Introduction to the IJELLO Special Series of Chais Conference 2009 Best Papers.

This Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects (IJELLO) inaugural issue of special series is based on selected best papers presented in the Fourth Chais Conference on Instructional Technologies Research 2009: Learning in the Technological Era. The Chais conference 2009 was held at The Open University of Israel campus, Raanana, Israel, on February 18, 2009, and was organized by the Chais Research Center for the Integration of Technology in Education. This preface presents the Chais research center's mission and activities, describes the Chais Conference's objectives and themes, explains its synergies with IJELLO and the Informing Science Institute, and introduces the papers included in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]