ISTE’s Special Interest Group for Computer Teachers (SIGCT) has announced the rebirth of its journal, which is aimed at enhancing precollege computing instruction. JCT is a K-12 oriented online periodical where the emphasis is on teaching about computing.
The name for the publication was formerly the Journal for Computer Science Education. Starting with the spring 2008 issue, the title was changed to the Journal for Computing Teachers (JCT), which is more indicative of the scope of SIGCT and JCT. Besides the name change, the previous practice of posting papers as they became available was replaced with several issues a year containing multiple papers and other materials of interest. A third change is that JCT is now available to everyone. Previously you had to be an ISTE member in order to access the publication. Now everyone has direct access to JCT. This change will dramatically increase the size of the readership.
Submission topics include but are not limited to:
* Academic and research articles relating to the teaching of computing in K-12 education
* Pedagogical articles describing and explaining the rationale for some teaching practice, approach, or lesson
* Theoretical articles explaining or arguing particular principles or models of learning, teaching, curriculum development, content perspective-taking, etc.
* Explanatory articles providing teachers with professional development information (e.g., understanding hardware and software, conceptual understanding, etc.)
* Reports concerning computing (e.g., curriculum and policy recommendations)
Submissions are either editor reviewed or peer reviewed. The author decides which one. In the “editor reviewed” process, articles are reviewed by the editor. In the “peer-reviewed” portion of the journal, manuscripts are acknowledged by the editor upon receipt and, after a preliminary review to judge their appropriateness for JCT, are sent to at least two members of the Editorial Review Board. Following the completion of the review process, the editor contacts the author(s) to accept the paper for publication, to accept the paper conditional on the completion of any recommended revisions, or to reject it.
For additional information about the journal and submission guidelines for authors, go to http://www.iste.org/JCT. Potential authors do not have to be members of ISTE or SIGCT to publish in JCT. The submission deadline for the fall 2008 issue is September 1, 2008.
Also, members for the Editorial Review Board for the Journal for Computing Teachers are sought. Your name would be included in the list of members of the Editorial Review Board. The quality of JCT’s peer review process is reliant upon the efforts of qualified professionals.
For further information on submitting papers and/or the Editorial Review Board, contact:
John Thompson, PhD
Editor, Journal for Computing Teachers
thompsjt@buffalostate.edu