning material, technologies used, learning activities, student support tutors’ role etc.) [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10]. In addition, personal interest, undertaking a professional challenge, and the potential for increasing students’ access to education were among intrinsic motivators for faculty members to teach online courses [11]. Regardless of the specific learning environment used, successful learning is strongly related to effective learning strategies. MOOCs open new opportunities and directions for educational research due to the large numbers of participants, which can generate a tremendous amount of research data [6]. Literature review indicated that the majority of the research published was mostly conducted by researchers affiliated with Education and Computer Science disciplines [10], [12]. In their recent review by