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2021-2022: A Year of New Initiatives for Reaching Out to Our Community

By Simone Conceição / July 2022

TYPE: OPINION
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2021–2022 was a year of new initiatives for reaching out to the eLearn Magazine community. We listened to our community through our readership survey and improved our communication strategies through quarterly subscriber newsletters, board updates, and social media. We acknowledged the difference between anonymous versus blind review to clarify the terminologies within the context of the magazine. We also expanded our partnerships by adding two new partners.

Year in Review

Editorial Board Updates

During the 2021–2022 year, the editorial board continued to play a key role in maintaining the standards and rigor of published articles through article solicitation, review, and publication. Board members met in December 2021 via Zoom and received quarterly updates via email (September 2021, January 2021, and April 2022). These updates included articles published, new member information, social media reach, recruitment and marketing, strategic partnership, current trends, and topics for future discussion. Two members resigned from the editorial board, Clark Quinn and Melissa Venable, in January. Three new members, Davin Carr-Chellman, Tonia A. Dousay, and Angelica Pazurek, joined the board.

Online Presence

eLearn Magazine continued to use a variety of strategies to solicit articles and promote the magazine. Aras Bozkurt and Suzan Koseoglu remained in the role of social media editors. A webinar on “How to Publish for eLearn Magazine” was offered in October 2021 via Zoom as a recruitment strategy to solicit new submissions.

Strategic Partnerships

We continued two partnerships in 2021–22: American Associate for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) and Perigean Technologies. We also developed two new partnerships with the Learning Ideas Conference and the Association for Educational Communications and Technologies (AECT) Conference.

Publications

From July 1, 2021 to June 20, 2022, the magazine had a 32.4% acceptance rate based on manuscript decisions. The following shows the percentage of manuscript type submitted: article (57.6%), interview (4.5%), opinion (9.1%), review (3.0%), Special Issue: Advancing Beyond Multiple Choice eAssessment (12.1%), and Special Issue: Blended Learning Technologies in Healthcare (13.6%). A total of 23 articles were published averaging two articles per month in the following manuscript types: article (35%), opinion (4%), review (9%), interview (13%), and the Special Issue on Advancing Beyond Multiple Choice eAssessment (39%).

Anonymous versus Blind Review Acknowledgement

The editorial board members developed a statement to acknowledge anonymous versus blind review, and posted the following on the elearn website:

Traditionally the term “blind” peer review is used in academia for eliminating biases and to maintain quality standards and provide integrity to the publication process. Our peer review process is “double blind,” meaning the author does not know the identity of the reviewer and the reviewer does not know the identity of the author. eLearn Magazine acknowledges that the term is ableist; however, for faculty on the tenure track, the terminology applies to published work that is considered credible as part of the tenure and promotion process.

Readership Survey

eLearn Magazine conducted the readership survey during August–September 2021. A total of 72 individuals responded to the survey—teachers/instructors, faculty, instructional designers, content developers, and consultants. Most respondents were in North America (54.17%), 52.78% hold master’s degrees, 26.39% have doctorate degrees, 34.72% are practitioners/ consultants, and 30.56% are faculty members. Areas of interest include higher education, corporate training, and continuing education.

Some of the comments from the survey respondents regarding what they want to see in articles include an introduction to more teaching and learning strategies, steps or procedures in doing things, learning innovation using digital technologies, useful apps for learning or professional communication, STEM/STEAM articles for opportunities for minorities, interactive and real-world case examples, and rural specific challenges and solutions.

Subscriber Newsletter

eLearn Magazine started distributing a quarterly newsletter to subscribers in October 2021. The first newsletter was sent to 5,491 subscribers, for which 13.86% of recipients opened. The second newsletter was sent in February 2022 to 5,396 subscribers, for which 20.27% of recipients opened. The third newsletter was sent in April 2022 to 5,355 subscribers, for which 21.01% of recipients opened.

Looking Ahead

In 2021–2022 the pandemic continued to be present in our lives and the focus of a few of the articles published by eLearn Magazine. Higher education was a recurring context in many of the publications. We see the next year as an opportunity to sustain and increase our membership through the recruitment of new practitioners and advocates of our community and prepare for the following three years through strategic planning. Our plan is to meet the following goals:

  • Publish the Special Issue on “Blended Learning Technologies in Healthcare Professions Education.”
  • Continue having an online presence through social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook).
  • Continue to promote the magazine through conferences.
  • Work closely with the Editorial Board. Conduct two Editorial Board meetings. One of the meetings will be in person to conduct strategic planning. Continue to provide quarterly updates to the Editorial Board members via email.
  • Maintain the current partnership agreements and explore new strategic partnerships with organizations with similar interests that can support and disseminate information on elearning.
  • Continue to distribute quarterly subscriber newsletters.
  • Support the Editor-in-Chief search for the 2023–2025 term.
  • Publish at least one topic series as a new approach to publishing manuscripts.

The work of the editorial board in soliciting new publications, reviewing articles, recruiting new board members, and providing input on trends was paramount to the success of the magazine. The ACM senior editor and editor-in-chief continued to meet weekly to administer the submission and publication process, manage the strategic partnerships, and develop reports. As a team, we continued to put into practice the mission of eLearn Magazine by advancing elearning innovations, applications, and policy ideas that move the global conversation forward. The new initiatives helped expand the reach of the magazine and the challenges brought new opportunities. Our goal is to increase our readership and continue to contribute to the field of elearning as it continues to expand.

About the Author

Dr. Simone C.O. Conceição, is Editor-in-Chief of eLearn Magazine. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Conceição received her doctorate in Adult and Distance Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her master's in Adult and Continuing Leadership Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Conceição was born in Brazil and has lived in the United States since 1989. Her diverse background brings an international perspective to the fields of education and training. She has researched and identified many aspects of good practice in online environments. Her research interests include adult learning, distance education, impact of technology on teaching and learning, instructional design, international education, and staff development

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Copyright 2022 held by Owner/Author. 1535-394X/2022/07-3551871 https://doi.org/10.1145/3551871


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