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eLearn Magazine: A retrospective on 2017-2018

By Simone C. O. Conceicao, Anita Samuel / October 2018

TYPE: OPINION

eLearn Magazine entered a new period in July 2017. The success of the magazine over this past year has been a team effort of the co-editors-in-chief, editorial board members, and guest reviewers. The co-editors-in-chief and board members actively collaborated in soliciting articles and maintaining the standards and rigor of the publication. The ultimate goal for this past year was to push the boundaries of eLearning and technology and explore innovations to further the conversation around strategies in eLearning.

Editorial Process

In the past year, eLearn Magazine has shifted to a blind peer-reviewed publication and decided to utilize ScholarOne Manuscripts as a submission management tool.

Blind Peer-reviewed Publication

In order to attract submissions from scholar-practitioners and researchers, to improve the quality of submissions, and to increase the reputation and prestige of the publication, eLearn Magazine was reframed as a blind peer-reviewed publication. This implementation took effect in February 2018.

Manuscript Central

To streamline the submission and review process and to have a more robust blind peer-review tracking system, ScholarOne Manuscripts has been selected as a replacement for the online form and cloud storage. The system is now fully implemented.

Publications

Articles Published

The magazine has a 7 percent acceptance rate for articles. In total, 20 articles have been published since July 2017 averaging at least one article a month. The publication distribution from July 2017-July 2018 is as follows: Conference Reviews: 2, Book Reviews: 6, Interviews: 3, Original Articles: 7, Opinions: 2.

Article submissions are primarily in the areas of higher education and blended learning with a focus on program administration and innovative eLearning technologies.

Special Issue Edition

Board member B. Jean Mandernach edited the Special Issue on Technology in eLearning. This special issue contains 16 articles that examine the value and impact of instructional technology for addressing specific challenges faced by educators in the online classroom. With an emphasis on practical utility, authors share technology tools that have aligned effectively with their pedagogical needs to produce positive teaching and learning outcomes. The special issue will be published later this month.

In 2019, the Special Issue topic will be "Paradigm Shifts in Global Higher Education and e-learning." For more information on how to submit, please visit elearnmag.acm.org/special_issue.cfm.

Recruitment

We continue to solicit quality submissions from scholar-practitioners and researchers. We urge our readers to submit articles, reviews, and interviews on eLearning. Please check our submission guidelines for further information.

Social Media

eLearn Magazine has a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Readers are encouraged to like our pages and share posts. We also invite comments and interaction from readers in our social media pages.

Reader Survey

The 2017 reader survey had 143 respondents for which 57 percent of the respondents were from North America and 59% were practitioners. The most frequent reasons for reading eLearnincluded: to keep up with emerging technologies, to learn about tips and best practices, and to stay current with advances by leaders in the field.

Looking Forward to the Future

The 2017-2018 year for eLearn Magazine was a time of change and transition. The audience for the magazine has broadened, technology continued to expand, and the practice of elearning was shaped by the needs of the readers in order to remain current and relevant. Because of the synergy of the Editorial Board and the loyalty of the readers, the future of eLearn will continue to focus on exploring the new frontiers of online learning and technology.

eLearn Magazine, Co-Editors-in-Chief

Simone C. O. Conceição, Ph.D.
Anita Samuel, Ph.D.

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2018 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM. 535-394X/18/10-3282569