edited by JOHN W. MOORE
Evolution of the Computer Series John W. Moore, Computer Series Editor Since its inception nearly a decade ago the Computer Series has undergone constant evolution. This year two changes are being made that will affect it further. First, the Journal has begun a new feature, called the Computer Bulletin Board, edited by Russel Batt of Kenyon College; the first column appeared in the April issue. Second, in collaboration with Project SERAPHIM the Journal has instituted Journal of Chemical Education: Software as a means of publishing computer programs for chemistry instruction. As aconsequence there will he fewer "Bits and Pieces" columns, but the two new ventures are so exciting that we do not expect to regret the difference. The Computer Bulletln Board The Computer Bulletin Board features new applications of hardware and commercial software that improve chemistry teaching. For example, i t includes descriptions of user-constructed or commercial hardware applied to automated data collection or instrument control. It will also publish innovative applications of spreadsheets, statistical packages, or other commerical software. In the past many such applications have appeared in the "Bits and Pieces" section of the Computer Series. Editor Batt has decided that the guidelines for "Bits and Pieces" published in the July 1986issue will apply to submissions to his feature, hut that submissions to the Computer Bulletin Board should go directly to the Journal Editor in Austin, Texas. This will avoid delays caused by the Computer Series Editor's having to forward them. As a consequence of this change we estimate that the number of "Bits and Pieces" articles will decrease by roughly onehalf. Journal of Chemical Educatlon: Soflware JCE: Software isn't about software, it is software. I t will make software readily available to its subscribers and enhance the academic credentials of authors by publishing the software itself as an extension of the Journal. Each program submitted will be sent to several peer reviewers, evaluated by editors, revised and improved if selected for publication, and published on a floppy disk. The author's written documentation will undergo a similar review to ensure that it indicates clearly the educational value of the program, explains where the program fits into the curriculum, and suggests how the program can best be used in the classroom. In addition to the overall JCE: Software Editor, each issue will have its own Issue Editor who will select and edit related programs. The Issue Editor will write documentation that ties the whole issue together as a traching package. Cunsiderahle value will he added to each issue bv the rcvirw1revi4ion process and by the Issue Editor's ability to amalgamate programs from several authors into a pedagogically consistent whole.
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JCE: Software was initiated under a grant from the Dreyfus Foundation that has allowed us to carry out the preliminary work needed to set up an electronic puhlishing system for software. Authors of several of the programs included in the first few issues have been supported by NSF Science and Engineering Education through Project SERAPHIM. Nonetheless, JCE: Software has been designed to become self-sustaining, and we expect it to do so very quickly. Setting Standards. JCE: Software involves an effort to set new standards for software described in the Journal. For the past few years one requirement for publication of a brief description of a computer program in "Bits and Pieces" has been that the program itself be submitted to and pass peer review. If both the program and written description were judged to be innovative and of high quality, then the brief description was published in the Computer Series and the program was made available either directly from its author or through Project SERAPHIM. However, standards evolve rapidly in the computer field. Programs that warranted publication of "Bits and Pieces" articles several years ago will not necessarily survive the process that we envision for future submissions to JCE: Software: peer-review; edit-and-upgrade; re-review; re-edit; publish only the best. Fewer programs will survive (we estimate fewer than half as many as were in "Bits and Pieces" during the past year), but we expect that the quality will be much higher and the prestige associated with publication likewise. Our aim is that JCE: Software-like any print journal--consist of peer-reviewed, carefully edited, quality puhlications that "count" the same as other publications on a faculty member's Vita. We expect authors to cite software that they used in preparing their programs and to refer to related programs that would be of interest to users of their work. In turn we expect that in other journals there will be numerous citations of JCE: Software programs. Our aim, like that of any journal, is dissemination of information. In this case the information is pedagogy, content, and programming technique, all embodied in the programs and documentation that authors submit and that editors round into a consistent whole. How Will I t Work? Initially we will puhlish JCE: Software in two series. Series A will be for Apple I1 computers and Series B for MS-DOS (IBM compatible) computers. (There will probably be a Series C for Macintosh computers eventually.) Within each series there will he, initially, two issues per annual volume, and each series will be available by subscription independently of the other. Volumes IA and IB are currently being sold on a singleissue basis so that potential subscribers can examine individual disks, but in 1989 subscriptions will become available. As an example of what one issue will he like, consider
Volume IA, Number 1, Edited by Tamar Y. Susskind. Abstracts and a description of this first issue were published in the May issue (page 388) and will be sold until August 5 at a special. introductow, reduced cost of $20 ($iiforeign). ~iconsistsof an ~ ~I1 disk~ withi software e on both sides, about 75 pages of printed material, and a three-ring binder with a pocket for the disk. (Once subscriptions begin subscribers will receive a binder for a whole volume^ but purchasers ofsinglr issues will hove ro order them separately.) The individual who purchases an issue or a ~ u b s m i ~ t i o nentitled is tomake upto five copies of the disk and to make as many copies as needed of s~ecifiedDarts of the written documentation (those that will need'to be handed out to students, forexample). Institutional subscriptions will cost approximately twice as much as individual ones and will entitle a department, school, or library to make UP to 25 copies of the disk. Users who plan t o load the software onto a network of computers will be required to purchase the institutional version. Both the software and written materials will be copyrighted by the Journal of Chemical Education. Submission Guidelines. Submissions to JCE: Software are welcome a t any time. Authors should send software and documentation to John Moore, Editor, JCE: Software, Department of Chemistry, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. Four copies are required, both of disks and of printed material. Disks should be carefully labeled with: the author's name, address, and phone number; the title of the program; the date; and the hardware and operating system required. For compiled programs both source code and compiled code must be submitted. Written documentationshould besupplied on disk as an ASCII file as well as on paper. A complete set of "Guidelines for Authors" will appear in each issue of Volume I of JCE: Software; they may also be obtained by writing to the editor a t the address above. Authors are
strongly encouraged to follow good programming style and to use programming aids such as EnBASIC from COMPress or the Programmer's Tools that are supplied by SERAPHIM. Authors should also use the regular Journal of Chemical Education Notice to Authors (December 1987, page 1101) in preparing their written materials. Summary
The changes we anticipate in the Computer Series over the next six months are: (1) roughly half the material currently included in "Bits and Pieces" articles will be transferred to the Computer Bulletin Board feature; (2) "Bits and Pieces" articles that merely announce the availability of new computer programs will almost never be published, since dissemination of innovative software will now he served by JCE: Software; (3) consequently there will be far fewer "Bits and Pieces" articles in 1989; (4) there will be little or no change in the criteria governing full-length articles submitted to the Computer Series-articles will continue to be sought and published that address general issues such as an overall approach to the use of computer-based materials, descriptions of general classes of software or hardware, philosophy and pedagogy rather than specific programs or applications, or design of new courses or laboratories based on the availability of computers. As usual your comments regarding any of the foregoing changes are welcome at any time. Previous modifications of the Computer Series have been based on input from readers, and that is one thing I do not expect to change. Editing the 90 Computer Series articles that preceded this one has been challenging and exciting, but this past has been merely prelude to the stimulating future we are working on now.
Volume 65 Number 6 June 1988
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