Editorial

We are delighted to take this opportunity to wish our readership, members of the Editorial Board, our International Advisory Board, authors and all our reviewers a Very Happy New Year. Reflecting on the past year, we are pleased to report that the Impact Factor for BJET rose substantially in the past year and currently stands at 2.41. The journal was ranked 22 out of 235 in ISI Journal Citation Reports Ranking in 2016 in the area of Education and Educational Research. A big thank you is due to the authors and expert reviewers who continue to push up the standards of articles, to our Editorial Board and International Advisory Board for their guidance and input, to the Critical Friends who willingly support early career researchers and other authors who need support to bring their manuscripts up to standard, to all our readers who appreciate and cite the journal’s content, and to our publisher Wiley for their efficient article processing and invaluable support to our team. The figures show that BJET is certainly a leading journal in the field of educational technology research and is going from strength to strength

BJET Editorial November 2016

Greetings to the BJET community from the new editorial team. We took over in July 2016 and are excited about the opportunity to lead and shape this esteemed journal. In this editorial we outline our policies and vision for the future and report on our first few months in post

BJET Editorial for the 50th Anniversary Volume in 2019: Looking back, reaching forward

The Editors are thrilled to introduce the 50th Anniversary volume of the British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET). This momentous milestone has spurred us to share with the readership our pride and sense of responsibility for editing one of the top journals in the field

Mixing and Matching Learning Design and Learning Analytics

In the last five years, learning analytics has proved its potential in predicting academic performance based on trace data of learning activities. However, the role of pedagogical context in learning analytics has not been fully understood. To date, it has been difficult to quantify learning in a way that can be measured and compared. By coding the design of e-learning courses, this study demonstrates how learning design is being implemented on a large scale at the Open University UK, and how learning analytics could support as well as benefit from learning design. Building on our previous work, our analysis was conducted longitudinally on 23 undergraduate distance learning modules and their 40,083 students. The innovative aspect of this study is the availability of fine-grained learning design data at individual task level, which allows us to consider the connections between learning activities, and the media used to produce the activities. Using a combination of visualizations and social network analysis, our findings revealed a diversity in how learning activities were designed within and between disciplines as well as individual learning activities. By reflecting on the learning design in an explicit manner, educators are empowered to compare and contrast their design using their own institutional data

The EdTech difference: Digitalisation, digital pedagogy, and technology enhanced learning

This editorial is in support of an issue of the Journal that has a focus on educational technology (EdTech). With this in mind, this editorial will provide advice on how the editorial team for this section feels that educational technology will evolve into the latter part of the 2020’s, especially given the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples are given of how writing in this space has changed over the years of the pandemic, with a history of EdTech given, followed by an argument for the need for technology to be used in context. This is followed by descriptions of good practice around theoretical framing, methodology rigour, inclusion of the people element, and the need for the technology to serve a purpose. The piece concludes with a summary of where the editorial team feels the field will go from here into the future. Throughout, practical examples of submissions made over the last few years are given to help illustrate a coherent direction. It is anticipated that this editorial will serve as a guide for future authors to use in service of better educational technology outputs in the future

Smartphones give you wings: pedagogical affordances of mobile Web 2.0

Built on the foundation of four years of research and implementation of mobile learning projects (mlearning), this paper provides an overview of the potential of the integration of mobile web 2.0 tools (based around smartphones) to facilitate social constructivist pedagogies and engage students in tertiary education. Pedagogical affordances of mobile web 2.0 tools are evaluated, and student usage and feedback is outlined via an interactive multimedia timeline (using YouTube videos) illustrating how these mobile web 2.0 pedagogical affordances have transformed pedagogy and facilitated student engagement in a variety of course contexts. A rubric for evaluating appropriate smartphone choices is provided, and a model for implementing mobile web 2.0 pedagogical integration is presented. Keywords: mlearning, mobile web 2.0

Informatics Research Institute (IRIS) September 2008 newsletter

2007-8 was a very busy year for IRIS. It was a bumper year for visiting Profs with Prof Michael Myers visiting from New Zealand, Prof Brian Fitzgerald visiting from University of Limerick, Ireland, Prof. Uzay Kaymak visiting from Erasmus University Netherlands and Prof Steve Sawyer visiting from Pennsylvania State University, USA. Their visits enriched our doctoral school, seminar programme workshops and our research. We were very lucky to have such a distinguished line up of visiting professors and we offer them hearty thanks and hope to keep ongoing research links with them

ChatGPT and Beyond: The Generative AI Revolution in Education

The wide adoption and usage of generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, particularly ChatGPT, has sparked a surge in research exploring their potential applications in the educational landscape. This survey examines academic literature published between November, 2022, and July, 2023, specifically targeting high-impact research from Scopus-indexed Q1 and Q2 journals. This survey delves into the practical applications and implications of generative AI models across a diverse range of educational contexts. Through a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of recent academic literature, this survey seeks to illuminate the evolving role of generative AI models, particularly ChatGPT, in education. By shedding light on the potential benefits, challenges, and emerging trends in this dynamic field, the survey endeavors to contribute to the understanding of the nexus between artificial intelligence and education. The findings of this review will empower educators, researchers, and policymakers to make informed decisions about the integration of AI technologies into learning environments

Developing critical and theoretical approaches to educational technology research and practice

Considerable prior literature reflecting on the evolution of the field of educational technology by numerous research experts has considered the extent of criticality within the field and found it somewhat wanting (Bulfin, Johnson & Bigum, 2015; Haßler, Major & Hennessy, 2016; Jameson, 2013; Latchem, 2014; Oliver, 2011, 2016; Selwyn, 2007, 2011, 2015). Challenges include considerations of whether research findings (OECD, 2015)indicating worrying findings about the negative influence of excessive computer usage are really being considered and taken up in research, policy and practice in the field. This 50th Anniversary Special Section called for submissions to consider the extent to which Selwyn and others are justified in asserting that much research in the field has engaged in 'previous decades of technological "boosterism," hyperbole, and outright evangelism' rather than genuine searching inquiry (Selwyn, 2015). The section considers the need for greater critical (Bulfin et al., 2015), challenging and questioning 'e-leadership' of the field by those who are practising within it (Jameson, 2015). Prior evaluation of theoretical perspectives such as Activity Theory and theories on e-learning, relate to this (Isssroff and Scanlon, 2002; Nichols, 2003). The paper considers the extent to which the evidence emerging from research findings in educational technology is really engaging in a critical way with important global issues (Selwyn, 2015) to effect a beneficial influence on education policy, theory and practice, including, particularly, outcomes for learners. To what extent are educational technology researchers really leading, critiquing and shaping the field