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When the iSchool course schedules come out, I feel like a gypsy looking into a crystal ball—tell me, oh spirits of the future what my next semester will look like!  The course schedule for the fall 2016 semester is out and it’s got some great classes to offer in both Regular and Special sessions in a variety of focuses.  Enrollment appointments for Regular Session begin May 31, and you can check out how exactly to view those appointments here. MARA and Special Session enrollment starts June 7.  Both of these sessions’ enrollments end August 21, 2016.

Published: March 09, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more... The trees are blooming early and pitchers and catchers have reported for spring training. What season is it? You guessed it! It’s scholarship season at the iSchool. That is what you were thinking, wasn’t it?

Like most, many (all?) of you, I’d like some help paying for my graduate school experience at the iSchool. Scholarships are a great way to examine all that you’ve learned so far at the School of Information and provide an excellent opportunity to connect with people and organizations to demonstrate how awesome you really are. Get started now, because the process is not unlike an iSchool course project and you’ll want to get it right if you want the money. The deadline for most of the scholarships listed here is March 31, 2016. To help you get started, I’ve highlighted a few steps here.

Published: March 02, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more...

INFO 285 Research Methods-- A Required Course with a Wealth of Opportunities The iSchool only requires a handful of courses to complete your MLIS degree, leaving the rest of your 43 units up to you. You know about your core courses—Info 200 Information Communities, Info 202 Information Retrieval System Design and Info 204 Information Professions. The other course that is required by the iSchool – beyond the thesis or eportfolio – frequently slips through the cracks.  Info 285 Research Methods is an important class not only for the completion of your degree but also for navigating your way through many of your other courses.

Published: February 24, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more...

A Day in the Life of California State Librarian Greg Lucas Ever wonder how other students work a job, feed a family, walk a dog, answer discussion questions, manage to have clean clothes to wear (ahem, most days), and put together a PowerPoint presentation—all without losing their marbles or their reading notes? This post is part of a series giving you a microscopic view of how students manage their lives and their coursework at the iSchool and a better feeling for who your classmates are—people just like you.

California State Librarian Greg Lucas has a big job to do, managing 135 employees at the capitol branch of the state library in Sacramento and travelling around the state visiting local libraries to get a feel for the daily workings of these communities.  On top of all this, Lucas is an iSchool student—just like you and me.  Here’s how he stays organized and finds the time to get his schoolwork done as well as negotiate library funds from the California state budget.

Published: February 17, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more...

Exploring iSchool Career Pathways-- Leadership and Management Are you a born leader? I’m not sure one knows at birth if they were born to leadership, but the iSchool has some great courses and outstanding professors who will help you become the leader you want to be. Coursework in the MLIS Leadership and Management Career Pathway will develop your skills in areas of innovation, high-level networking, needs assessment, orchestration of resources, and the ability to scan the landscape for successful opportunities. Instructors Dr. Sue Alman and Dr. Cheryl Stenstrom, who teach many of the leadership courses at the iSchool, stress the importance of leaders being futurists—able to look ahead and know what kind of innovations will benefit their organization and have a plan to integrate these changes.

Published: February 10, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more... You’re taking courses at the iSchool, but on your Canvas site and the website—even your future diploma—it says San Jose State University. To many online students, this is just some remote idea of a large university in a booming California city. How can you connect with San Jose State while working on your graduate degree?

CASA is the answer! Casa is the word “home” in Spanish, but at SJSU, it’s the home of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts. When you open up the iSchool website, there’s a nifty little link at the top of the page right between those two ever-handy links to the King Library and MySJSU.

Published: February 03, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more...
 Hooray! You’ve decided to go to grad school, and that’s a big step. Now it’s time to figure out how to make that happen with both your time and your finances. The majority of iSchool students currently in attendance receive some kind of financial aid, so if you too are applying, you’re in good (and plentiful) company.

Published: January 27, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more...
 The spring semester is about to begin, and whether you’re brand new to the iSchool, checking it out as you decide to take the leap into graduate school, or in the middle of your coursework, there is a whole slew of resources available to help you plan your program, focus your studies, help you with the tech side of online learning, and give you an in-depth look at some of the courses and opportunities available through SJSU’s School of Information. Here’s a look at some of the best of the iStudent blog and some resources from the iSchool website.

Looking to Apply or Just Getting Started?

If you’re just getting started here at the iSchool or you’re thinking about applying to SJSU’s School of Information, take a look at these posts about the core courses and the iSchool’s introductory class about online learning, Info 203.

Published: January 20, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more... In last week’s post we learned the important details of how to put together a professional and informative LinkedIn profile. Career Center Liaison Jill Klees gave a presentation in October 2015 entitled, “LinkedIn—Develop Your Online Brand.” I’ll include some more of her great tips on networking in this post as well as discuss more great LinkedIn advice from social media expert and California State University East Bay instructor Kim Legocki.

Published: January 13, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more... I was all ready to set up my own LinkedIn profile, so I added a picture and then started to answer all the questions, filling in the blanks and trying to describe my work experience, my interests, my previous employers and… whoa. How much of my email list should I invite? My yoga instructor? Probably not. I was overwhelmed. I needed help and I wanted to be sure that this profile of mine looked top-notch and polished and that I made the connections that would lead me to a successful career and a valuable network of like-minded people.

(Cue superhero music) Here comes the iSchool Career Center and a couple of invaluable tutorials on how to set up the perfect profile!

Published: January 05, 2016 by Allison Randall Gatt more...


Student Groups Financial Aid Electives E-Portfolio Career Pathways Student Services Time Management Scholarships Faculty Conferences Registration Planning Your Program Career Resources Professional Associations Just Admitted Core Courses Internships MARA Career Environments Networking Online Communication Professional Development Starting Grad School Tips For Success MLIS 