Two of the McKay School’s Instructional Psychology & Technology (IP&T) faculty and two former students are authors of articles published in the April 2012 issue of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL).  IRRODL currently has 5,580 subscribers. “With so many subscribers, it makes it the most widely distributed peer-reviewed journal in this discipline,” said Terry Anderson, editor of the publication.

McKay School faculty members Charles Graham and David Wiley and alumni John Hilton and Abby Hawkins were excited to have their articles published in a prominent journal.  “IRRODL is the top academic journal outlet for research in open education, so we’re very excited to have our work appear there,” Wiley said.

Wiley and Hilton worked together to research open education resources (OER), believing that OER can help make educational resources cheaper and better.  Hilton said that simply being aware of the existence of OER is important.  He explained, “Knowing about these resources allows you to tap into what others are doing and hopefully benefit from their ideas.”

Graham and Hawkins’s research published in the issue was focused on teachers’ perceptions of their online teaching role. They found that as the idea of virtual schooling grows, educators showed a disconnection from their students, peers, and profession.

The April issue of IRRODL showcases some important work taking place in the Department of Educational Psychology and Technology. Wiley said, “If people pay attention to the institutional affiliations listed on the article, they will begin to understand that the McKay School is standing squarely at the front of a lot of the exciting work.”  Hilton said the success represented by BYU contributing to respected journals like IRRODL comes from the opportunities the McKay School provides.

September 17, 2012