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Why not publish in the Journal of Learning for Development (JL4D)? Why not, indeed!
Saturday, April 08, 2017
Publishing open education in open journals has many advantages. For instance, people are less likely to call you a hypocrite...or so I hope.

Are you interested in the developing world or open education? MOOCs? Are you new in your career? Are you an oldtimer with much wisdom and knowledge? Are you just looking for a journal to publish in? Well, then, try the relatively new journal called the Journal of Learning for Development (JL4D): http://www.jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d. This journal comes from the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in Vancouver. My fantabulous friend Sanjaya Mishra from COL is one of the lead people on it. Thanks Sanjaya (see his COL bio)!

My most excellent colleague, Mimi Lee from the University of Houston, and I have a mixed methods research article in the current issue if JL4D that came out last week. It is open access.
        

             Bonk, C. J., & Lee, M. M. (2017). Motivations, achievements, and challenges of self-directed informal learners in open educational environments and MOOCs. Journal of Learning for Development, 4(1), 36-57. Retrieved from http://jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d/article/view/195/188

The article stems from research on informal and self-directed learning that I conducted with participants to my MOOC with Blackboard several years ago. It is great to have this research published finally. I have informed my friends at Blackboard as well as my former TAs who helped with this project. They are all delighted.

You might want to explore the Table of Contents (TOC) for that entire issue (or here). Below is the title, abstract, and keywords from that article:


Motivations, Achievements, and Challenges of Self-Directed Informal Learners in Open Educational Environments and MOOCs



Abstract: This research targeted the learning preferences, goals and motivations, achievements, challenges, and possibilities for life change of self-directed online learners enrolled in a massive open online course (MOOC) related to online teaching hosted by Blackboard using CourseSites. Data collection included a 40-item survey of which 159 MOOC respondents completed the close-ended survey items and 49 completed the 15 open-ended survey items. Across the data, it is clear that self-directed online learners are internally motivated and appreciate the freedom to learn and choice that open educational resources provide. People were also motivated to learn informally from personal curiosity and interest as well as professional growth needs and goals for self-improvement. Identity as a learner was positively impacted by informal online learning pursuits. Foreign language skills as well as global, cultural, historical, environmental, and health-related information were among the most desired by the survey respondents. The main obstacles to informal online learning were time, costs associated with technology use, difficulty of use, and lack of quality. Qualitative results, embedded in the findings, indicate that self-directed learners take great pleasure in knowing that they do not have to rely on others for their learning needs. Implications for instructional designers are offered.

Keywords: Open educational resources, open education, informal learning, massive open online courses (MOOCs), self-directed learning, intrinsic motivation.

I really appreciate the "Open Access Policy" of this journal:
               "This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. By making all articles available under a CC-BY-SA license, the Journal of Learning for Development allows its authors to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Readers can copy and distribute the published work in any medium and format; remix, transform, and build upon the work as long as the original author (s) and the Journal of Learning for Development are attributed, and the derivative is released under CC-BY-SA license."

I also like the "Focus and Scope" of the JL4D:

               "The Journal of Learning for Development provides a forum for the publication of research with a focus on innovation in learning, in particular but not exclusively open and distance learning, and its contribution to development. Content includes interventions that change social and/or economic relations, especially in terms of improving equity.


                   JL4D publishes research articles, book reviews and reports from the field from researchers, scholars and practitioners, and seeks to engage a broad audience across that spectrum. It aims to encourage contributors starting their careers, as well as to publish the work of established and senior scholars from the Commonwealth and beyond."


You might give this journal a try. Please let me know if you do. And let me know what you think about the new publication from Mimi and I in the current issue of the JL4D. You might read this article. In it, you will see that lives are being changed by newly open online educational resources, courses, and other exciting initiatives.


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About Me

Name: Curt Bonk
Home: Bloomington, Indiana, United States
About Me: I am a former accountant and CPA and a former educational psychologist. I am now Professor of IST at Indiana University and also adjunct in the School of Informatics. I founded and later sold SurveyShare. As president of CourseShare, LLC, I run around the world training instructors to teach online and give motivational talks about emerging learning technologies. I also write and edit books related to e-learning and blended learning. See bio and vita.

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Click here for information about my recent book, The World is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education.

Visit the Indiana University Home Page of E-Learning Expert Curtis J. Bonk.

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