INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the literature on emerging technologies applied to higher education has multiplied—artificial intelligence, learning analytics, extended reality, remote laboratories, mobile environments, simulators, conversational agents, among others. However, a significant portion of these works remains focused on perceptions, opinions, or descriptions of isolated experiences, with limited empirical validation of their actual effects.
With the special issue “Emerging Technologies in Distance and Hybrid Higher Education: Evidence of Impact”, RIED–Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia aims to move from the discourse of promise toward the domain of verified evidence. We are particularly interested in higher education delivered in distance, online, hybrid, or bimodal formats, where emerging technologies are integrated into intentional, assessable designs that can be replicated or scaled.
The international academic community is invited to submit contributions that, with methodological rigor, document verifiable improvements in learning outcomes, teaching and assessment practices, student experience and engagement, inclusion and equity, or institutional quality associated with the use of emerging technologies.
Priority will be given to studies providing robust empirical data (large samples, quasi-experimental or experimental designs, longitudinal studies, learning analytics, and well-justified mixed methods) over works based solely on perceptions, unimplemented design proposals, or descriptions lacking systematic validation.
PRIORITY THEMATIC AREAS
The following (non-exhaustive) contribution axes are proposed as guidance, preferably in higher education contexts and in distance, online, hybrid, or bimodal settings:
1. Impact on Learning Outcomes and Competencies
- Evidence of improvement in performance, competency achievement, transfer, or retention associated with the use of emerging technologies (AI, analytics, extended reality, simulators, remote laboratories, etc.).
- Comparative studies between traditional environments and those enriched with these technologies.
2. Transformation of Teaching and Assessment Practices
- Course, program, or tutoring model redesigns supported by emerging technologies, including analyses of their effectiveness.
- Evidence of improved feedback, task authenticity, academic integrity, and assessment quality.
3. Student Experience, Engagement, and Pathways
- Studies on participation, engagement, persistence, dropout, well-being, or cognitive load in environments mediated by emerging technologies.
- Longitudinal or learning-analytics-based evidence on trajectories, interaction patterns, and academic success.
4. Personalization, Adaptivity, and Inclusion
- Adaptive systems, intelligent tutors, conversational agents, or personalized learning pathways with data demonstrating improvements for different student profiles.
- Impact of these solutions on reducing gaps (socioeconomic, gender, disability, geographic context, etc.).
5. Institutional Quality, Scalability, and Sustainability of Innovations
- Evaluations of institutional projects where emerging technologies have been integrated at scale (faculty, university, consortium), with results on quality, efficiency, or equity.
- Cost-effectiveness studies, governance models, and quality assurance mechanisms for adopting these technologies.
6. Unintended Effects, Risks, and Ethical Dimensions
- Evidence on risks related to technological dependence, algorithmic bias, overload, depersonalization, or new gaps arising from the use of emerging technologies.
- Research that critically contrasts innovation narratives with available data.
EDITORIAL PRIORITY CRITERIA
This special issue will prioritize:
- studies with strong empirical evidence (as opposed to merely descriptive or opinion-based works);
- research conducted in higher education and, preferably, in distance, online, hybrid, or bimodal contexts;
- rigorous methodological designs (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed), with sufficiently robust samples and well-grounded analyses; and
- contributions that clearly articulate their implications for improving teaching and learning.
IMPORTANT DATES
- Submission of manuscripts: During May 2026 (deadline: 01/06/2026). Please avoid submitting articles before May 2026.
- Official publication: This issue (Vol. 30-1) corresponds to 01/01/2027.
- OnlineFirst publication: Prior to the official date, articles will be published as OnlineFirst (ready to read and cite) as they successfully complete the evaluation stages.
IMPORTANT
- Do not submit any work to RIED unless you are fully certain that all requirements in this document and its linked references are met.
- All submissions must be sent to the “Special Issue”.
- Any articles not selected for publication in this Vol. 30(1) will be declined.
- All manuscripts that successfully pass all evaluation stages will need to be professionally translated into the second language: into English if the original submission was in Spanish or Portuguese, and into Spanish if the original submission was in English.
