Tag Archives: OJS

Evolution of Journalism

 

OJS

Open Journal System

Journaling has evolved over time. It use to be that one would have a diary of some sort, and in the diary, would write there thoughts, poems, streams of consciousness, or whatever else they felt like. Now as we move forwards in a time where technology has advanced and changed, journaling can be done online through websites such as the Open Journal System.

The Open Journal System website, close to something of the blog site types, allows people of different backgrounds to publicly publish their work. In a sense it is much like a newspaper, but completely online.

Not only is it a place to publish work, and share work, and ultimately gives the experience of being an author, it also gives someone a chance to take on the role of an editor, or a peer reviewer.

While is great for individuals and their own use, the OJS I feel can also give a leg up to aspiring journalists and columnists. The OJS archives all work that the author chooses to publish, and therefore it’s easy for them, as well as others visiting their page, to pull things up when the need arises. It gives a systematic way to track publications, but also it can also be used as a way to see how the author has progressed and grown in their writing.

Even though it is like a blog, in the sense that anyone can use it for publishing, it goes one step further. The OJS is more complex, and doesn’t seem so juvenile.

I think that this journaling system is a great idea, especially when used for a project that includes many different people with many different ideas and writing skills. As mentioned earlier, it gives the opportunity to be an author, but it also gives the opportunity to experience all the different roles that are real-world jobs in a newspaper-publishing house. Thus far, it is one of the best journaling websites for people who wish to have the freedom to publish whatever it is they want, to get their work out there and accessible.

 

Word Count:  352

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New School Year, New Projects

Public Knowledge Project

Public Knowledge Project

This year students in the CultureNet English 100 seminar will be the first group of Capilano students to produce a peer-reviewed eletronic journal.   We will be using OJS (Open Journal System) – an open-source journal management and publication tool produced by the Public Knowledge Project.

Over the course of the Fall and Spring terms, students write editorials, reviews, and articles to populate the journal.   They will take on the role of section editors, reviewers, and writers.  We will spend the Fall term determining possible editorial directions for the sections as we work through our course readings, head off on field trips, and host various guest speakers.

The agony and the ecstasy of this endeavor will be reported on throughout the process.   The next OJS + CAP post will feature write ups on similar student-driven projects elsewhere in Canada as well as links to various Canadian and international journals using the OJS platform.

And with that, off to our first classroom meeting and a screening of STEAL THIS FILM II

Aurelea – CNET + ENGLISH Instructor

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Public Knowledge Project

My June adventures in the Open Journal System (OJS) workshop at the Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI) led to further adventures at the recent Public Knowledge Project’s 2009 conference here in Vancouver at SFU Harbour Centre.

Until this summer, I was entirely unfamiliar with provocative and exciting work being done by the PKP team.  As ardent advocates of open source open access publishing + conference organization tools, the PKP crew is doing important work.  Work that is inviting me to rethink my own working relationships with fellow researchers/writers and colleagues, publishers, students, and the public.

What is OJS?

OJS is an open source journal management and publishing system developed by the Public Knowledge Project through its federally funded efforts to expand and improve access to research.  The details:

  1. OJS is installed locally and locally controlled.
  2. Editors configure requirements, sections, review process, etc.
  3. Online submission and management of all content.
  4. Subscription module with delayed open access options.
  5. Comprehensive indexing of content part of global system.
  6. Reading Tools for content, based on field and editors’ choice.
  7. Email notification and commenting ability for readers.
  8. Complete context-sensitive online Help support.

OJS assists with every stage of the refereed publishing process, from submissions through to online publication and indexing. It is made freely available to journals worldwide for the purpose of making open access publishing a viable option for more journals, as open access can increase a journal’s readership as well as its contribution to the public good on a global scale.

PKP Logo

What is the PKP?

Launched by John Wilinsky in 1998, the Public Knowledge Project is dedicated to improving the scholarly and public quality of research. It operates through a partnership among the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia, the Simon Fraser University Library, the School of Education at Stanford University, and the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing at Simon Fraser University. The partnership brings together faculty members, librarians, and graduate students dedicated to exploring whether and how new technologies can be used to improve the professional and public value of scholarly research. Its research program is investigating the social, economic, and technical issues entailed in the use of online infrastructure and knowledge management strategies to improve both the scholarly quality and public accessibility and coherence of this body of knowledge in a sustainable and globally accessible form. It continues to be an active player in the open access movement, as it provides the leading open source software for journal and conference management and publishing.

The research and software development of the Public Knowledge Project speaks to the urgent need for a greater understanding of these new technologies’ potential contribution to knowledge’s public sphere, even as scholarly organizations and publishers increasingly turn to the web. While its work is focused on improving the scholarly quality of publishing processes, it also seeks to expand the realm of public education by improving social science’s contribution to public knowledge, in the belief that such a contribution is critical to academic freedom, the public use of reason, and deliberative forms of democracy.

What Next at CultureNet and Capilano?

This is what we as faculty and students get to chew on when we reconvene in September.  Launch an OJS journal? Signal our own evolving commitment to sharing ideas and resources? Expand CultureNet’s presence on the Open CourseWare initiative? Collaborate with other programs at Capilano and beyond? Before we get to September however I wil be attending the OpenEducation conference at UBC in August.  My hunch: more ideas and more provocation will be on deck at OpenEd to bring into the mix while we move forward as a program.

Aurelea Mahood, CultureNet + English | Capilano University

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