(via Melissa Wong, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
The journal Library Trends invites proposals for issue on “Evidence-based Practices for eLearning in Information Organizations”. Please see below for more details, including the submission link.
Libraries and information centers have been using online learning to expand learning opportunities for a diverse range of learners for some time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, online learning became a necessity for continuity of educational, outreach, and community programming amid social isolation, leading more information professionals to experiment with the creation of instructional videos, multimedia tutorials, asynchronous learning modules, and online instruction and programming. Adjusting curriculum and the delivery of that curriculum under these unexpected conditions was highly variable, but it demonstrated the ways in which digital learning resources can reach more patrons and provide continuity when learning disruptions occur. For many information organizations, the pandemic forced a deeper engagement with and integration of online learning into established instruction and programming offerings.
Post-pandemic, online learning is poised to yet again buffer resource limitations, including reduced budgets and staffing shortages, which have a profound impact on organizational capacity. Even in the best of circumstances, time and resources are limited. How does one know their online learning interventions were effective? What principles, frameworks, or guidelines can inform information professionals’ approach in their design and assessment of not only the learning, but the workflow of developing and maintaining these digital learning assets?
This issue of Library Trends will explore evidence-based practices that can inform the development, promotion, and assessment of effective online learning in libraries, archives, and information centers.
Examples of topics might include, but are not limited to:
● Applying evidence-based practices such as Mayer’s Multimedia Principles
● Catalyzing high-impact practices for diverse learning communities
● eLearning in archival settings, such as the intersection of digital archives and online learning, teaching physical archives in online spaces
● Choosing a modality based on curricular and patron needs
● Evaluation and assessment of learning objects, including assessment of learning, measuring reach/impact, return on investment (ROI), and data-driven decision making
● Application of AI in the design and development of digital assets
● Training and development in instructional design / online learning for information professionals and others such as faculty or community members
Submitting a Proposal
Prospective authors are invited to submit an abstract outlining their proposed article by Friday, April 3. Decisions about the proposals will be communicated by Monday, April 13, with manuscripts due for peer review on Friday, July 31.
Additional Information
Questions about the issue and/or proposal process should be directed to Becca Greer (rrgreer@ucsb.edu) and Melissa Wong (mawong@illinois.edu). More information about the journal, including author instructions, is available on the Library Trends website.