IJEL Special Issue: Emerging AI Technologies and Digital Learning in PreK-12 and Higher Ed

 Call for Special Issue to be Published in May 2027

 

Emerging AI Technologies, Digital Learning in PreK-12 and Higher Education: Pedagogical and Empirical Evidence 

This issue is open to educators from around the world, and participants are invited to disseminate their research to stimulate debate, reflection, and the exchange of ideas. 

We invite researchers, academics, educators, instructional designers, and students to share their research on emerging AI technologies and how educators across PreK-12 and higher education contexts experience, apply, and learn from emerging AI-assisted tools in both the classroom and digital learning platforms. 

Submissions should foreground a humanistic perspective that takes into account human factors such as mentorship, social and emotional support, ethical reasoning, and cultural responsiveness. 

The guest editors of the Emerging AI Technologies special edition have placed an emphasis and interest on the following areas: 

  • Research involving the innovative use of AI technologies by teachers and teacher educators in PreK-12 and higher education contexts. 
  • Research activities that describe collaborative initiatives demonstrating how AI can enhance human pedagogical practice and foster meaningful learning and student engagement. 

Submitted papers may be conceptual or empirical, but all manuscripts should include a well-developed implications section that highlights the significance of the findings for teacher education practice and future research directions. 

Empirical papers should present the findings of research studies and include a clear, detailed description of the research methods used. Authors should provide sufficient information about data collection and analysis procedures, supported by scholarly citations that justify their methodological choices. Studies using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods are all welcome. 

Conceptual papers should offer a compelling, theory-driven contribution that advances the field in innovative ways. These contributions may take the form of design guidelines, conceptual frameworks, or novel theoretical insights. 

For initial abstract submission (250-300 words), authors should include: the research problem or conceptual focus; the theoretical or pedagogical framework, (3) for empirical work, the research methods and participant context (PreK-12 or higher education); for conceptual work, the nature of the theoretical contribution; and key findings or arguments with implications for practice and research. Include 3-5 keywords. 

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • Immersive AI technologies in practice 
  • Pedagogical applications of mixed, extended, or immersive reality (XR) 
  • Innovative applications of emerging technologies for teaching and learning 
  • Microlearning design and its role in sustaining engagement in digital platforms 
  • Multimodal AI applications in immersive learning environments 
  • Student engagement and learning in digital learning platforms 
  • Use of data for early intervention and feedback 
  • Collaborative e-learning communities and learning 
  • Human factors and mentorship in e-learning environments 
  • Human and AI collaboration through tutoring systems 
  • Fairness and human-centered design in e-learning 
  • AI integration and assessment to enhance learning 
  • Multimodal applications of AI tools in e-learning 
  • In-service and pre-service teachers’ use and application of AI 
  • Development of AI literacy, ethical reasoning, and cultural responsiveness 
  • Global and comparative perspectives on AI applications 

Deadlines

  • Deadline for Abstract Submission: July 1, 2026 
  • Abstracts Under Review: July 2- August 15, 2026 
  • Guest Editors Make Decisions: August 15, 2026 
  • Author Feedback/Notification Sent: by August 15, 2026 
  • Deadline for Full Manuscript Submission: November 30, 2026 
  • Manuscripts Under Peer Review: November 30- December 31, 2026 
  • Author Revisions Due: January 31, 2027 
  • Final Editorial Decisions: February 15, 2027 
  • Authors review proofs: February 16- March 28, 2027 
  • Final Preparations for Publication: April 15- May 15, 2027 

Guest Editors & Affiliations 

Moe Debbagh Greene, Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University 

Michael Broda, Associate Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University 

Mary Strawderman, Research Development Administrator, Virginia Commonwealth Chi-Ning Chang, Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University 

Chin-Chih Chen, Associate Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University 

Submission Guidelines 

Papers will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project. 

If you have any questions about this special issue, please feel free to contact the guest editors directly to ask any questions: 

Moe Debbagh Greene, [email protected] 

Michael Broda, [email protected] 

Chi-Ning Chang, [email protected] 

Mary Strawderman, [email protected] 

Chin-Chih Chen, [email protected]