THE Journal: Professional Development for Technology Educators

For this reflection I chose to look at the In Print section of T.H.E. Journal online. This section allows reader to see a digital version of the print journal. The articles are listed in the order in which they appear in the print version. The top article is the cover story. Following that are featured articles, THE department articles, and other articles from the print journal. On the main In Print page you can see the title of the articles, a picture, the author, and a brief summary. By clicking on the title, you are linked to the full text of the article. At the bottom of the full text they have listed the issue in which this article was printed. I could see this being useful if you were linked to the article without knowing where it came from. These articles are often posted on blogs, social networking sites, and bibliographies. If this is the case, you could link to the T.H.E. Journal website to see the full issue, or find other related articles. There is a box at the bottom each article in which to make comments.

If you prefer the format of the print version, but do not want a physical copy, you can view the T.H.E. Journal Digital Edition. This digital edition is more than text on the screen. It has a ton of incredible features including a zoom tool for those who might have vision problems. As you flip through the pages of the digital journal, you have the option to click certain places to be linked to other places. From the contents page, you can click on each article title and be taken to that article in the digital edition. Also, you can click on the advertisement pages and be linked to that company’s website. This is a really nice feature, but it also means there are giant advertisements every couple of pages. Along the side of the journal, there is a tool bar that gives you the option to bookmark, print, email, take notes, and make comments. This is a great way to share parts of the journal without forcing another person to search through the entire journal. Archived digital issues can be viewed as well. The only issue I had was that at times there was a delay when flipping to other pages.

When I first investigated this site at the start of the semester, I did not really look at the In Print section. I figured it was only there to get people to pay for the print version of the journal. Turns out I was wrong on many levels. For starters, the print version of T.H.E. Journal is free for educators or anyone willing to stretch the truth and pretend to be an educator. It seems that the online journal makes enough money through advertising that they can offer the print journal for free. You can also sign up to receive an email version if you do not want the paper copy. I see this as a major advantage for teachers and librarians who otherwise would not spend the money for a subscription. If you do not want a full subscription, you can sign up to receive an email newsletter that highlights articles and features of the site.