Is the micro-credential the next big thing? The micro-credentialing movement is gaining momentum around the world as more governments, universities and professional organisations respond to powerful change forces of Industry 4.0 along with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But is the magic of the micro-credential fairy dust or star dust? Is the micro-credential just the latest educational fad in a long list of failed learning innovations over many years?
These are some of the provocative questions that we will be exploring in Higher Education 4.0: Certifying Your Future, our forthcoming online masterclass available through the FutureLearning platform. We are looking forward to some lively online debates over the next few weeks. Make sure you register for this course.
We are also pleased to announce a special issue of the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education will publish a collection of papers which critically and analytically focus on micro-credentials as the “next new normal” for digitally-enhanced learning in higher education ecosystems. Micro-credentials are purported to offer more flexible, digitally-enabled, learner-focused, and wide-reaching education and training opportunities for learners. Whilst the emergence, adoption, regulation, and impact of micro-credentials and other forms of digital credentials present a number of opportunities, they also raise important questions and challenges for all stakeholders (i.e. learners, employers, educational institutions, and government and professional bodies).
Topics in this special issue include, but are not limited to:
- Institutional and national credentialing processes
- Strategies, governance and policies
- Credential ecology, quality assurance and recognition frameworks
- Co-construction of micro-credentials, employability, lifelong and lifewide learning
- Transversal skill
- Neoliberal ideologies
- Academic trajectories
- Value propositions of micro-credentials
As part of the NIDL’s commitment to open science, open scholarship and open education we greatly value our role as a formal editorial partner in this Springer published journal, which has developed a strong following and reputation for quality in recent years. Indeed, the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education is now officially the No 1 Scopus ranked open access publication in the field.
You can read more about this special issue and how to submit a manuscript on the journal website.
Submission deadline: 31 July 2021
Guest Editors: Beverley Oliver, Mark Brown, Mairéad Nic Giolla Mhichíl
`
Digital Learning Dispatches 