Features and affordances of micro-credential platforms in higher education
Hanafy, Ahmed (2020)
2020
Master's Programme in Industrial Engineering and Management
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-12-08
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202012078571
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202012078571
Tiivistelmä
The adoption of micro-credentials in higher education could potentially support the unbundling of higher education degree programs, increase opportunities for learners, counter the decrease in popularity of academic degrees and provide learners with an effective form of recognition for their skills and competences. This explains the rise of micro-credential popularity and interest in higher education. The increasing interest in micro-credentials adoption in higher education has led to the emergence of a large number of micro-credential platforms. Although there are many micro-credential platforms available, little is known about how they operate and what do they offer for higher education institutions. Subsequently, these institutions need to have a comprehensive overview of these platforms in order to make informed decisions on which one to adopt.
The objective of this thesis is to provide institutions that are adopting micro-credential with a comprehensive overview of the different technologies, features and practices of the micro-credential platforms and to highlight their affordances for higher education. A literature review, semi-structured interviews and group discussions were used to achieve that objective. Ten different micro-credential platforms were used during this study as well and a comparison was drawn to understand their features and the impact of those features on the affordances of micro-credentials. Based on the findings of this thesis, four affordances were identified and analysed to help higher education institutions in their micro-credential adoption processes.
The objective of this thesis is to provide institutions that are adopting micro-credential with a comprehensive overview of the different technologies, features and practices of the micro-credential platforms and to highlight their affordances for higher education. A literature review, semi-structured interviews and group discussions were used to achieve that objective. Ten different micro-credential platforms were used during this study as well and a comparison was drawn to understand their features and the impact of those features on the affordances of micro-credentials. Based on the findings of this thesis, four affordances were identified and analysed to help higher education institutions in their micro-credential adoption processes.