Write for Us

The Connected Learning Alliance (CLA) is a network of educators, researchers, and technology makers who believe that all young people deserve engaging learning and a vibrant future. With nearly 1,000 blog posts spanning over a decade, the CLA blog is a popular resource that includes posts on connected learning, civic engagement, digital citizenship, digital learning, educational technology, equity, education research, and more.

The CLA was launched by the Digital Media and Learning Research Hub of the University of California Humanities Research Institute with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning initiative. The Connected Learning Lab at UC Irvine is the CLA’s current steward.

If you think you’ve got an idea for a post, we’d love to hear from you. Please send us a brief bio and pitch your idea via the form below before sending us your work. If we think it sounds like a good fit for the blog, we’ll give you the go-ahead to write the piece and submit.

Before pitching an idea, please read some of the posts on the Connected Learning Alliance blog to familiarize yourself more broadly with the content we publish & our formatting norms.

What We Publish

The CLA blog publishes posts in a variety of formats, including posts about new or upcoming reports, resources, books, and journal publications, as well as timely opinion pieces from field experts. Some of our more popular topics include digital citizenship, such as this article: “The Trouble with ‘Screen Time Rules,’” and educational technology, such as this article: “Three Myths About Educational Technology and the Points of Light Beyond.”

We welcome posts from all submitters without restrictions. We do not accept sponsored posts.

Style & Formatting Guidelines

If your pitch is approved, you can get to work on your post. When you’re ready to submit, please make sure your piece adheres to the following guidelines:

  • Please send your piece as a Google doc. Check that you’ve given us permission/access.
  • Please include a headline/title for your piece.
  • Typical posts range from 400-1,000 words. We rarely accept pitches for submissions over 1,500 words.
  • Please use a common, readable font such as Arial.
  • Include any relevant links directly in the Google doc and check that they are working properly before submitting.

Submission Tips

  • Give us something unique and relevant. Your content should not have been published elsewhere or be slated for upcoming publication. Check our blog archives to see which topics don’t have a lot of discussion yet and to get a sense of our readers’ interests.
  • Authority matters. Readers look to authors who have expertise in their field.
  • Keep your post focused, engaging, and to the point, while remaining interesting and compelling to our readers. Why does your topic matter? Why should readers be invested in what you have to say about it?
  • Write for a general readership, not for fellow specialists and experts in your field. In other words, keep away from technical insider jargon and break down your topic so a reader without insider knowledge can understand it.
  • As the writer, you are responsible for fact-checking and verifying your content, as well as adhering to ethical standards with regard to copyright and plagiarism (don’t do it!)

When You’re Ready to Submit:

When you submit, please include the following (space provided for each in the form below):

  • A brief bio, including any experience you have writing about the topics you chose, why you want to write for the CLA, and anything else you think we should know about you.
  • Link to where we can view samples of your writing
  • A relevant high-resolution CC-licensed image and image credit line to go with your post

Response Expectations

  • If we’re interested in your pitch, we will typically respond within 1-2 weeks. Because of the high volume of submissions we receive, we regret that we are unable to respond to every pitch that we decide isn’t the right fit.
  • For approved pitches, we typically will respond to a submitted post (with any comments/requests for revision) within 1-2 weeks. Please wait to inquire as to the status of your submitted post until at least 3 weeks after you’ve sent us the piece.

Fill out the form below to contact us about writing opportunities.

  • Please list the topic(s) you would like to write about.
  • Please provide some information about yourself, to include: Any experience you have writing about the topics you chose above; Why you want to write for the CLA; and anything else you think we should know about you
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.