How Do Digital Transformations and Innovations Shape Sustainable Education Practices?

Dear Colleagues,

The sustainable development of society encompasses social well-being, which is heavily reliant on education. Information communication technology (ICT) has become a pivotal tool for disseminating knowledge and driving significant education reforms in the modern era. Introducing new technology-assisted learning tools like mobile devices, tablets, laptops, simulators, dynamic visualizations, virtual laboratories, MOOCs, and numerous others has altered education in schools, universities, and other educational institutions. They also represent suitable bases for lifelong learning, supporting continuous education and skill development. The Internet of Things, social media, and different artificial intelligence approaches and concepts (virtual reality, augmented reality, chatbots, large language models, learning analytics, Metaverse, Digital Twins, and others) have completely changed the face of education and educational processes.

Quality education is one of the fundamental components of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development 2030 agenda. Digital technologies have emerged as essential facilitators to achieve inclusive and equitable quality education for all. Digital technologies have caused a paradigm shift across the entire education system. Digital learning combines various elements, such as blended or virtual learning, using mobile technologies or e-learning. It requires a sophisticated combination of technology, digital content, and instruction.

Effective methods for digital learning include microlearning, gamification, social learning, self-directed learning, e-learning platforms, and blended learning. Above all, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) are two new research directions that will change how educational events are conducted by making them more immersive and interactive. Aside from AI, here are some anticipated changes in the education system worldwide: Blockchain for education, global learning communities, sustainable education technologies and enhanced accessibility. Digital transformation is a contemporary paradigm shaping how modern organizations work. Educational organizations embrace technological innovations to create accessible, efficient, and valuable solutions for educators and students. Digital transformation in school teaching methods includes smart classrooms, AI-driven online assessments, AI-based student analysis, and AI-powered remote proctoring.

The principles of gender equality, inclusion, and equity must guide the application of these technologies. Additionally, digital technologies attempt to decrease or eliminate pollution and waste while increasing production and efficiency.

This Special Issue on sustainability explores the transformative potential of ICT in addressing the mentioned educational challenges. We are pleased to invite you to submit your research for publication in this Special Issue titled ‘How Do Digital Transformations and Innovations Shape Sustainable Education Practices?’.

Aim and Scope:

This Special Issue aims to contribute to the knowledge on digital transformations and their innovative power in shaping contemporary and future sustainable education. By focusing on contemporary ICT achievements and especially powerful AI approaches, we aim to complete the following tasks:

• Highlight the emerging trend in ICT and AI-driven sustainable digital education.
• Bridge the gap between research and practical applications of digital technologies by showcasing practical applications and research advancements.
• Design and apply teaching and learning experiences based on digital transformation in education, aiming to achieve Education 4.0 objectives.
• Assess the benefits of integrating the Internet of Things, social media, and different AI approaches and concepts, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, chatbots, large language models, learning analytics, Metaverse, Digital Twins, and others, on the sustainability of education.
• Identify recent advancements and achievements in ICT and AI-driven sustainable digital education.

Themes and Article Types:

We welcome original research articles and reviews that explore various aspects of ICT and AI-driven sustainable digital education, including (but not limited to) the following areas:

• The role of AI, machine learning (ML), and learning analytics (LA) in supporting digital transformations and digital education.
• Role of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and similar approaches in designing collaborative education that achieves energy efficiency.
• How chatbots, large language models, and Metaverse contribute to digital transformations in educational environments.
• The role of Digital Twins in creating virtual models of classrooms, campuses, and educational facilities.

• ICT competency frameworks for teachers in sustainable education.
• Influences of digital transformations on the development of sustainable open educational resources.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

You can find more information on the aims and scope of our journal at the following link:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/about.

Prof. Dr. Mirjana Ivanović
Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Klašnja-Milićević
Prof. Dr. Stelios Xinogalos
Prof. Dr. Boban Vesin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• digital education and future education
• digital transformations and their influences on teaching, learning, and assessment
• potential of digital twins, metaverse, virtual reality, augmented reality in education
• gamification, social learning, self-directed learning, personalization and recommendations in sustainable education
• influences of contemporary trends in digital transformations on modern and future e-learning platforms, mobile learning, blended learning
• role of blockchain technology in education