Beyond the Walls of the Classroom: Introduction to the IJELL Special Series of Chais Conference 2017, BestPapers

This preface presents the papers included in the ninth issue of the Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL) special series of selected Chais Conference best papers. The Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies: Learning in the Technological Era, is organized by the Research Center for Innovation in Learning Technologies, The Open University of Israel. The 12th Chais Conference was held at The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel, on February 14-15, 2017. Each year, selected papers of the Chais conference are expanded and published in IJELL. A qualitative conceptual analysis of the themes and insights of the papers included in the ninth selection of IJELL special series of selected Chais Conference best papers. The presentation of the papers of this selection emphasizes their novelty, as well as their main implications, describes current research issues, and chronicles the main themes within the discourse of learning technologies research, as reflected at the Chais 2017 conference.