A few weeks ago an idea hit me while I was getting ready for work. I immediately wrote it down in a Google document, which I shared with Doug Belshaw (@dajbelshaw) to get some instant feedback. After a brief chat I put the idea down, allowing it to ferment for a while.
Yesterday, out of the blue, I was contacted by Nick Dennis (@nickdennis). He has been thinking about a similar idea for quite some time. I shared my Google document with him and less than 36 hours later (after a Skype chat, conference call and several tweets) we have created an action plan to launch an education journal written, edited and published by educators for educators. It will be called #edjournal. And asks: “…where’s the learning?”
Part of the impetus behind this project is to produce something more permanent than a blog post, something that can last, and has been put under significant scrutiny. The other driving force is to create a document that offers a very specific insight – that of the “actual impact of technology on learning”, rather than “what the technology is” or “what impact the technology could have”.
Below is a direct link to the refined version of my original document explaining the rationale of the journal and an action plan for its development and publication. Give it a read. See what you think.
#edjournal: where’s the learning? (Click to open!)
At this stage we have invited a number of people to contribute but we are welcoming any and all thoughts and ideas. Perhaps you have been published in an academic journal or have experience in writing or editing these sorts of articles. If so, we would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts and wish to contact us, please do so via Twitter.
There is a Twitter hash tag: #edjournal and there is a Twapper Keeper archive of all #edjoural tweets here.
The short url for the #edjournal document is: http://bit.ly/cFdptG – please share it.
You can contact me on Twitter @jamesmichie.
I think this is a great idea. A chance to take an idea normally just blogged and see if it will pass rigour of peer assessment. Would you allow/ encourage contributors to update research as action research gains maturity? Most journal ideas are just frozen in time. Would be great to see an idea grow. Maybe even link to other adaptations of an idea building up evidence pro or otherwise around a theme. Will you insist on a minimum length?
What a fantastic idea James. An educational journal written by educators for educators that gives insight into the pedagogy behind the use of technology in the classroom. It's sounds Ike it should already be in place! Great to hear that yourself, Doug and Nick are the editors and your editorial team is a blend of educational backgrounds.
Will the journal focus on articles solely from the UK or do you have the intention of opening it up to the rest of the world?
The best ideas come to us when we are least expecting it.
This is an interesting point and could potentially happen if we do go with Google knol as the platform by which we take in and review/edit the articles. A knol can be made public as the document is reviewed/edited, it can be cited and referenced so links be made and certainly as it goes through this process can be updated by the author to reflect changes and developments in their research/thinking.
In terms of length I think a minimum of 800 words would allow for an article to have enough depth, we are not setting a maximum as the articles will go through a review process anyway and can be cut down if there is a loss of focus.
Thanks for the feedback. If you would like to contribute just let Nick, Doug or I know.
Thanks for the positivity and encouragement Kevin.
We would certainly welcome articles from outside the UK.
If you yourself are interested in contributing, please let Nick, Doug or I know. We would be happy to have you onboard. 🙂
This is a fantastic idea & one that, as Kevin said earlier, makes such sense that you'd think it'd already been done.
As a teacher who pushes technology use in class, this type of document would give kudos to the ideas and approaches that I use and hopefully encourage those, conservative, teachers to incorporate more creative approaches without fear of failure.
Thanks James et al! Nice one!
That is certainly one of the intended (hopeful) outcomes of #edjournal. It certainly came up several times during our discussions. This is why we are also discussing the potential of publishing a physical copy of the journal. It would be for exactly those kind of teachers who are not confident about technology and thus, perhaps, shy away from learning about it.