Each international virtual course is different mainly due to several factors, including the course design and the experiences each international group brings to the course. Thus, it is not easy to state the requirements for success in virtual mobility courses; however, they have some features in common. The Digiprof case aims to identify the features of international collaborative courses that motivate students to participate in virtual mobility courses. The survey results indicate that successful participation and collaboration in international groups may strongly impact students’ future preferences for participating in virtual mobility courses, and the promise to receive a micro-credential after successfully completing the course may be a solid motivator to choose this course.

Research indicates that assessment of learning and assessment of learning outcomes are the biggest challenges that teachers in higher education (HE) face. Traditional assessment practices do not work when learning and teaching is supported with technologies, which is inevitable in HE today. Teachers lack digital competence in designing assessment strategies and applying digital technologies for assessment of learning process and learning outcomes. DIGI-PROF project aims to address these challenges by introducing innovative learning and teaching practices that promote transparent technology enhanced assessment for online learning. This paper seeks to identify how teachers have progressed with application of digital technologies to support technology enhanced assessment of learning process and learning outcomes. The research revealed which technologies teachers apply for technology enhanced assessment of learning process (voice/video/text communication channels, file-sharing services, emails, and online quizzes), and how teachers use these technologies to facilitate learning process (providing feedback, applying technologies for peer assessment, and monitoring of students’ learning). The study opened perspectives for further investigation on the use of learning analytics data to monitor and track students' learning progress.

Higher education institutions lead in innovation application and test various technology-enhanced solutions to correspond to student and labour market needs, foster and analyse innovative scenarios, and their impact on teaching and learning processes. There is a limited number of shared good practices that discuss technologies used for the issuance of micro-credentials, and this paper aims to reveal the higher education practice of testing some virtual infrastructures for issuing micro-credentials for students attending non-formal university courses. This research experimented with and tested VLE Moodle and Europass EDC infrastructures to issue micro-credentials. It was found that both Moodle VLE and Europass EDC infrastructure can be used to issue micro-credentials. Europass EDC infrastructure is more end-user friendly, while Moodle collects data during the learning process and can automatically transfer results to the micro-credential. However, both virtual infrastructures have some drawbacks, which may be fixed in the future.

Interaction and collaboration are essential pillars of successful learning.. The study aimed to find out how school communities collaborated during the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess the importance of collaboration in addressing the challenges faced. The selection of eight schools was made in a targeted way, considering that the participating schools would have chosen different virtual learning environments or technologies used for distance learning; and that schools would be of different types and sizes, and from different regions of Lithuania. . Three methods were used in this qualitative study: analysis of scientific literature, expert interviews, and focus group discussions. The results of our study confirmed that the focus of distance learning is on technological solutions, but not on the methodologies and strategies used to organise learning in virtual learning environments. Moving ‘traditional’ teaching to virtual space has become a key strategy for organising learning in virtual learning environments. The transfer of ‘traditional’ teaching strategies to distance learning not only limits the impactful interaction in virtual learning environments but also encourages ‘academic dishonesty’ among students. The success of distance learning strongly depends on students’ motivation, as well as their ability to organise their learning, solve problems in teams and critically evaluate the information provided.

Micro-credentials have recently become a huge research interest, as they play an important role in the social, economic, and higher education sectors. Mindful of growing critique in some circles and recent publications, this paper offers an informed analysis of the potential of micro-credentials to foster post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery across a spectrum of dimensions, including supporting innovation in higher education institutions (HEIs). It reports a systematic literature review analysis of scientific articles published between 2015 and January 2022 on micro-credential research in the field of higher education. Results of a bibliometric and qualitative content analysis from 32 scientific articles provided insights into the potential of micro-credentials to foster post-pandemic recovery through social, economic, and higher education innovations. The findings suggest that the potential can be unfolded through multiple dimensions, like offering more possibilities for individuals to up-skill, re-skill and enter the labor market (economic context), enhancing lifelong learning by developing flexible personal learning pathways (social context), extending services in assessment and recognition of non-formal and informal learning, and introducing stackable credits and previous qualifications (higher education context). Even though the paper analyses scientific articles from the pre-pandemic and pandemic period, this study aim to systematize the results of other researchers and to offer sound insights into how further development in micro-credentials could contribute to the post-pandemic recovery.

This study analyzes the relationship between pre-service teachers' information search and information evaluation literacy and their information and communication technology (ICT) self-efficacy in teaching. Theoretical analysis confirmed a direct relation between information literacy and pre-service teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching. However, there is insufficient understanding regarding the effect that specific components of information literacy, i.e., information search and evaluation, have on teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching. Data were collected using an online survey of students in teacher training programs who were engaged as research participants. The analysis disclosed that perceived information evaluation literacy has a more strongly expressed indirect impact on teachers' ICT self-efficacy than a direct impact, while perceived information search literacy has a stronger direct impact on teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching. Therefore, for teacher educators, it is important to develop a sufficient level of information literacy and ensure a positive experience with information search and evaluation, which are related to higher pre-service teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching. This finding may help support calls for teacher training and/or professional development programs with a focus on information literacy, which might increase teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching and improve ICT use in teaching.

Šios monografijos tyrimo objektas yra susijęs su Lietuvoje rinktų Europos Parlamento narių veikla, Lietuvos piliečių ir jų interesų atstovavimu ir komunikacija nerinkiminiu laikotarpiu. Pagrindinis tyrimo siekis buvo ištirti, kaip Lietuvoje rinktiems Europos Parlamento nariams pavyksta savo veikoje derinti kelių lygių interesus – europinius, nacionalinius ir partinius, analizuojant jų balsavimo tendencijas ir veiksnius, darančius įtaką EP narių apsisprendimui, bei atskleisti, kaip tas derinimas ir EP veikla pristatoma Lietuvoje rinktų EP narių komunikacijoje su Lietuvos gyventojais. Vienas iš tyrimo praktinio aktualumo argumentų yra gyventojų apklausose nustatomas gana žemas ES piliečių žinių apie Europos Parlamentą lygis, nors tuo pačiu lietuvių pasitikėjimas ES išlieka tarp aukščiausių lyginant su kitomis ES šalimis.

During the initial COVID-19 breakout and related lockdown Lithuanian schools created new pathways of organizing distance education under unprecedented circumstances. The qualitative research focuses on the experiences of Lithuanian schools in organizing distance education during COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 – October 2020, searching for ways to ensure the quality of teaching and learning. The 8 school activity areas need changes during transition to distance teaching and learning: strategy, management and administration; infrastructure of information technologies; digital learning content; digital competencies and continuous professional development; teaching, learning and assessment in the digital environment; a support system for pupils and teachers; partnership, cooperation and networking; and quality assurance. Changes in all the indicated areas lead to the quality of distance teaching and learning. The qualitative research data (expert interviews and focus groups) revealed the importance of school community agreements regarding the choice of technologies and environments, and the need for a national digital curriculum to be created. Quality assurance of the learning process, improvement of digital competences and school community collaboration were among the most successfully changing areas. IT infrastructure, support system, and teaching and learning process were based on very different school or teacher decisions and led to different experiences.

These Guidelines are one of the results of the four-year research project “Open Online Learning for Digital and Networked Society” (2017-2021). The project objective was to enable university teachers to design open and online learning through open and online learning curriculum and environment applying learning analytics as a metacognitive tool and creating open and online learning assessment and recognition practices, responding to the needs of digital and networked society. The research of the project resulted in 10 scientific publications and 2 studies prepared by Vytautas Magnus university Institute of Innovative Studies research team in collaboration with their international research partners from Germany, Spain and Portugal. The final stage of the research attempted creating open and online learning assessment and recognition practices, responding to the learner needs in contemporary digital and networked society. The need for open learning recognition has been increasing during the recent decade while the developments of open learning related to the Covid 19 pandemics have dramatically increased the need for systematic and high-quality assessment and recognition of learning acquired online. The given time also relates to the increased need to offer micro-credentials to learners, as well as a rising need for universities to prepare for micro-credentialization and issue new digital credentials to learners who are regular students, as well as adult learners joining for single courses. The increased need of all labour - market participants for frequent and fast renewal of competences requires a well working and easy to use system of open learning assessment and recognition. For learners, it is critical that the micro-credentials are well linked to national and European qualification frameworks, as well as European digital credential infrastructures (e.g., Europass and similar). For employers, it is important to receive requested quality information that is encrypted in the metadata of the credential. While for universities, there is the need to properly prepare institutional digital infrastructure, organizational procedures, descriptions of open learning opportunities and virtual learning environments to share, import and export the meta-data easily and seamlessly through European Digital Hub service infrastructures, as well as ensure that academic and administrative staff has digital competencies to design, issue and recognise open learning through digital and micro-credentials. The first chapter of the Guidelines provides a background view of the European Qualification Framework and National Qualification frameworks for the further system of gaining, stacking and modelling further qualifications through open online learning. The second chapter suggests the review of current European policy papers and consultations on the establishment of micro-credentials in European higher education. The findings of the report of micro-credentials higher education consultation group “European Approach to Micro-credentials” is shortly introduced, as well as important policy discussions taking place. Responding to the Rome Bologna Comunique 2020, where the ministers responsible for higher education agreed to support lifelong learning through issuing micro-credentials, a joint endeavour of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and DG Research and Innovation resulted in one of the most important political documents highlighting the potential of micro-credentials towards economic, social and education innovations. The consultation group of experts from the Member States defined the approach to micro-credentials to facilitate their validation, recognition and portability, as well as to foster a larger uptake to support individual learning in any subject area and at any stage of life or career. The Consultation Group also suggested further urgent topics to be discussed, including the storage, data exchange, portability, and data standards of micro-credentials and proposed EU Standard of constitutive elements of micro-credentials. The third chapter is devoted to the institutional readiness to issue and to recognize digital and micro-credentials. Universities need strategic decisions and procedures ready to be enacted for assessment of open learning and issuing micro-credentials. The administrative and academic staff needs to be aware and confident to follow these procedures while keeping the quality assurance procedures in place, as well. The process needs to include increasing teacher awareness in the processes of open learning assessment and the role of micro-credentials for the competitiveness of lifelong learners in general. When the strategic documents and procedures to assess open learning are in place and the staff is ready and well aware of the processes, the description of the courses and the virtual learning environment needs to be prepared to provide the necessary metadata for the assessment of open learning and issuing of micro-credentials. Different innovation-driven projects offer solutions: OEPass developed a pilot Learning Passport, based on European Diploma Supplement, MicroHE developed a portal Credentify for displaying, verifying and sharing micro-credential data. Credentify platform is using Blockchain technology and is developed to comply with European Qualifications Framework. Institutions, willing to join Credentify platform, should make strategic discussions to apply micro-credential metadata standards. The ECCOE project building on outcomes of OEPass and MicroHE offers an all-encompassing set of quality descriptors for credentials and the descriptions of learning opportunities in higher education. The third chapter also describes the requirements for university structures to interact with the Europass digital credentials infrastructure. In 2020, European Commission launched a new Europass platform with Digital Credential Infrastructure in place. Higher education institutions issuing micro-credentials linked to Europass digital credentials infrastructure may offer added value for the learners and can increase reliability and fraud-resistant information for the employers. However, before using Europass Digital Credentials, universities should fulfil the necessary preconditions that include obtaining a qualified electronic seal, installing additional software and preparing the necessary data templates. Moreover, the virtual learning environment needs to be prepared to export learning outcomes to a digital credential, maintaining and securing learner authentication. Open learning opportunity descriptions also need to be adjusted to transfer and match information for the credential meta-data. The Fourth chapter illustrates how digital badges as a type of micro-credentials in open online learning assessment may be used in higher education to create added value for the learners and employers. An adequately provided metadata allows using digital badges as a valuable tool for recognition in all learning settings, including formal, non-formal and informal.

The main goal of this research is to enhance the understanding of quality criteria for DB metadata for assessment and recognition as factors increasing their value in higher education (HE). To attain this goal, a case study approach centered in one HE institution was used, aiming (a) at an analysis of the status quo description of metadata of DBs issued by the HE institution to identify the value of DBs in terms of assessment and recognition procedures, and (b) a list of quality criteria for DB description metadata was proposed on the basis of academic research and on expert interview results. The results of the research demonstrate that in the institution under research, these criteria are not present in most cases of DB descriptions as teachers do not provide them. Distinct assessment and recognition criteria make an important quality factor for the DBs to become valid and valued digital credentials in HE.

Distance teaching and learning in Lithuanian schools during COVID-19 pandemic was a booster for teacher digital competence development. The paper analysis the experiences of Lithuanian school teachers to reveal the challenges schools and teachers faced while switching from traditional face to face teaching and learning to distance education. The research revealed existence of different level teacher digital competences at a school and uneven competence development in each school. The analysis of experiences of Lithuanian school teachers through the lens of DigCompEdu framework revealed that professional development competence was the background for other competence areas to develop. The need for digital resources for teaching online contributed to the teacher digital competence development of this area. Digital assessment was indicated as the main challenge that remained unsolved in many cases. Research found that technological peculiarities were easier to learn and showed the need to develop teacher social and didactical competences which are necessary for distance teaching. Lack of activities to empower learners and develop their digital competences was recorded. Teachers themselves acknowledged great improvement of their digital competence.

The research described in this book searches for the answers on how learners learn in todays open and networked learning environments and how learners, educators, institutions, and researchers can best support this process. There is sufficient data available on virtual learning environments, provided by learning analytics, on student and teacher behaviour and performance, but there is no common practice among teachers in higher education for using this data to improve the learning and teaching process. Learning analytics and data may inform and improve open and online learning from the point of view of teacher and learner awareness about their behaviour and their learning and teaching methods. The idea of describing learning analytics as a metacognitive tool, suggesting a development of metacognitive decision-making skills in teacher education, and focusing on learning design in higher education by using data from learning analytics served as the main focus of this research. The aim of the research was to create the model of application of learning analytics method as a metacognitive tool to enhance student success. The aim of the research was reached through theoretical and empirical objectives, namely: describing the learning analytics method as a metacognitive tool; revealing teacher metacognitive practices

The main goal of the paper is to describe current practice and experience of one university in application of digital badges with particular attention to two research questions: What are the purposes of issuing digital badges to students? How digital badges are used in fully online or blended learning studies referring to student’s assessment and recognition? A case study design has been selected in order to analyse real-life issues and practices. Virtual learning environment and characteristics of meta data of digital badges have been analysed. The results of the analysis indicate that majority of digital badges were issued in order to assess students’ knowledge, skills, and competencies while the rest of the digital badges were issued to acknowledge personal features ant to motivate. However, recognition using digital badges does not take please at the University. Findings indicate that teachers need trainings on the development and application on digital badges in order to offer transparent procedures when the system itself gives digital badges to students after their fulfilment of predefined criteria to make assessment process more objective.

Fast development of technologies, changing needs of digital learners and other aspects of the digital era have had a major impact on universities and their learning management procedures. Access to information online, possibilities of open online learning and need to manage one’s time lead to the changed profile of today’s students and their need to recognize their prior knowledge or skills. This brings a challenge for universities to adapt their procedures of prior learning recognition. This research aims at identifying requirements for universities to recognize open online learning (OOL), focusing on the qualitative analysis of insights and experiences of experts who are knowledgeable and experienced in the field of OOL. Although OOL recognition procedures tend to be similar as in the recognition of other types of learning, the universities face external challenges, coming from labour market, as well as reserved, if not negative, attitudes towards openness and lack of trust in OOL by traditional universities, thus distinguishing the OOL recognition process as being far from accepted practices. The research findings highlight several prospective requirements for universities set to recognize OOL.

The teachers in higher education (HE) could take a better advantage of the existing vast numbers open educational resources (OER) as well as invite their students in the process of sharing and knowledge co-creation, if they started using and adapting existing OER and/or creating their own OER. The question of this research was whether involving teachers into OER creation and providing them with a tool of a collaborative platform would increase their openness and readiness to share and become open educators? The research was performed on design-based research methodology and intervention, offering a group of university teachers in Lithuania to create, adapt and share OER in the format of slides, providing them with a collaborative platform as a tool, facilitating open-licensed content creation and publishing. After the intervention most of the participating university teachers emphasized the importance of openness, the feeling of more responsibility while preparing their open slides, expressed better understanding of OER, and even changed their pedagogy. Besides, OER integration had a direct impact upon student awareness on OER, overcoming the barriers towards openness, and their ability to contribute to the course.

The paper describes characteristics of digital and networked society and clarifies their needs for open and online learning (OOL). Empirical research in the form of online and face to face survey was implemented in order to clarify why and how digital and network society learns (if at all) while spending time online, and what are important characteristics of OOL that motivate digital and network society (NDS) for learning. These and other questions have been raised in the research that is presented in this paper.

The SlideWiki platform is fostering open education by supporting the collaborative authoring, sharing, reusing and remixing of open educational content online. This paper presents the lessons learned from piloting the SlideWiki platform in different learning contexts and scenarios. In particular, we describe the learning scenarios considered in each pilot and how these scenarios have been implemented with the use of SlideWiki. We then describe the methodology followed in each pilot, in terms of the authoring, teaching and learning activities performed by educators and learners using SlideWiki. Finally, the lessons learned from each pilot are discussed, focusing on the challenges faced in each pilot, how these challenges have been addressed, as well as the best practices that have emerged from the pilots regarding the collaborative authoring and sharing of open educational content.

This article analyses the role of the cooperation with and the influence of the Nordic countries on the development of a democratic society in Lithuania through adult education since the reinstatement of its independence from Soviet regime in March 1990 to the present. The authors focus on three main areas: (1) the training of Lithuanian adult educators; (2) the establishment and development of NGOs; and (3) the implications for a Lithuanian policy of adult education. Within the framework of Nordic-Baltic cooperation established among five Nordic and three Baltic countries (NB8) in 1992, Lithuanian adult educators seized the opportunity to visit Scandinavian institutions and projects. Experiencing Nordic adult education ideas has resulted in a marked shift in Lithuanian adult educators’ values, methodology and careers; and in the establishment of a series of very influential umbrella associations as well as hundreds of NGOs in Lithuania which work with adults and support functioning democratic values in society. This shift is related to the civic responsibility and active participation growing out of the bottom-up approaches of group work, cooperation, discussions and learning circles which are so inherent in the Nordic tradition of adult education. The internalisation of new democratic values was more complicated than expected for many Lithuanian politicians, adult educators and NGO leaders in terms of how political decisions were perceived and implemented. Furthermore, the influence of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation in adult education may also be traced in adult education policy implications in Lithuania. Some changes in the policies of contemporary Lithuania have not been successful and even failed to promote a democratic society.