Submissions

Guidelines for Authors | Introduction | ETC Biographies | Style | Documentation | Length | Format | Multimedia Submissions |

Discussion Forums | Policy for Discussion Forums

Guidelines for Authors

Introduction

Educational Technology & Change (ETC) journal maintains a roster of editors and writers who post regularly. However, we also actively welcome submissions from guest authors. (Please see our staff page.)

Articles, which are usually – but not always – in the form of op-eds, should focus on topical developments, trends, ideas, concerns, and issues related to the creative use of information technology to enhance education and training in academic, commercial, and governmental settings. As a writer, you’re encouraged to (and expected to) develop and maintain your own perspectives regardless of the views of other ETC writers. Thus, there’s no hidden agenda or expectation re opinions. I have my own views, and the others have theirs, too, and the result, we believe, is a healthier, more open and dynamic professional journal and discussion forum.

As a rule, ETC will not publish articles that have been previously published elsewhere. However, we will consider articles that have been extensively revised or updated. ETC applies the Creative Commons Attribution License (CCAL) to all articles published in this journal. See the copyright notice in the About page.

arrowbase in a squareReports and summaries from relevant conferences, meetings, presentations, and workshops are also welcomed. After-the-fact summaries are always welcome, especially if they offer analysis or reaction, but we are also interested in live reports from events in progress. If you’d like to report on an upcoming event, contact me (jamess@hawaii.edu) at least 24 hours in advance. I will work with you to come up with a publishing plan that’s simple and suited to your needs. Live reports and after-the-fact summaries will include links to conference websites.

To submit an article: Email the submission to me, Jim Shimabukuro, at jamess@hawaii.edu. To discuss article ideas, contact me or any of the ETC editors listed on our staff page.

To submit an idea for an article, click here.

ETC Biographies

All ETC writers and editors must have a photo for the staff listing and a professional bio, which could be a link to a personal webpage or to a bio entry in ETC. For the latter, email your bio to me (jamess@hawaii.edu) for posting.

Style

Our style is dictated, to a large extent, by the informality that’s prevalent in blogs and forums and, to a lesser extent, by the formality that’s appropriate for academic journals. It’s the conversational, familiar, personal style that you, as a writer or speaker, fall into naturally when participating in online or F2F discussions with professional colleagues.

The ultimate test of an effective style is one that’s comfortable for you and engaging for the reader. The successful ETC style will not only attract and hold the reader’s attention but also stimulate her/his thinking and persuade her to join the dialogue via the comments feature that’s attached to every article.

Generally, diction should tend toward the concrete and personal rather than the abstract and bureaucratic, and Strunk’s advice on composing is worth repeating: “Use the active voice,” “put statements in positive form,” and “omit needless words.”

In keeping with the personal and informal nature of blogs, the spelling of IT words will be left up to you, the writer, with the single request that you follow a consistent pattern.

For readability in browsers, shorter paragraphs are preferable. Also, standard internet slang, abbreviations, and emoticons are acceptable in comments but should be used with care in articles.

Photos, graphics, and illustrations that are relevant to the article are encouraged. If possible, the subjects as well as the photographer or artist must be identified. In all cases, copyrighted material must be acknowledged and approved by the copyright owners. Best practice would be for the writer or assistant to simply take snapshots geared for the article. For publication, the highest possible resolution is best.

Documentation

Documentation style should be internally consistent. URL links to sources are preferred over lists of works cited. If possible, use WebCite‘s archiving service for all URL links. It provides a stable link for your citations. However, use the original URL if WebCite is unable to accurately capture the page you’re citing.

Length

Articles should run between 500 and 1500 words. Occasionally, articles from 2000-3000 words may be considered. Where length is a concern or simply as a matter of readability, consider storing parts of the article, such as exhibits, extended examples, extensive lists, or graphics, in a separate URL that can be linked to from the article.

Format

Files should be saved in MS Word (or equivalent) format: TXT, RTF, or DOC. Standard formatting for electronic submissions should be observed. That is, avoid any formatting that might make the transfer to a webpage difficult. For example, in MS Word, leave “Indentation” and “Spacing” at zero, “Special” indentation at “(none),” and “Line spacing” at “single”; leave “Alignment” at “Left.” Spacing after end punctuations such as periods and question marks: use a single space instead of two.

Multimedia Submissions

You may submit video or audio articles with brief written introductions describing the purpose and contents. If you choose this route, the recording must be available for linking via a media service that allows for direct display in ETC. YouTube and MySpace, for example, provide this option. You provide the URL, and we link to it within your ETC article.

Discussion Forums

A discussion feature is attached to every article. All authors are expected to reply to questions and comments posted by readers. An active discussion is one of the goals for every article.

Policy* for Discussion Forums

Educational Technology and Change Journal (ETCJ)
By Administrator, ETCJ, 3 September 2010

The purpose of the forums that are attached to each article is to provide visitors and staff an opportunity to comment on, discuss, and debate ideas presented in articles. We hope that you will find this a useful resource for professional development and for active participation in discussions on the latest issues and trends.

The forums are monitored, meaning messages are read for compliance to netiquette, policies, and terms of use. Comments can be removed or edited by administration without the author’s consent. Posters can be removed or barred from the forums for violations.

The administrators and moderators of this forum will attempt to remove or edit any generally objectionable material as quickly as possible. However, you, as a user, acknowledge that all posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author and not the administrators, moderators, or editors (except for posts by these people).

By participating in ETCJ forums, you agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, offensive, hateful, threatening, sexually-oriented, or any other material that may violate any applicable laws. You agree that the administrators and moderators have the right to remove, edit, move, or close any forum at any time should they see fit.

As a user, you agree to any information you have posted being stored in ETCJ archives.
__________
* This policy statement is modeled after the one used by Georgia Southern University Parents Association Message Board, 7 Feb. 2008.

Leave a comment