APPENDIX E: EVALUATION OF INF 180J INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION STUDIES 180J Student Comments Fall 2004, 1/28/05

1. Difficult to care about a 1 hr CR/NC course. 2. Don’t continue discussion after faculty panel leaves. Maybe keep panel longer. 3. Class too large. 4. Increase # of professors who participate in panels. 5. Face-to-face sessions were too long. 6. Panel format idea way to conduct class. 7. Better than earlier 180J. 8. Too much reading for 1 hr credit course. 9. Possibly divide the f2f topics into the 3 areas of specialization. 10. Readings excessive. Recommend more concise readings with more depth. 11. May be of value to students right out of college with no idea what they were

doing with the program. Was a tremendous waste of my time. 12. Perhaps topics were too broad.

Recommendations for Future of INF 180J, March 8, 2004 Overview of Curriculum Oversight Committee Discussion At the final 2003 GSC meeting the Curriculum Oversight Committee brought a proposal to reduce the number of core courses in the curriculum. Following an extensive discussion at the December 9, 2003 GSC meeting, Hallmark moved for approval of recommendation to remove 180J and 380K from the core; Dillon seconded. Motion carried with 11 ayes and 5 nays. Meeting weekly since January 2004, the Curriculum Oversight Committee has continued to discuss the role of 180J in the iSchool curriculum. Discussion topics have attempted to: • Address concerns about 180J identified in the Fall 2003 online survey of iSchool

students; • Consider that GSC removed from 180J from the core, despite 66.3% (57) of the

survey respondents indicating that some kind of introductory course should be part of the curriculum;

• Recognize that five GSC members voted to keep180J in the core; • Acknowledge that the trend of a younger, less experienced student population

might benefit from an introduction to the field; • Explore alternative instructional and interactive formats for the course.

The following recommendations emerged from committee discussions, and are presented for discussion, and approval of the GSC.

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1. Reinstate INF 180J as a core course required of all iSchool Masters level

students. 2. Require that students take the course for credit (CR/NCR), but not for a letter

grade. 3. Offer the course only in the Fall and Spring semesters. 4. Make the following format changes to the class.

a. Convene all students 5 times throughout the semester. b. Develop on Blackboard a substantive online discussion component to the

class. c. Employ PhD students to shape and facilitate online discussions. d. Identify five of the hot topics of the field through faculty discussion, online

student and alumni surveys to serve as the focus of in-class panel discussions.

e. Plan five separate panels comprised of faculty and practitioners to participate in a moderated discussion during each of the face-to-face classes.

Fall 2005 180J Evaluation Comments

1. Creating questions (using Blackboard) w/ a large group is problematic 2. Make it so that everyone has to participate in the online discussions! 3. Enjoyed the debate nature of the panelist forums and feel that I have learned a

lot about the iSchool and the profession. The few technical problems were quickly overcome.

4. Course is a little unstructured. Perhaps it would have been better to dedicate only half the class to asking questions to the panelists and spending the rest on the goals of the class.

5. Having both Bb and the course website is a bit cumbersome. Perhaps one central location is better? I didn’t really see the benefit of having groups except limiting the # of questions posed. By the time group members completed the readings, there was not much time for discussion. I was going good to post 2 comments per week and some in my group posted 0 some weeks. I’d almost rather just post questions to the general forum and those that wish to discuss can.

6. Class is excellent. A great intro to the field & school. Didn’t like the class time or having to post questions on a Sunday, those aren’t a big deal.

7. Course should include going over more basic info on libraries before getting into theory.

8. I liked the panel discussion format with professors. We needed more time to discuss in person and maybe use a different technology than blackboard. What about blogging?

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9. Readings in the final 2 modules were uninteresting and did not inspire discussion.

10. Waste of my time. We sat for 2 hours and heard people dodge questions. I’m glad it’s over and I can do something more productive with my time.

11. Very much appreciate all the panelists’ comments! Great way to be introduced to iSchool, its faculty, and their research.

12. Reading all of that material online is an absolute NIGHTMARE. Have the people who run this course tried to read the articles – particularly with the mindset of someone new to the field trying to decipher the lingo from bad photocopies faxed and displayed on a screen. It made the reading a chore each week. How about putting paper copies of all non-web materials on reserve in the iSchool lab?

13. Frustrated by the lack of clear instructions and directions from the outset. There were too many places we had to go for instructions, no one unified syllabus that laid out everything. Non one understood what was expected for the first class. The professor had constant problems with e-reserves that seemed to indicate disorganization. There was too much reading for a 1 credit class. Rarely did the class discussions touch on my questions nor could I make my questions relevant to the direction each class took.

14. Initial communications via email/bb were unfamiliar and not achieved to level of my comfort at the onset of the class. Perhaps more effort to ensure students knowledge about expectations is helpful.

15. Readings were interesting; the video made a welcome change; the question forums were slightly dysfunctional.

16. I thought the readings were excessive for a 1 hr credit course. 17. Course iForum attendance requirement was very problematic for those of us

with full-time jobs. The value of these forums did not see to make up the effort to get here.

18. I personally have no interest in library science, and found most topics distracting and unrelated to my personal, professional, and academic interests.

19. Better coordination of the readings. Either all on Blackboard or all on the website but not scattered between both. More readings on the basics of each field for those of us who don’t now what we want to be when we grow up.

20. I hated the savolenein (Finland) article – utter doo-doo (sloppy science, blanket assumptions, excessively long. I actually liked the Web cast. Thank you.

Conducted Summer 2006 N=49 1. Have you taken INF 180J or LIS 180J? Response Percent Response Total Yes 100% 49 No 0% 0

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Total Respondents: 49 (skipped this question): 0 2. Do you think the MSIS core curriculum should include an introductory course on

information studies? Response Percent Response Total Yes 87.5% 42 No 12.5% 6 Total Respondents: 48 (skipped this question): 1 3. Please explain your reasons for the answer to question #1. Total Respondents: 43 (skipped this question): 6 (1) While I cannot say that I learned a whole lot about any one aspect of the

substance of information science in the program, I appreciated having a general introduction to the literature in the field and having a forum to freely ask for clarification about terms and expressions unique to the field.

(2) I believe that libraries are in state of transition that is expressed in simple terms as books vs. digital resources. There will always be some students who are aware of this change, but most new applicants want to know what this is all about.

(3) I think the introductory aspect is ok, particularly if it is geared toward the 'un-named' career tracks available in the department.

(4) I think having a basic introductory course that everyone takes is a good idea. However, if the introductory course on information studies is the one currently offered, then I do not think it is worth including.

(5) It is good as an introductory course. (6) It was excellent to learn about the experts and issues that face them in all the

areas of information studies. (7) I have, in fact, taken INF 180J. That is why I answered yes to question #1. (8) It seems like a good way to start out a course of study. (9) It was required. Also provided an overview of the topic areas covered by the

program. (10) I answered "yes" because I took 180J in Spring 2006. ;-) To explain my answer

to number 2, I think an overview of the facets of the profession would be valuable. It's current format, is not so useful.

(11) Introductory seminars to the discipline are important to gain the vantage required to make informed choices about a course of study.

(12) You mean, question #2? As the course presently exists, I don't think it should be continued. We hardly learned anything, since so many of the same issues come up in other courses, which are all much more detailed. I wouldn't mind

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doing a three hour course. Doing a one hour course that meets only five times gives me the feeling that it is more of an added surcharge to my education than anything else.

(13) Yes. Very few of the MSIS students have a background in the field of information studies, so I think an introductory course is an excellent opportunity to provide us with a good overview of the field. That said, 180J did not serve that purpose. It seemed more like an introduction to Blackboard and a chance to experience the lecture styles of different faculty members than a course designed to educate us about info studies. It made me feel like I was jumping through hoops that were neither challenging nor interesting.

(14) It's a good "unifier." We're all coming from different places and approaching this field in different ways. It's nice to see how it all fits together.

(15) 180 J was required (16) WE need to be aware of the prospects as future information specialists. (17) I think it is important to be exposed to the field as a whole, rather than just

your own area of interest. Some students might not get that without 180J. Also, it helps students become familiar with influential ideas in the field.

(18) While there was value in being introduced to different faculty members and different options available at the iSchool, the class merely skimmed the surface. I took 180j in the fall and the class was HUGE! There was little opportunity for in-depth discussion or interaction with fellow students. I think a basic core class like Understanding and Serving Users would be a candidate to absorb some of the 180j content.

(19) The reason I said "yes" was because I have in fact, taken INF 180J. (20) I took this course because it was required, but I do believe an introductory

course is necessary. There are many facets to this field and often people (and even entering students) may only think of traditional public libraries when they think of this program and profession. This course familiarizes students with the other facets of this field, including ethical and legal aspects.

(21) I think having an introductory course makes sure everyone has an exposure to some of the same basic concepts. It can also serve as a forum for highlighting iSchool services and requirements, as well as introducing the various categories of library and information work.

(22) It is a requirement. (23) I answered yes to question two because the introductory course is a great

introduction to the different fields and concepts of what information studies is and everything that it includes. It provides an opportunity for incoming students to see all the different parts of the discipline so that they can make more informed decisions on what they want to take or what area of information studies they wish to pursue.

(24) It was just another thing to do, when you are already somewhat overwhelmed when you first come to graduate school. I thought it was a waste of time and money. When students have questions, there are a slew of people to ask such as advisors, other students, and other faculty members.

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(25) some students are unaware of the applications of the MSIS degree beyond their own goals. Some might consider taking a different path or adding additional skill sets once they are aware of their options with this degree. Many students have also not ever read library science literature and may not be aware of current trends or issues in information science.

(26) The 180J course is one of the only core courses that actually exposes students to other areas of the field, which is the stated goal of the core requirements.

(27) It was a yes or no question.... If you are talking about question #2: I think that an introduction to the various sub-fields within MSIS is good for incoming students, because many do not know all the different fields and can be introduced to something else they may find interest in

(28) I think it is beneficial to have a general overview right at the beginning of a program. Those who know exactly what their goals are may disagree, stating wasted time, but I think that it is not time wasted to learn basic fundamentals of "information science" as a whole.

(29) To ease us into the subject, start thinking about different areas, consider other topics in Inf. Science that may not have previously thought of. Many come to school, knowing they want to study, but have no idea of the wide range of topics/jobs. Others may come with certain library experience, but have no idea about archives or inf. architecture. Also good way to get to know some of the faces in your class.

(30) Perhaps you mean #2? An introductory course is a good idea. If it were also somehow integrated with an orientation to UT/the iSchool, I think it would be even more helpful.

(31) Q1. required Q2. To provide an understanding of the breadth of the library and information resources field and to provide an opportunity for students to explore career opportunities.

(32) It gives a brief understanding of what information study comprises of (33) I came into the iSchool with only one undergraduate information studies

course under my belt, and no library job experience. It would have been helpful to have an introductory class that met regularly and had intro-level reading assignments and projects. It would have also been helpful in my first semester to have a place where I could bring my questions or uncertainties from other classes. My classmates seemed to have so much more background knowledge than me, and the 180J format did not feel inviting for my library-minutiae questions.

(34) An overview of the field, such as the introductory course, provides a foundation for selecting a concentration to follow while pursuing an MSIS.

(35) I took INF 180J because it was a required course. I think such an introductory course is important because, based on the comments of my classmates in that class, many students enter the program without a clear idea of what information studies is.

(36) It is good for everyone in the program to have one course that they have taken. It gives a solid basis. That being said, I think the course could be _more_

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introductory than it was. More broad, more information about options etc in the school itself.

(37) about question 2- the school and the field of "information studies" doesn't have one, static identity, and it's hard for a newcomer to understand exactly what's out there. i appreciated having a class where it is all outlined.

(38) I think you mean question #2, but it was a good introduction to the literature. (39) This course was a tremendous waste of time that reiterated things I had already

found out prior to enrolling or in other classes. Worse, it made it more difficult to acclimate to graduate school and meet the demands of three other classes by loading me down with additional reading.

(40) I'm hoping you meant for me to explain my answer to question TWO. The intro class exposed me to lots of different areas of IS. Some interested me, and some didn't, but I'm glad to know they exist.

(41) In most graduate programs, students have background knowledge of the field from undergraduate courses and work experience. Inf. studies is usually a new field for students coming into the program, and therefore everything: basic concepts, terminology, etc. are new. I think students need an introductory course so that they can more quickly bring their understanding to a masters program level.

(42) Yes, I think there should be an introductory course to information studies. I found it helpful in two major areas; 1) an introduction to the major ideas and evolution of Library Science and Information Studies (or whatever combination of those four words is relevant today) and 2) an introduction to the faculty. It was particularly nice to meet the faculty in a face-to-face venue and hear them discuss their specialties and courses. It gave me an idea of what the department was all about and what I could expect to learn from the faculty. Specialties matter and so do personalities!

(43) Am honestly undecided. I found it valuable and I enjoyed the class but don't know if it is entirely fundamental.

4. What are your views of the panel format for speakers in 180J? Total Respondents 45 (skipped this question): 4 (1) The panel format is, in my opinion, the greatest strength of 180J. I appreciated

getting to know and listen to our professors, and I thought the requirement of discussion among student groups to prepare questions was a productive way to be introduced to my classmates.

(2) I believe it is great to have experts in the field talk about what are the major challenges. Maybe it would be interesting to have opposing view on some issues. And have students experience this.

(3) informative and gives a brief introduction to the various professors in the department.

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(4) The panel format is okay. It is interesting to hear different points of view and listen to the interactions and discussions of people who are well informed about the topic and perhaps approaching issues from different areas of the field.

(5) It is a good idea. (6) I enjoyed seeing the professors from all the areas of study. The school library

program did not give me the opportunity to take archives classes or academic library courses.

(7) I thought it worked well. (8) I really liked the panels. It's great to hear what a group of highly educated

experts have to say about a topic. It was also good to experience some of the professors.

(9) Interesting but may be better if provided more structure e.g. questions provided before speakers present, or a presentation guideline that gives first an overview of subject area, what career paths can be taken within that area, the kinds of skills that are needed if one is to pursue that path, etc.

(10) Okay in principal, but giving full time students extra homework for a 1 hour pass/fail class is plainly not fair. I have heard of other speaker formats for 180J and think that it would be preferable to have people who are active librarians telling us what they love about their jobs, than to have professors discussing points of interest to the field. We'll get that in their classes. The bonus about the format for last spring was that many students got an idea what the professors were like and may have decided to either take or not take their classes after their performances on the panel.

(11) It's an interesting concept, although some of the choices matching panelists with topics seemed more tenuous than others.

(12) They were great discussions. The class was too big though, so very few of us had a chance to engage the speakers. You might consider breaking the class up into sections. Students would get more out of it.

(13) I liked the format but didn't find the topics very interesting. (14) I liked getting to meet the different faculty members. I have not and will not

have the opportunity to take courses from them during my time at the I-School.

(15) I enjoyed having different speakers in 180 J (16) It is a good format. (17) I really enjoyed the series of speaker - especially those outside of the UT

faculty. Time never really allowed for all the questions to be covered. (18) I enjoyed the panel format. It was a good way to get to know faculty beyond

the mini-intros provided during orientation. It was also nice hearing professional perspectives on the literature we read and being able to engage in that live dialogue.

(19) I found the panels interesting. (20) As a brand new student, it was interesting to get a glimpse at some of the

professors I knew I would never work with. But with limited time and so many

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students, I don't think the discussion went very deep. Also, the cranky faculty were cranky, the charismatic faculty were charismatic, and many others faded into the background.

(21) I think it works very well, and is a great way to get a sense of who the faculty and staff are at the iSchool, and what they are like.

(22) I think the panel format was good and provided and introduction to the school's faculty members, other points of view, and the diverse areas of focus possible in this field.

(23) I liked having the panels of speakers, but I would be more interested in having them discuss their areas of research and expertise than in answering questions formulated based on class reading.

(24) Panel format was nice, however would have been nicer to have professionals come in to speak rather than professors. Professionals would have given us more of an overview perhaps of where the field is headed and what can be done with our degrees.

(25) I loved it!!!. It is a great way to be introduced to the professors and learn more about their interest.

(26) I think orientation provides enough of an introduction to the faculty members. Perhaps creating panel discussions throughout the year centered around a topic, would be more useful.

(27) I liked it. it introduced many professors to me and each had a unique background and perspective.

(28) I really enjoyed it. Not only did we receive varied viewpoints about specialized topics, but we also got to see the other professors in the department; it helps in making registration decisions to have seen and heard from possible instructors.

(29) I think the panel format could be informative, if each person actually talked about their field. What makes it different, the pros, the cons, interesting facts/figures etc...

(30) It adds depth and variety of opinion on various matters. I like that the panel speakers all have slightly (or vastly!) different ideas on certain subjects.

(31) I think it worked well. Interesting to hear about all the professors, see what they're up to, get introduced to faculty and department.

(32) The speakers were always very interesting. The discussions seemed somewhat stilted at times, though. Rather than adhering to the questions formulated beforehand, just letting the discussion flow might make for a more informative format.

(33) A panel, based on people actually working in the field is excellent and gives students a realistic view of the field.

(34) Excellent way of understanding the field through practitioners (35) I liked hearing the panel speakers expound on questions. I did not like sitting

through my classmates bantering with the panelists. Perhaps a stronger moderator-type presence by the 180J professor could quell some of the bickering.

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(36) They provided an opportunity to hear from a spectrum of faculty beyond the (at most) three one might have experienced in class. Work well to invigorate thoughts outside the current coursework.

(37) I would prefer it if the speakers could give a short presentation on the topic being discussed, and the class can come prepared to discuss the topic and ask questions on the spot. When we submitted questions as a group, we very rarely were able to discuss more than 4 or 5 questions with the speakers, and usually the conversation would diverge from the questions that we thought of, so that most of our work would be for nothing.

(38) I guess the panel is OK, but I wish they had more of a chance to just talk about their areas, rather than try to answer our questions about readings.

(39) I thought they were good because they presented a diversity of ideas. i especially liked hearing speakers from outside the iSchool.

(40) I thought it was a great way to know the faculty. (41) Panel speakers were generally good. (42) I liked the panel format. It rarely stayed on the posted topic, but that's the

beauty of it. (43) Interesting to hear professors debating. When you take a class, you are only

hearing one point of view. The speakers help by putting a topic in perspective. (44) Would we have gotten to meet more faculty with or without the panel format?

More is better! Still, I'm not sure the panel gave each of the faculty enough individual time and the questions didn't always hit their interests. It occasionally seemed as if some faculty were shoehorned into issues they weren't really interested in.

(45) the best part of the class. I enjoyed as a way to get a sense of each professor and wish more could have participated. I think it gives students an opportunity to "shop" for professor. It could also be seen as a showcase of faculty. Most valuable for me was the opportunity to hear the Dean's opinion of the program. It cemented my confidence in the school

5. What are your views of the online class discussion forums used for 180j? Total Respondents: 44 (skipped this question): 5 (1) I am not a fan of on-line discussion for any reason. So long as it is kept to a

minimum necessary to prepare questions for upcoming panelists, I think it works well. If I had had to do much online discussion beyond that, I would have been overwhelmed by the task.

(2) Online have many advantages, basically they save time and can be available 24/7. But the human element is always important to see a person talk passionately about a topic conveys more than online.

(3) not available when i took the class (4) Not that useful. (5) Great

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(6) On-line discussion allows for free communication that people may not otherwise have in person.

(7) I am currently thinking about online class discussion forums. There are benefits but also huge drawbacks.

(8) I thought they were pretty useless. In fact, I feel like I got duped into wasting my time on them. Sounds like people who didn't participate in the online forums passed the class, and I was led to believe it was a requirement. I should have just blown them off. Waste o' time.

(9) Better guidelines (e.g. perhaps a question given in class that provokes further questions) and collation to avoid repetition or duplication of questions within the group.

(10) Tedious. Very tedious. (11) Useful. Frustrating that, many times, questions would be submitted for class

and then during the actual lecture students would ask different questions and take up class time.

(12) They were all relevant to the field. But, as I said above, other classes have been able provide a better representation of what's happening in the field.

(13) I really hated them. Because of the online forums I interacted with my fellow students online but never in person, and as a result didn't feel that I'd made any connection whatsoever with my fellow iSchoolers by the time the class was over. Seemed like a wasted opportunity. If we had face-to-face discussions, at least we'd get a chance to know each other.

(14) It's convenient. (15) I enjoy online class discussions (16) They were good. (17) The online class discussion forum was an easier way for each student to

express themselves in such a large class. I think it worked well. (18) Not particularly useful in my case as most of my group didn't really discuss

anything before we were asked to submit group questions. (19) Helps keep a dialog going in a class that doesn't meet every week. Would have

been problematic if I didn't have an internet connection at home (I don't right now).

(20) The positive point is that it was a way to introduce us to the necessary evil that is Blackboard. But half the people in my group didn't even participate and it did not seem that there was a consequence.

(21) I did not use the online class discussion forums any more than I had to. (22) For the most part, I feel these were ineffective. They didn't seem to contribute

to deep discussions as intended. It was like pulling teeth to get some members of the group to post and some never or rarely did. Sometimes people just logged in and wrote anything just so they could say they "participated." It was a tedious and very frustrating part of the course. On the other hand, it did allow for me to get familiar with using Blackboard, which was helpful.

(23) They're okay; I think they're effectiveness depends on the chemistry and culture of each individual group.

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(24) During my 180j class we only used the Blackboard to post questions that we were going to discuss in class to our group. There was not much discussion online.

(25) I liked the online discussion forums. You could do it any time you wanted and had access to everyone's contact info.

(26) rarely used it. i find it difficult to become invested in online chat or forum formats. I despised the "participation" component of my web course this summer. i think most folks did it for participation points, not because it was necessarily useful.

(27) My group used the chat function, which I liked; one problem was that the chat room did not enable cut and pasting (i.e., I couldn't highlight what had been said and paste it into a word document or discussion board).

(28) I don't like online discussions (especially for a class that meets so irregularly) it is very hard to remember to do them on time. I prefer in class discussions.

(29) When I took the class, my group rarely used it, except when we had to, nor did we meet in person. Being brand-new students, I think most of us were hesitant to express our ideas to complete strangers whom we didn't even recognize in class.

(30) I enjoyed them, though only half of my group participated. I think the asynchronous format worked well with schedules, especially at the beginning of the semester.

(31) My group never really used ours. Instead, we all got up on Sunday morning in order to post questions before the noon deadline. I didn't feel like we needed to discuss as much as we needed to get the questions posted. Smaller groups might make for more meaningful discussions.

(32) Also important, but the discussions should be based on relevant topics. (33) I (34) I liked having the reading assignments and then having to post in the forum.

I'm not sure to what extent people read each other's posts, but it seemed like a fair requirement and a good place for many of our questions and thoughts.

(35) If all of the people participated it would have worked well. As it was the few who did join in seemed to develop an interest in the thinking of other students.

(36) Compared to other classes that have used Blackboard discussion forums, the ones used in 180J were relatively painless. It was helpful to have only a few forums to concentrate on, with a manageable number of posts.

(37) Useless. They were required, but no-one did anything until the last minute, so there was no real thought in them. They took too much time for a 1 credit class.

(38) blackboard is not the most user friendly of applications, and so it was always a pain to use. some form of online class discussion, however, helps to pull ideas together and find out what other students are thinking.

(39) Did not like blackboard at all - I preferred in class discussion. I am not sure the online discussions were that beneficial to me.

(40) Better than having to take the time in person.

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(41) The online discussions were not effective. It was "mandatory", but there was no apparent penalty for not participating.

(42) They weren't helpful to me. (43) I'm not really a fan of discussion on Blackboard. Blackboard's very clunky

sometimes and long strings are particularly difficult. I also think people are very self-conscious when they post to such a list. I found it interesting how fast we all got to know each other anyway, outside of the "supervised" discussions. We're all "talking" on email constantly anyway.

(44) hated it. I hate Blackboard and the discussion was more of a chore than a learning experience.

6. What topics would you like to learn more about in 180J? Total Respondents: 36 (skipped this question): 13 (1) I believe that professional career paths are important and job markets. The

transformation of the information professional from a person who is a care taker of books and silence. To a professional who has a more active role assessing information needs for the community.

(2) possibly it could contain more introductory info about the 17 libraries on campus. granted not all of the 17 are as exciting as the Ransom, Benson or the Center for American History . . . but it would be helpful info for those who are not familiar with the variety of 'library' experiences available on campus.

(3) Other faculty who also conduct related research work. (4) No suggestions. (5) Actual brick and mortar libraries. (6) I think it would be better to make it a true introduction to the varied field of

information studies. Spend each session focusing on a discipline-- such as public librarianship, archives, school libraries, information architecture, etc. Not all of us are planning to be librarians, yet we were always spoken to as if that would be the case.

(7) E.g. how information studies can be utilized in areas other than that of libraries and information resource center, such as industry, international trade, commerce, etc.

(8) Current jobs, and what people are doing with their degrees. (9) Teaching at PhD level, and planning for an academic career. (10) I can't think of any. But in general what would really be useful is a core course

that focused on reference skills. (11) I felt the more "traditional" library programs were not given as much time in

180J as other areas. I would like to see a more balanced approach to all of the disciplines within the I-School.

(12) institutional administration (13) Specific to librarianship instead of general to information science. I have read

Dean Dillon and April Norris' paper on this, but I still feel that changing the

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name to Information Science makes those of us who are librarians lose the little respect we have when we don't even have a program with our title in it.

(14) More about work/professional experiences of different information professionals in various information environments. Especially now that this field is so open, it can be very helpful to hear from faculty and other professionals about their work experiences.

(15) I think the answer is fewer topics not more. There was a lot of reading, which fell to the side when I had three other classes in which I wanted to do well and get good grades. My personal solution was to read a couple of articles quickly, post to BB, and be done. Of course, this was when the classes were spread out over the semester, so perhaps having all five classes earlier in the semester means students devote more time to 180j, I'm not sure.

(16) I know most people would probably not agree because they are viewed as boring or too broad, but I think an introductory textbook as required reading would be helpful. We read many interesting articles, but they were often difficult and out of context because I didn't have the requisite foundation for understanding or appreciating the topic that was being discussed in the articles. Particularly for the articles that discussed technical aspects of the field (i.e.: understanding metadata). I actually read one of the intro texts for the book review writing assignment and it was helpful, but still didn't provide a real good foundation of non-librarianship concepts and ideas. After talking to some other students about this, others also often felt lost in the readings and discussions.

(17) More about different categories of library and information work; perhaps tying in particular classes and services with these areas.

(18) More of what is going on in the field and what one can do with the degrees. (19) More of an overview of the different paths that are available as well as the

different professions that people can follow. Would like to hear more from alumni and people working in these positions.

(20) The major concerns about how to handle the digital realm. Introduction to the IT lab or some in-class instruction on how to use Power Point or other software that may not be familiar to incoming students.

(21) There could be more about job hunting and stressing the importance of internships and volunteering.

(22) Legal issues libraries face; where libraries stand currently (both public and private); laws that impact libraries; issues that may not be addressed in other classes.

(23) I would have personally liked to learn more about what our school in particular had to offer. I entered with no clear idea of what I was going to do and had thought that the introductory class would contain more information not only on basic of information science as a whole, but on which areas the iSchool has strength in. I suppose that really isn't the point of the class, but it would have been incredibly useful for me as an incoming student.

(24) Explanation of core modules, recommended classes for certain streams of INF sci., intro to scholarly world- e.g. journals, publication etc

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(25) 1. career opportunities 2. what else can I do with my degree 3. what do i have to do to be the professional i want to be

(26) Libraries. (27) Ethics. (28) Digital libraries, metadata, the divide between academics and practitioners (i.e.,

the so-called crisis in education) (29) The career options available to me, what classes I could take, more about the

field in general. (30) more topics? there's already a lot crammed in there. (31) I thought by far the most useful part of the course was the last week, which

covered career advice, which courses to take. (32) Job placement in Austin and on a national scale. (33) None come to mind right now. 180J is not the place to go into any one topic

too deeply. (34) The most helpful information to me was in the last class when Dr. Dillon

talked about the curriculum and goals for the ISchool. From that I understood what I should/could expect to learn from this program and I really gained a sense of perspective on the school and the field of information studies.

(35) I want to hear more about public libraries and school libraries. I feel there is great emphasis on digital technique and information architecture but not much on applications. What can/will people do with all this technology- I'd like to hear about "what ifs" with regard to public libraries but also open up doors to applications in corporate life.

(36) Doesn't matter. I just want each professor to bring their personality and philosophy and share it.

7. Any other suggestions for adding value to this course? Total Respondents: 32 (skipped this question): 17 (1) If possible bring ALA members to discuss what this organization is all about.

Especially since we have the president elect with us. (2) Great course. (3) No. (4) I think having a huge amount of work-- two huge papers, for instance-- is kind

of unnecessary. (5) Having to write two lengthy papers was over the top for a 1-hour pass/fail

class. It wouldn't kill people to write one, but two was too much. Perhaps this was particular to the class I was in, but I think the dean could have done a better job of reining in a couple of people who were always dominating the discussion and who were, frankly, kind of kooky.

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(6) Perhaps a short write-up by students themselves on what they have understood by "Information Studies" at the end of the course. That way, it might be clearer what areas need to be emphasized in the future.

(7) Cut out the b.s. papers. The papers for last spring were excessively long, and as a result, I did, in fact, find myself writing a bunch of b.s.

(8) Don't let each conversation degenerate into the pros and cons of Google. (9) Increase it to three hours, break it up into sections. Either reduce the workload,

or make it more specific, so we can feel it is useful to us. (10) Make it less about busy-work and more about learning and thinking. (11) Something hands on- a visit to the PCL or some other information geared part

of UT to see information science in practice. Theory is important, but so is application.

(12) The Dean was a hoot! Very accessible and welcoming. I still don't think that the written deliverables that were expected were proportional to the time/effort allotted for a one-credit class. I would have been much more comfortable with shorter assignments.

(13) I was able to complete the assigned papers without a problem, but having two of them made the course more stressful than I believe a one hour introductory course should be.

(14) Make the purpose clear--is it still to introduce us to all of the possibilities available at the school? I think most people come here with a pretty good idea of what they want to do, and don't venture too far from that. And loose the 120+ class size. 30-40 people should be the limit, and having some of the senior faculty (i.e. Doty, Harmon)teach this class would add some interesting variety.

(15) Continue the forum on understanding library terms and acronyms. That was very helpful.

(16) Other non-technological aspects of this program seemed to be over-looked or hardly emphasized in this course (i.e.: preservation, conservation, rare books, and archives). Since these are areas that are part of the program, it would be nice to include topics relating to these fields in the readings and discussions. I also think the required assignments could be adjusted. Again, I feel like people just did the assignments because they were required, but didn't get a lot out of them. I have no problem writing papers, I have written many papers much longer than the ones required here, but it just didn't seem to add a whole lot to the overall experience. I believe in one class Dean Dillon mentioned that he thought our program should be more experiential, rather than so lecture-based. Perhaps some sort of assignment where students actually go out and visit different libraries or sites, or perhaps actually interview practicing professionals, maybe even a volunteer component would be valuable. Of course, I understand you get out what you out in, but the assignments just seemed like what we used to call "busy work"; something you had to turn in because there had to be something to base your grade on.

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(17) Take away at least one of the two writing assignments. They did not add to the course, only provided busy work.

(18) Make it optional. (19) I heard it was much easier the semester I had it. That's awesome for me, but it

is unfair that the difficulty varies so much. (20) possibly having more than one session, so the class is smaller (although I know

that can be a problem for getting guest speakers). Make it more interactive. (21) Written papers? Research of some sort, to get deeper knowledge of topics

covered (22) 1. make a 2 or 3 credit course 2. include more relevant course materials 3. invite

a wide variety of professionals in panels, including those that work on campus...

(23) I'm not going to say the response papers requirements were too much, because as a graduate student, I should be able to write papers without a problem. For a one credit, pass/fail course, however, one focused paper probably could have served the same purpose. Also, I liked the opportunity to write about the iForums. Those were extremely interesting and rewarding.

(24) Add credit if it entails multiple writing projects. (25) We had two 10-page papers to write. As I indicated in my evaluation, I thought

this was rather excessive for a 1-hr., pass/fail course (and was more than what I had to write for most of my credited 3-hr. courses). Perhaps 1 10-page or 2 5-page papers would be reasonable, but not 2 10-page ones, especially on topics such as a summary of an iSchool forum or participation in a research experiment.

(26) Read a _good_ book, like "Scrolling Forward," instead of dry, inscrutable articles that may or may not make sense to us in 5-10 years. That is what other classes are for. 180j should be about getting/keeping us excited about the field and program, not turning us away, which is what it did for me the first time I applied (2001) and almost did again this time (Fall 2005). I want to feel I am in the right discipline, not come away feeling I have made a big mistake.

(27) NO PAPERS. at least none 10 pages long. how about 2 page papers? (28) I think it could have been a lot shorter. Three hours was just too long for this

class. (29) Change it to a series of lectures and make attendance at one or two mandatory

for credit no credit. That way people can find out about their area of interest instead of spending hours complaining about Google.

(30) Make it a three credit course, and really dive into the information: available careers, key concepts, etc.

(31) It might be interesting to have a speaker or two who employs a librarian. What do corporations expect of us? What is the director of APL or a big law firm looking for? Flexibility, personality, certain special skills, a generalist?

(32) More professors. Less homework.