Special issue editorial. Virtual mobility: opening up educational mobilities

The characterization virtual mobility is based on three main conceptual pillars – international, digital and collaborative. We understand that these characteristics are common to other related concepts although an institutional agreement and the transcript of records for the exchange and recognition of credits seems to be a distinct characteristic of virtual mobility. A recent approach to virtual mobility has added the dimension of open education as the fourth pillar of virtual mobility and the new concept has been framed as Open Virtual Mobility. These different approaches show that the concept of virtual mobility can be interpreted and designed depending on the actual objectives, practices and educational contexts, as shown in the articles in this special issue. Going beyond a single perspective on virtual mobility, and focusing on commonalities, we are proud to introduce the collection of five articles which present different approaches to virtual mobility in the sense of facilitating international and collaborative learning experiences in online learning environments. This special issue offers a wide perspective on virtual mobility, which includes different approaches, methodologies and models towards designing and exploring virtual mobility experiences in practice and research.