Welcome to the first issue of CJLT published from the University of Calgary! In the past five weeks as the new editor of CJLT, I have learned a great deal! It has been a true “active learning” experience to get the present issue to print while communicating with authors and reviewers about current submissions and incoming manuscripts. I extend my sincere gratitude to Rick Kenny, Mary Kennedy, Francois Desjardins, members of the AMTEC Board and everyone who has helped Bruce Clark and me to successfully move the journal to its new home in the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary. Bruce and I are fortunate to be part of a very active and growing educational technology specialization at the University of Calgary. In a very short time frame, our educational technology community has grown from three to nine full-time faculty and over 170 graduate students which is indicative of the living interest in the field in Canada. Our decision to serve as editors of CJLT was based in large part on the synergy and energy we can draw upon from both our local and our internationally distributed community of active and committed educational technology scholars and graduate students. Bruce and I embrace the challenge of building and extending upon the strong legacy created by the previous editors of CJLT.
The six quality articles in the present issue were shepherded through the peer review and editorial process by former editor, Rick Kenny. Each article offers a distinct and interesting view on some aspect of educational technology and learning.
The first article, . Review of What Instructional Designers Do: Questions Answered and Questions Not Asked, by Kenny, Zhang, Schwier and Campbell, reviews both empirical and case research evidence in the literature on whether and how instructional designers apply ID Models. The authors explore the nature of activities and processes that instructional designers use in their daily professional activities in order to better understand day-to-day ID practice.
In the second article, Les Représentations Des Enseignants Quant A Leurs Profils De Compétences Relatives A L’ordinateur : Vers Une Théorie Des TIC En Education (Teacher’s Representations Of Their Computer Related Competencies Profile: Toward A Theory Of ICT In Education), Desjardins presents an innovative model allowing the classification of the knowledge and competencies related to the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. From this model, a questionnaire was developed and used to examine competency profiles for different groups of francophone teachers in Ontario. Results show that many factors other than teaching, such as age, gender and work experience, have a significant impact on the profiles as measured.
In the third article, Inquiry-Based Learning, The Nature Of Science, And Computer Technology: New Possibilities In Science Education, Kubicek explores the relationship between scientific investigation and an inquiry-based approach to understanding the nature of science. In this review of key literature and online resources, Kubicek describes the diverse ways that digital and networked media can and should be used to support meaningful inquiry for students and teachers in K-12 science.
In the fourth article, Open Source Software And Schools: New Opportunities And Directions, Hepburn explores an alternative approach to integrating information and communications technology in schools. He argues that open source software offers K-12 educators a cost-effective, flexible and equitable alternative to the use of proprietary or commercial software. He touches upon social and ethical issues related to software acquisition for schools and to bridging the digital divide.
In the fifth article, Issues And Challenges Of Instructional Technology Specialists In Alberta Colleges, Spence and Haughey summarize key findings from survey and interview research with post-secondary instructional technology specialists at fourteen colleges. Analysis of results and extensive discussion about issues in administrative policy, faculty development and evaluation yields seven recommendations for instructional technology policy and practice in higher education.
In the sixth article, Comparison Of Student Experiences With Different Online Graduate Courses In Health Promotion, Varnhagen, Wilson, Krupa, Kasprzak and Hunting seek a deeper understanding of students’ experiences in online graduate courses in health promotion studies. Findings based on an analysis of teleconference discussions with forty-five students are discussed in relation to the three components of Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s (2000) Community of Inquiry model of learning; cognitive, social and teacher presence.
Finally, in this issue you will find a call for a special issue on Electronic Portfolios, edited by guest editor, Dr. Philip C. Abrami, Director, Centre for the Study of Learning & Performance at Concordia University. This upcoming special issue of CJLT will be published in Volume 31, Issue 3 (Fall 2005). This special issue will examine, from scholarly, practical, and technical perspectives, critical issues in the development and use of electronic portfolios. The underlying theme of the issue will explore how electronic portfolios support student-centered learning, authentic assessment, accessibility, and life-long learning, among others. The deadline for submission of manuscripts for the Special Issue on Electronic Portfolios is May 15, 2005. Authors are asked to email their manuscripts to Philip C. Abrami at: abrami@education.concordia.ca
Moving the journal to a new home has been accompanied by a number of changes. First, readers will notice that the CJLT cover sports a few new colours and that the journal now takes up less space on the shelf. The new size of the journal will enable us to streamline the distribution process. The journal is printed locally and distributed from the University of Calgary. At this time, I want to officially welcome Jennifer Lock as the new Review Editor for CJLT. I also want to thank two talented graduate students for their contribution to the present issue. First, my thanks to Maureen Washington for her excellent work on copyediting, layout and production of V31.1. And my thanks to Alanna Edwards for redesigning the journal’s cover based on the current CJLT website colors (www.cjlt.ca).
I invite members of the educational technology community to send Bruce and me feedback on the type of articles they would like to see more of in future issues of CJLT – please email us at: cjlt@ucalgary.ca
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