The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed teaching patterns, distance education is becoming an important educational mode in all kinds of schools. This is an opportunity for Open Universities, which mainly focus on distance and open education, but at the same time, Open Universities are also facing unprecedented challenges. In the present situation, distance education is no longer the unique feature of Open Universities, it is necessary for the Open University of China to innovate teaching to meet diverse learning needs. This paper puts forward the idea of using the new technology micro-credentials to innovate teaching, summarizes the definition, types, metadata and the educational application of micro-credentials, discusses the value of micro-credentials for innovative teaching in the Open University of China, and the challenges faced by the application of micro-credentials in teaching.
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