The Future JCSE
J. Philip East
University of Northern Iowa
While examining the feedback from our members on the questionnaire we conducted this past summer, I have been reflecting on the future of the journal and on my performance as editor of the journal. I believe the future of JCSE Online and JCSE Annual can be quite good. I also believe the transition from a print-based journal to an online publication with a print compendium has gone pretty well and that the Annuals have been pretty good. The online publication, however, has been uneven, particularly in its adherence to a schedule.
As much as I might like to believe JCSE Online is under my control, in actuality it is not. Like a farmer's crops are subject to the vagaries of weather, insects, etc. the form and content of JCSE Online is mostly determined by the material that is submitted for publication. With a single volunteer editor, there is little or no opportunity to seek out material of a particular type or addressing a particular topic, or even striving for a diversity of content for our journal.
Having just completed the task of examining a reader assessment of JCSE Online, I have some suggestions for change. The most important change is that we begin publishing regularly and more often. Prior to my assuming the interim editorship, the Journal of Computer Science Education had enjoyed a relatively regular publication schedule of four issues per year under the leadership of Diane McGrath and then of Charles (Chuck) Funkhouser. Since I have been the editor, a regular publication schedule has not been sustained. I cannot take all the blame for that. Chuck's last issue got behind and I took over the editorship on an interim basis with no experience. Additionally, in those five years, I have interacted with three different copy editors and their transitions were not much smoother than ours. Regardless of why that occurred, it is now time for a change.
I would like us to publish online monthly from September to (probably) April and produce our print compendium JCSE Annual by June 1. The first issue would report on the CS & IT Symposium. and contain reports and meeting minutes from the SIGCS leadership. Issues with two or three items each would follow in October, November, January, February, March, and April. While each issue might not arrive like clockwork, they would at least arrive within a week or so of the scheduled time.
I envision publishing a variety of content. SIGCS is the only part of ISTE that is devoted to teaching "about" computing. ISTE's other SIGs all address using computers to teach (or learn), rather than learning to fluently use computer applications, or learning about computers, or learning to program computers. Learning and Leading with Technology, ISTE's monthly magazine publication, addresses some of these topics from time to time and may well do so more often in the future. We have, however, moved beyond the time when students merely need to know which buttons to push in a word processor or spreadsheet. Students are now expected (and expecting) to learn how to solve problems using application software. Because we know the software at a deeper level than many teachers, we can help. Additionally, new developments are occurring constantly. As those who know about computing, we can help each other learn the new material and learn to teach it. To meet this need we must broaden the scope of what we publish.
In addition to being more diverse in the material we address in our journal, we also need to be more diverse in the level of material we include. Students are using computers in significant ways in the middle school. We need to address that audience also. JCSE Online and JCSE Annual should be useful to all members of SIGCS and ISTE. I believe we can make it so.
As noted above, I envision publishing most months of the academic year. I would like to see most issues have something in each of the following categories:
- High school
- Middle school
- Computer science/programming
- Applications/IT
- Academic/refereed articles
- Practical/reviewed articles
- Reviews of texts, software, computer systems, Web sites, etc.
We are not likely to be publishing seven items in each issue. However, we could publish a refereed article on using LOGO in the middle school that would address three of the categories and something like a comparison of Open Office to MS Office that would encompass the four remaining categories. In some issue we might be a little less comprehensive and in other we might have more articles that overlap somewhat or cover fewer categories.
It seems to me that SIGCS is the vehicle within ISTE to address these needs. If we broaden the content and level of our articles I believe we have the opportunity to become very useful to our readers and to ISTE. But we must publish well and consistently.
To accomplish that, it seems to me that there must be a change in our editorship. Before discussing a number of possibilities for such change, I will provide an overview of the range of tasks involved in editing the journal. (At least these are the things I have done in ignorance of what a real editor does.)
- Interacting with potential authors about topics of possible articles
- Receiving articles from authors and determining their appropriateness for JCSE Online
- Distributing articles to referees and managing the process of getting reviews done in as timely a fashion as possible
- Suggesting revisions to authors–generally about clarity of communication, but occasionally suggesting more substantive revision
- Developing the editor's remarks that introduce the articles
- Providing the first cut of copy editing and submitting articles to ISTE for final copy editing and placement on the Web
- Providing notice of availability of the Web-ified article to authors, proofing them with authors, and communicating changes to ISTE's copy editor
- Seeking articles to reprint when submissions received are insufficient (and seeking permission and doing much the same as for original articles)
- Smiling a big smile when an issue is done (and then continuing to work on the next one)
- Doing the whole proofing process over again when the print compendium is produced
Frankly, the job is too much for me (or anyone, I think) to do in addition to a full-time job. That is particularly true, if we are to make JCSE Online into the journal described above. I believe we (myself, SIGCS leadership, ISTE editorial staff, and interested members) need to decide how best to proceed. It is possible, but not likely, that my institution would provide some released-time for me to serve as editor (or for us to attempt to partially purchase such time). We might also seek a new editor to operate under such a circumstance. Alternatively, we might seek a number of additional volunteers and edit the journal collectively. The work could be distributed in various ways. Certainly, we could have some people focussing on programming-related articles and others on what we have come to call IT articles. We might separate out middle school/junior high from high school. Alternatively or additionally, some persons might focus on particular content such as reviews or editorials. Yet another possibility is to find six people, each of whom is willing to do a single issue. It is likely that other possibilities exist for dividing up the work.
Many of the (small number of) people who completed the reader satisfaction survey volunteered to help out. Two people indicated a willing to do almost anything. I hope to involve all those people in the discussion and find some way to take advantage of their enthusiasm without burning them out.
Shortly after this is published I will notify the membership that we are beginning this discussion and indicate how they/you can become involved. I hope you can participate in the discussion and in small or large ways, in the production of JCSE Online.
Some obvious ways in which individuals can contribute are included below. You might consider whether you have the time to perform any of these tasks on either a regular or irregular basis. I list the tasks in an order based on the amount of time commitment that I think might be required.
- Serve as a co-editor, probably working on an article for each issue and the print compendium
- Serve as an associate editor for some particular category, perhaps working on half (three) of the issues and helping with the same articles in the print compendium
- Edit an issue of JCSE Online and assist in its incorporation in the JCSE Annual
- Write an article, review, or editorial
- Serve as a referee for some category of article (CS/programming, IT, middle school, high school, etc)
- Suggest authors, article content, articles for reprinting, etc.
I estimate that suggesting material might take as little as 30 minutes to formally identify the person or material and send an e-mail. Refereeing an article would likely take several hours to read and evaluate an article and identify any suggestions for revision. Writing an article might well take a day or a week's worth of time spread out over several weeks or months. Proofing would occur twice taking perhaps an hour or so each time. Editing an article takes me several hours plus time for communicating with the author, reviewers, and Davis at ISTE. Add in proofing and each article might well take a day or two. Thus, editing an issue with two or three articles might well take a week or more spread out over several months, I assume. Any editing task will have a crunch time when submission and proofing are due.
It is my hope that this year will be the last in which JCSE is published somewhat erratically. Making reasonable plans and identifying new or additional editorial volunteers can allow that to happen. It is my fervent hope that we accomplish this task this year.
Thank you. Have a nice day.
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