A note from the editors: Welcome to the first issue of the Journal of Learning Design and Leadership (JLDL). The JLDL is an open access, informal peer-reviewed, multimodal publication seeking to publish thoughtful, well-researched pre-print or post-print literature reviews that engage contemporary education innovations, issues, and opportunities. We are particularly interested in sharing works that engage topics of learning design, educational technology, globalization, and learner diversity, as well as the intersections, manifestations, and innovations of these areas. The goal of the JLDL is to provide practical opportunities for graduate students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and emerging scholars to share their review of the literature and research in the field of education and participate in a rigorous submission and review process. For the first issue of the JLDL, we are thrilled to publish scholarly works that cover a wide range of topics in the area of education and professional training. This inaugural issue is divided in two sections: Foundational Scholarly Works and Advanced Scholarly Works. The Foundational Scholarly Works section features two works that challenge long-held beliefs about educational practices by interrogating literature on constructivism and its impact on contemporary education as well as assessment that enables learning. The Advanced Scholarly Works section explores the emerging trends in technology-enabled learning by tracing the evolution of reading from print-based to online texts and its impact on literacy. The last two articles in this section will focus on innovative practices in professional training from effective online professional development for educators to clinical supervision in health professions. We hope that you find the content of this first issue insightful and thought-provoking. Learning design is still a relatively young research area with great opportunities for researchers and practitioners to collaborate. To support this effort, we hope the JLDL will provide a great forum for contributors to share their innovative ideas in the field of education, training, and learning design. This first issue of the JLDL has been made possible thanks to the collaborative effort involving the dedicated work of volunteer doctoral students and alumni, the Learning Design and Leadership program, and the University of Illinois Library. We would also like to thank the authors and peer reviewers who contributed to this inaugural issue. Sincerely, Aurore Bargat & Natalia Barley Co-Editors in Chief Journal of Learning Design and Leadership