Enhancing Online Teaching with JOLT

1. Give Your Online Teaching a JOLT Michelle Pilati, PhD Professor of Psychology Rio Hondo College Edward H. Perry, PhD Professor of Mechanical Engineering University of Memphis MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

2. What IS JOLT? • Journal of OnlineLearning and Teaching • Peer-reviewed online journal • Published quarterly • Papers of interest to the online teaching community MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

3. A Brief History of JOLT • Conceived in January 2003 • First Issue Online in July 2005 • Twelve issues published to date • 104 papers published to date • Authors from 6 countries and 4 continents MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

4. JOLT Growth Trends MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

5. Current Issue of JOLT Note: Each paper published in both HTML and PDF formats MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

6. JOLT’s Mission JOLT welcomes papers on all aspects of the use of online multimedia educational resources for learning and teaching. Topics may include, but are not limited to: learning theory and the use of multimedia to improve student learning; instructional design theory and application; online learning and teaching initiatives; use of technology in education; innovative learning and teaching practices. MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

7. Type of Papers JOLT Seeks • Research Papers:Papers concerned with the scholarly use of multimedia educational resources in online learning and teaching. They include some measure of the learning impact on students. • Theoretical/Conceptual Papers:Papers that present non-empirical work related to the major issues of importance for future research or put a conceptualized problem in the context of previous research • Position Papers:Describe a problem or an issue with a suggested solution or direction. These papers should support the position with both a logical argument and a review of the theory and/or the research literature. • Case Studies: Case studies highlight a particular instructional challenge and setting in which multimedia resources were used to address that challenge. • Instructional Design Notes:Brief papers that describe a new online learning object and may include a MERLOT peer review or suggestions for use in the classroom. MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

8. Guidelines for Authors http://jolt.merlot.org/guidelines.html • Electronic submission • Manuscripts in English • Microsoft Word • 6000 words maximum • APA Style Elements MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

9. Submission Deadlines • February 28th for June Issue • May 31st for September Issue • August 31st for December Issue • November 30th for March Issue MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

10. Peer Review Process • A minimum of two peer reviewers assigned to each manuscript • Blind Reviews • Reviewers use a set of published criteria developed by JOLT Editorial Board MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

11. Review Recommendations • Accept without revision • Accept with minor revision; does not require reconsideration by peer reviewers • Major revision needed; must revise and resubmit for reconsideration by peer reviewers • Not suitable for publication in JOLT MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

12. Review Summary • Sent to author of each paper • Summarizes the blind reviews • Includes a rating on each review criterion and comments from each reviewer • Editors also provide a summary of “required revisions” for publication MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

13. Manuscript Revision Process • Review Summary typically sent to authors within two months of submission deadline • Once conditional acceptance is received, one month is allotted for final revisions • The process moves very quickly due to the use of online submission and reviews MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

14. Suggestions for Potential Authors • Review articles from previous issues for style, approach, appropriate topics etc. • Follow JOLT Guidelines • Use APA Style for citations, etc. • Look over Review Criteria • Avoid “first person” (e.g. “I”, “We”, “our”…) • Provide a Conclusion section • Submit manuscript before deadline passes! MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

15. JOLT Special Issue – June ‘08 • Special Issue on Next Generation Course/Learning Management Systems • Nine papers in three themed sections • Most popular paper viewed 479 times in first 30 days • On average, each paper in issue viewed over 150 times in first 30 days • Wiki provided for reader comments MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

16. JOLT Statistics – Past Year • 34,800 visits to site • June 08 => 5000+ visits • 78,200 pages viewed • 159 countries & 60 languages represented by visitors • June ‘08 visits up 150% over June ’07 • 140manuscripts received • 70Papers accepted for publication MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

17. Give Your Life a Big JOLT • Become a JOLT Author • Become a JOLT Peer Reviewer • Become a JOLT Translator • Tell Colleagues & Students about JOLT • Provide Links to JOLT on websites you manage (http://jolt.merlot.org) MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

18. Where Do We Go From Here? • More Special Issue Themes within a regular issue (conferences, open calls,…) • Abstracts also in Spanish and French? • Accept papers in Spanish and French? • Bimonthly publication schedule? MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008

19. Questions? MERLOT International Conference: August 7-10, 2008