CIRI Blog: Online Teaching and Learning
Research Methods Course Focusing on Historical Research
Published: October 18, 2022 by Dr. Donald Westbrook
I thoroughly enjoy teaching the Historical Research section for INFO 285: Applied Research Methods at SJSU. Students come into this class from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and no prior academic training in history is required. As I like to say near the beginning of the course, the study of history involves much more than memorizing “facts and figures.” Historical research is interdisciplinary, multifaceted, and global in reach.
Research Methods Course Focusing on Program Evaluation
Published: May 17, 2022 by Jennifer Sweeney
I’m excited to share a reflection on my section of INFO 285, Applied Research Methods: Evaluating Programs and Services with you all here. I developed and started teaching this course at SJSU in 2018. Teaching this course has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of my work life so far.
Being a Research Assistant: A Personal Reflection
Published: April 19, 2022 by Ed Matlack
I graduated from the iSchool in the Fall of 2021 with a Master’s in Informatics, specializing in both CyberSecurity and Health Informatics. Before entering into the program, I had spent thirty years in the software industry as both an engineer an engineering director. I am currently doing independent research in the fields of communications and decision science at both the ICANN lab at SJSU and the DDML at Carnegie Mellon.
Award-winning Student Presentations at 2022 CPGE Online Student Conference
Published: March 22, 2022 by Dr. Lili Luo
The College of Professional and Global Education (CPGE) held its first Online Student Conference in February. The conference seeks to connect students across the college and promote student work. It aims to provide an opportunity for CPGE students to share their school or professional work, help students communicate and connect with each other, and ultimately foster a stronger sense of community among students.
Volunteering for CPGE Online Student Conference: A Personal Perspective
Published: February 22, 2022 by Rosa Rodriguez
[In this interview, iSchool alumna Rosa Rodriguez shares her experience and reflections as a lead volunteer working for the first Online Student Conference at the SJSU College of Professional and Global Education.]
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m a first-generation Mexican college graduate who came back to school after almost 20 years. One of the proudest moments was when my daughter and I both earned our Master’s degrees last year. Having graduated with a Master’s in Library and Information Science, I am pursuing a career in outreach librarianship.
Research Methods Course Focusing on Action Research
Published: November 22, 2021 by Dr. Renée Jefferson
I love teaching the action research special topics section of INFO 285: Applied Research Methods because it is engaging, empowering, and motivating. It is engaging to work with students as they discover how action research empowers them to examine policies and practices using sound methodologies, and how it motivates them to make evidence based decisions. In this course, we cover the fundamental principles, processes, value
Search Engine Design Perspectives
Published: October 22, 2021 by Dr. Virginia Tucker
Two years ago, I had the privilege of participating in the IEEE Award Ceremony in Palo Alto, California, where the DIALOG search system was recognized with an IEEE Milestone Award (2019a), joining an elite group of inventions ranging from ARPANET in 1969 to Marconi’s telegraph machine in 1895 (2019b). The award citation describes how DIALOG, in 1966, was the first interactive, online search system to allow “iterative
Zooming into Problem Solving
Published: September 23, 2021 by Melissa Foote
When I began the MLIS program in the 2019 Fall semester, I was completely new to the online learning environment, including the web conferencing software Zoom. While I initially missed in-person classes and chatting with classmates in hallways about that week’s unit or commiserating about midterms, I soon found myself making connections on Zoom with peers across the country while we collaborated on group projects. At this point, web conferencing was novel to me, and I had yet to experience the phenomenon of Zoom fatigue. Midway into the following semester the COVID-19 pandemic emerged
Interview with iSchool Director of Online Learning Debbie Faires
Published: April 15, 2021 by Debbie Faires
[iSchool Director of Online Learning Debbie Faires will be retiring after spring 2021. CIRI had the great pleasure to have interviewed Debbie about her research experience and reflections during all these years working at iSchool.]
Please tell us a bit about your role at iSchool.
As the director of online learning, I work with faculty and students to continually improve teaching and learning in the online environment. I help new faculty members learn principles of online course design and pedagogy.
Qualitative Research and Identity as a First Generation Student
Published: January 27, 2021 by Christina Advento
Brene Brown, a researcher noted for her work on shame and vulnerability, writes that she “fell in love with the richness and depth of qualitative research” and “couldn’t resist the idea of research as storycatching.” As a teacher of high school English and Psychology, and a current MLIS student, I also love research and the power of a story. I was fortunate enough to be chosen by Anthony Bernier to work on his research project, “Recasting First Generation Experience for LIS Success,” but I never expected to find research that spoke to me so wholeheartedly.
Digital Learning Leader
Published: November 12, 2020 by Dr. David Loertscher
The concept of a digital learning leader is a professional who brings to an organization a strong portfolio that demonstrates their contribution to teaching and learning. These leaders partner with a teacher, trainer, or instructor to fold in a wide variety of learning strategies in virtual and even face to face learning environments.
Consulting Internships for Bridging Coursework into Knowledge Management Work Environments
Published: September 1, 2020 by Dr. Virginia Tucker
Internships create extraordinarily valuable opportunities for students during their MLIS degree program experiences. For those preparing for careers in knowledge management (KM), an internship in a business environment that draws on abilities, both in design concepts and best practices, can be especially supportive of learning what is needed to onboard rapidly and successfully after graduation (Tucker, 2018). I had the distinct delight of being able to pull together a team of three student-interns as part of a
How We Made the Grade: The Journey from Lived Experience to Conference Presentation
Published: February 24, 2020 by Enid Ocegueda and Michelle Peralta
Introduction
Though online programs do their best to create educational environments comparable to brick-and-mortar classroom settings for its students, the virtual nature of distance learning can be challenging for students on many fronts, especially for those seeking professional networks, mentorship, and a cohort experience. Current research on the experiences of people of color in Library and Information Science (LIS) programs, especially as they relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, tended to focus on students in traditional, in-person programs. We were interested in researching if and how our experiences as people of color at SJSU iSchool differed from those in other online LIS programs.
Research Methods Course Focusing on Technology
Published: December 4, 2019 by Jason Kaltenbacher
Beginning this current (Fall) 2019 semester, I started teaching a technology management special topics section of INFO 285: Applied Research Methods. This course is designed to support students who are interested in developing a comprehensive research proposal that relates to a technology interest/issue. Like the other research methods courses, students learn the fundamentals of social research design and how to produce a viable and independent research proposal.
Searching for LIS Student Success at the SJSU iSchool
Published: June 20, 2019 by Dr. Anthony Bernier
“It’s not that people haven’t been inclusive. It’s just… a feeling I have in myself. You feel like an imposter. Like, especially when you go back into your family life.”
In Fall 2018, the American Library Association awarded Dr. Anthony Bernier a Diversity Research Grant (the committee’s top pick from among 30 proposals) to study the experience of the iSchool’s First Generation (FG) students. The project defined FG students as people coming from family backgrounds in which neither parent earned a professional degree.
Teaching Presence in Online Courses
Published: April 25, 2015 by Sue Alman
After being an online instructor for nearly 13 years with a wealth of anecdotal “evidence” to suggest strategies for engaging students in active learning, I was part of an investigative team that conducted a comparative research study using the Community of Inquiry (COI) survey. The results of the study provided data to suggest that teaching presence–one of the elements in the COI–has a positive effect on learning outcomes and student satisfaction in online courses.