Technology Enhanced Learning, Research Impact and Open Scholarship

This guest editorial explores the potential impact of alternative metrics and social research networks to enhance Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) research and practice, particularly in the realm of open scholarship. Conventional measures of research impact are based upon a publications’ impact factor. Article or author-level metrics can provide a better view of the contribution to the field of research of a specific research project. However, metrics are based upon citation counts that can take years to accumulate.  This can result in a significant lag between the original research, communicating research outcomes to the wider research community, and research impact. TEL researchers are in a unique position to spearhead the growing movement towards open social scholarship and alternative metrics. Alternative metrics provide a powerful addition to conventional measures of research impact, facilitating a dynamic conversation around TEL research. Social media conversations provide the foundation for a collaborative open Scholarship of Technology Enhanced Learning as both an enhancement and alternative to conventional modes of research impact measurement. This guest editorial outlines key tools that are currently used to measure impact. We argue that a culture of open scholarship enhanced via social media and measured via alternative metrics creates an effective feedback loop between research and practice.