Current Issue

Microcredentials: why, what and how

Full papers should be submitted by 12pm on Monday the 31st of October 2022.

The European Commission states that microcredentials “certify the learning outcomes of short-term learning experiences, for example a short course or training. They offer a flexible, targeted way to help people develop the knowledge, skills and competences they need for their personal and professional development.” They can be viewed as an extension of the interest in MOOCs, and a means of addressing employability and upskilling. A number of higher education institutions globally have made significant investments in relation to microcredentials.

JIME seeks to gather a collection of papers to contribute to our understanding of microcredentials, including critical perspectives. Given the speed with which many such courses have been developed, we welcome consideration not only of successes, but of challenges and lessons learned. The special collection aims to investigate aspects such as why microcredentials are being developed, what the experience is like for learners and how to develop and target them effectively. Papers might explore the following themes:

• Case studies of microcredential development and evaluation 
• Learner and educator experiences on such courses 
• Pedagogic models 
• The relationship with employability 
• Reviews of microcredentials in relation to other educational technology developments

Overall, we welcome a focus on a reflective approach, and as usual, submissions to JIME should have a clear educational focus or application, and should go beyond anecdotes or opinion. We encourage historical analysis, rich case studies, and innovative analytic methods applied to literature, interviews and data. Submissions are expected to advance knowledge in the field of educational technology and/or open education conceptually and/or empirically. Contributors should take account of JIME’s guidelines for submissions.

We would also welcome expressions of interest in becoming reviewers for what we expect to be a really interesting special collection.

2012 to 2022: The Decade of the MOOC

In a New York Times article, Pappano (2012) declared 2012 as ‘the year of the MOOC’. It was a year which saw a surge in interest in this new, open form of online higher education. While the initial hype around Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) subsided and their form has changed significantly from the first large-scale courses, more learners than ever are registered with the platforms, which have attracted substantial levels of investment.

JIME is pleased to announce the release of our latest Virtual Special Collection on the decade of the MOOC. Comprised of an overview of the major events and trends in relation to MOOCs over the past ten years (Jordan and Goshtasbpour, 2022) and a further 25 papers published in JIME and arranged around four main themes of situating MOOCs; learning design and roles; MOOCs and languages; and accessibility and inclusion.

We are pleased to announce that JIME is open again for general submissions!

You can find our author guidelines here and all manuscripts should be submitted via our journal system.