Journal profile · Social Sciences-Education
Smart Learning Environments
ISSN 2196-7091 · Springer Nature · United Kingdom
Smart Learning Environments: CAS Zone 2 · Education (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 17.9 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,090; median 201 days to acceptance (91 articles, last 24 months); 72 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Smart Learning Environments is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 2 of Education in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Online Learning and Analytics, Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods and Online and Blended Learning, together about 35.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Smart Learning Environments seeks academic articles on the issues related to the reform of the ways of teaching and learning through advancing current learning environments towards smart learning environments. It provides opportunities for discussions and constructive dialogue among various stakeholders on the limitations of existing learning environments, need for reform, innovative uses of emerging pedagogical approaches and technologies, and sharing and promotion of best practices, leading to the evolution, design and implementation of smart learning environments. The aim of the journal is to help various stakeholders of smart learning environments better understand each other's role in the overall process of education and how they may support each other.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Education
Editor-in-chief Ronghuai HuangPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 9 in mainland China (about 19%); most named Mainland China 9, United States 4, Italy 3, Australia 3, Hong Kong, China 2 (48 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Online Learning and AnalyticsComputer Science16.5%
- Innovative Teaching and Learning MethodsPsychology11%
- Online and Blended LearningSocial Sciences8.2%
- Educational Games and GamificationPsychology7.7%
- Virtual Reality Applications and ImpactsComputer Science5%
- Mobile Learning in EducationComputer Science4.9%
- Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Adaptive LearningComputer Science4.9%
- E-Learning and Knowledge ManagementComputer Science4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Education Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Education Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
SSCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEINSPECCASDBLPERICPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 17.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 14.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 33.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 4.24LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 5.7LetPub ·
- h-index
- 75OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 308OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 28.93OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 68LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 2,100,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 466 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 44 | 44 | 104 |
| 2025 | 72 | 72 | 1,096 |
| 2024 | 64 | 64 | 4,007 |
| 2023 | 67 | 67 | 5,901 |
| 2022 | 38 | 38 | 3,281 |
| 2021 | 36 | 36 | 2,045 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
201 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 117 days – 274 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 24 days (92 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 234 days
- Sample
- 91 articles with submission and acceptance dates (136 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 19 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 22 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 19 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 1,490 / USD 2,090 / GBP 1,290 | No | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,810 | — | — | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 1,290 / USD 2,090 / EUR 1,490 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers3, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted4
- book reviewResearch Article Book Review Commentaries ReviewLength not stated
- commentariesResearch Article Book Review Commentaries ReviewLength not stated
- research articleResearch Article Book Review Commentaries ReviewLength not stated
- reviewResearch Article Book Review Commentaries ReviewLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Open education principles between the tension of humans and machines in the Generative AI era
As generative AI (GenAI) is increasingly integrated into educational institutions and learning environments (i.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript
The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and copyright
Open access under CC BY licence (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International). Authors retain copyright. Model summary
Creative Commons licences Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles. Smart Learning Environments articles are published open access under a CC BY licence (Creative Commons Attri…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Benefits of open access
Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work: Cited more 1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects Downloaded more 4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles Greater impact 2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions Open acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Peer review is the process used to evaluate the quality of a manuscript before publication. Independent researchers in the relevant field assess submitted manuscripts to check their validity and robustness. Their feedback guides editors in making publication decisions. Typically, two or more experts evaluate each manuscript based on three main criteria: scientific robustness: is the research metho…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2196-7091
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Smart Learning Environments
What CAS zone is Smart Learning Environments in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Smart Learning Environments is in Zone 2 of Education, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Education & Educational Research. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Education. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Smart Learning Environments?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 17.9 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 33.4, h-index 75.
How long does peer review take at Smart Learning Environments?
Based on the dates recorded on 91 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 201 days (interquartile range 117–274 days); authors report an average review time of about 19 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Smart Learning Environments based?
Of the 48 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 9 (about 19%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (9), United States (4) and Italy (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Smart Learning Environments?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Smart Learning Environments is indexed in SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists SCIE, INSPEC, CAS, DBLP and ERIC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Smart Learning Environments open access, and what is the APC?
Smart Learning Environments is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,090.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .