Welcome to the future: ijCSCL volume 2

Abstract

An advance in the field of CSCLThe start of a second year of ijCSCL marks a significant step forward in the history of theCSCL research field. The journal is not just a venue for academic papers, but a medium ofdiscourse about new directions and new understandings within an active communityexhibiting diverse perspectives.The journal has not merely persisted for a full year/volume; it has been adopted by theCSCL community as an important voice. Almost a hundred papers have been submitted tothe journal from around the world, covering all aspects of CSCL theory, methodology,technology and practice. A total of two hundred researchers have volunteered to bereviewers, including an illustrious Editorial Board of 42 people. Many of the submittedpapers expand on exceptional presentations from CSCL conferences, workshops andresearch labs. The paper that won the “European CSCL Award for Excellence in the Fieldof CSCL Research” at January’s CSCL SIG rendezvous in the Swiss Alps (Arnseth &Ludvigsen, 2006) was published in ijCSCL.Like a meeting or a conference, a journal can provide a place to communicate what isgoing on in a community. Meetings and conferences, however, permit certain kinds ofinformality and direct interaction with the audience. So it is natural to concentrate onmeetings and conferences when a field like CSCL is starting to develop. When a journalbecomes part of the community’s communications, more formal ways of presentingassumptions, theories and outcomes start to take prominence. Journal articles reflect moremature research efforts, more intense peer review and more rigorous editing thanconference papers.During the first year of ijCSCL, a highly engaged Editorial Board and additionalreviewers from the field did an exceptional job of carefully reading the submitted papers