As a new student in the masters program at San Jose State University's School Of Library & Information Science, I am returning to school after, shall we say, a few years. My goal is to expand my career horizons to include more advanced media archival management work.
It is a forward-thinking program, being delivered entirely online. This brings certain challenges. I live and breathe technology, so the tools and methodology of online academic delivery do not daunt me. The more significant adjustments for me will likely be time management and remote collaboration.
Most of the coursework is asynchronous, meaning that there are periodic deadlines but it is done on the students' own time. Other coursework is synchronous, meaning it is real-time (and online).
Some work is done as part of a team of students. I look forward to this because I have owned a (mostly) one-person business for many years. Collaborating with others has always been a great change of pace and motivator.
One of our first assignments was a recorded lecture by the former Director of the program, Dr. Ken Haycock, about working on a team. In it he analyses team collaboration and offers tips for success. One tip was, right at the beginning, new team members should state what their strengths and weakness are.
"Part of this is based on what some people call courageous conversations." (Dr Ken Haycock, "Working in Teams," SLIS Colloquium, Spring 2007)
By doing this a team that does not know each other beforehand can match up members' strengths with appropriate roles and tasks. Hopefully there is a complementary diversity of skills. You'll never know until you say so! I've already started my "courageous conversation."
Another of our assignments had an excellent quote; "You start your career when you start your classes." (Enid Irwin, from a presentation "The Monster Inside Library School: Student Teams.") This hit home. In other words, the time to start any career transition is now, and the relationships you make now will be important later.
