Friday, September 14, 2007

SS and Tech/Tech Integration in Methods, 09/14/07

153 minutes of writing/editing

Today was incredibly productive.

I began by reviewing the shell of the paper with the working title "Beyond PowerPoint: Integrating Technology into Social Studies Methods Courses" and determined that it should be broken into two papers.

The first paper is mostly written - an editorial. I think this section of the previous working paper would make a great persuasion piece for "The Social Studies," but I should also check in "Social Education" to see if it may fit there as well. It is quite short, 6.5 pages, and needs lots of wordsmithing to help with the flow of the manuscript. I hesitate to do any more with the article until I review the two journals, select a suitable location for submission, and review their similarly published pieces. That is where I would like to start tomorrow.

The second piece would be a "how to" on technology integration in methods courses. This paper may be good for Social Studies Research and Practice (the "Practice" section). Unfortunately, little of it is written <2 pages. Though it is conceptually done in the form of the NCSS 2007 presentation, it still has lots of work to go.

The second thing I did today was review the Technology in Integration Methods paper. It was quite good, only needing copy editing and minor wordsmithing. It was so good (in my opinion, of course), that I deemed it ready for review and submitted it to the Journal of Computing in Teacher Education. I think this is a perfect forum for the paper, but doubt they will accept it for two reasons. First, it is 6,000 words and they request manuscripts to be 2,000-4,000 words. Second, it is action research and uses an informal writing style in some sections. If it is not accepted by JCTE, I may try the Journal of Curriculum and Instruction.

Another great accomplishment today was getting the co-written (with Eric) PowerPoint to Podcasts article under review (the submission process worked with a different browser).

It feels great to now have three items under review (including the WebQuests chapter) and more in the queue to get out soon. My current goal is to try to get out this editorial on tech integration in social studies, and then I'll either begin writing on the technology integration in methods courses, 21st century social studies paper, or return to the learning styles and assessment papers. I think addressing the latter two is my best bet to get items under review.

Looking ahead at future research, I've made great progress in the last few weeks. I begin data collection on phase one of the microcommunities study next week (YES!!!!), I will be working with Vicki Kilbury to finalize a research for a first-year teachers study next week, and I have an appointment with Don Anderson to discuss the Teaching American History grant evaluation and possible research questions/data.

Today, the world looks good! :-)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

SS and Tech, 09/11/07

156 minutes of writing

It's time to get writing again! My goal is to publish, publish, publish this year since I am not teaching full-time.

Today I edited the PowerPoint to Podcasts article so it could be submitted to CITE. It is ready to be uploaded to the submission system, but there were errors in the uploading process. I've contacted the system administrator for help with the problem.

I am concerned about submitting to CITE because it cautions that the review process can take 5 months. This is such a long time in the tech world and I'm not sure the editors will see the journal as a suitable forum for the article. I think a practitioner-based journal might be better, but I like the audience of CITE and feel the article will be read more if published there (anyone can access back articles). In an email from Cheryl Mason Bolick in response to a request for a recommended list of journals to which I should submit this article, she suggested CITE, The Social Studies, and JCTE. I do not believe it is research-based enough to be published in JCTE and I have other articles I think would be better suited to that journal. The Social Studies would be a good choice, but the articles in this journal are not publicly available and the journal is quite young. One benefit is that it comes in print and electronic formats, but I don't think that would help readership.

My first goal is to now get the article under review (and let Eric know it's back under review). I've also sent an email about the WebQuest Chapter and hope that is still planned for printing.

My next goal is to determine where I am in my writing and plan a schedule for getting more manuscripts under review.