Boise State University is pleased to announce a doctoral student research assistantship in the Curriculum and Instruction Ed.D. program starting in the fall of 2018. The position will support a newly-funded research project (VCAST) that involves developing video-based online learning modules for prospective secondary mathematics teachers. The application deadline is March 1, 2018. The position involves working with the VCAST project team for up to 20 hours a week during the two 16 week semesters. The position is renewable for three years, with the potential to fund for a fourth.

As a research assistant for the VCAST project you will have opportunities to:

• work with faculty with diverse areas of expertise including: teacher education, mathematical knowledge for teaching, online learning environments;
• conduct, present, and publish mathematics education research under the direction of mathematics educators;
• acquire skills in data management, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and design-based research;
• build knowledge about prospective teachers’ understanding of students’ ideas involving functional reasoning.

Benefits: The research assistant will receive a full tuition and fee waiver in fall and spring semesters, a stipend of approximately $20,000 for work in the fall and spring semesters, and student health insurance. In addition, shared office space and a laptop computer will be provided.

Read the position announcement for more information.

The Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET) has just released a Call for Papers for a special issue to be published in early 2019, entitled “Re-Examining Cognitive Tools: New Developments, New Perspectives, and New Opportunities for Educational Technology Research”. The special issue seeks to rekindle and re-energise scholarly interest in, and dialogue around, the concept of educational technologies as cognitive tools for learning, with a particular focus on higher education and other post-secondary education contexts. A major goal is to encourage researchers and practitioners to take a fresh look at the concept and its possible applications in light of developments in not only technology, but also learning theory, pedagogy, instructional design, cognitive science, and psychology, that have taken place since the concept was first popularised in the early 1990s.

The guest editors of the special issue are Christopher Drew and Mark J. W. Lee.

While full manuscripts are not due until 1 August 2018, prospective authors are strongly encouraged to make initial contact with the guest editors well ahead of that date (ideally prior to June 2018), providing them with a brief proposal or abstract outlining the nature, content, and aims of the article they intend to submit.

The full Call for Papers is available at https://goo.gl/7mc7Uh .

Queries may be directed to ajet.cogtools@gmail.com . However, kindly note that manuscripts are *not* to be sent to this address (see the Call for Papers for submission instructions).

Call for Proposals for Special Issues

The Electronic Journal of Communication (EJC) is seeking proposals for special issues edited by scholars on a variety of topics addressing human communication, including, but not limited to:

–electronic, digital, or social media scholarship;
–communication studies (including interpersonal, organizational, mass media, political,
gender-related, history, and other contexts)
–journalism;
–information science and/or human-computer interaction;
–related fields of study

For over 25 years, EJC has developed thematic issues that address emerging, innovative, or niche topics, research methods, or pedagogical interests with the goal of highlighting scholarship and stimulating further interest.   Proposals for special issues consist of:

–a brief description of the topic, theme, or area of interest to be addressed by the issue
–a brief explanation of its significance or importance
–any further information that would help illuminate the particular perspective taken
and/or the proposed editor’s qualifications
–CV for the proposed editor (individuals may also choose to co-edit)

To view themes of past issues, please see:   http://www.cios.org/www/ejcmain.htm
Examples of previous calls for papers may be read at:  http://www.cios.org/www/ejccalls.htm

Please send questions, indications of interest, or proposals for further discussion to:

Teresa M. Harrison
Managing Editor, EJC
Professor, Department of Communication
University at Albany, SUNY
Albany, NY 12222
http://www.albany.edu/communication/t_harrison.php
tharrison@albany.edu   @tmaharrison

Collaborative Problem Solving Supported through Data Analytics

The Technology, Knowledge and Learning (TKNL) journal invites submissions for a special issue “Collaborative Problem Solving Supported through Data Analytics” organized in partnership with the UNESCO Chair of Data Science in Higher Education Learning and Teaching. Collaboration is understood as a continuous group activity addressing a mutually constructed problem or challenge and data analytics is understood as exploratory and confirmatory machine learning methods applied to dynamic data from learning and teaching activities. A group’s ability to collaboratively solve a problem is more than the sum of the individual member contributions, because unique synergies and added values emerge during the group’s social learning processes. However, if the problem or challenge does not hold the mutual interests of the parties, if the group cannot build a common understanding of the problem, or take appropriate action, then collaboration is impossible. Utilising data analytics for insights to improve education enables a new level of evidence-based research into learning and teaching. Hence, due to the fine-grained data captured during digital learning, it is possible to gain detailed insight into collaborative problem solving and learning trajectories of individuals and groups.

This special issue on “Collaborative Problem Solving Supported through Data Analytics” seeks contributions in the form of original research, work-in-progress, or integrative review articles (see http://www.springer.com/10758?detailsPage=societies for description of article types). Topics for this special issue may include, but are not limited to:

• Identifying patterns of collaborative problem solving
• Formative assessment of collaborative problem-solving performance
• Group formation supported through data analytics
• Design frameworks for implementing collaborative problem solving and data analytics
• Case studies showing evidence of collaborative problem solving using data analytics

More information: http://di.ifenthaler.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CfP_CPSA.pdf

Special Issue On: Using Computer Simulations to Enhance and Transform Teaching and Learning

Submission Due Date: 6/30/2018

Topics to be discussed in this special issue include (but are not limited to) the following:

Categorizations of computer simulations;
Theoretical/pedagogical frameworks for using computer simulations;
Instructional design models for computer simulations;
Computer simulations for experiential learning;
Computer simulations for authentic assessment;
Learner experience of computer simulations;
Computer simulations in STEM education;
Computer simulations in healthcare and medical disciplines;
Computer simulations in social sciences and humanities disciplines;
Computer simulations in professional development and training;
Opportunities, challenges, and future directions of computer simulations.

For more information, visit https://www.igi-global.com/calls-for-papers-special/international-journal-virtual-personal-learning/1134

All inquiries should be directed to the attention of:
Dr. Jennifer Qian
Guest Editor
International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments (IJVPLE)
E-mail: je.qian@northeastern.edu