NOTE:
All students are responsible for providing the computer hardware, software, and connectivity required to pursue online study.
Both Windows and MacIntosh PCs may be used in the program. The School recommends the use of the Windows XP operating system or the most recent version of the MacIntosh operating system. Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat Reader are also required. Other software may be required by individual courses.
We highly recommend broadband connectivity such as cable or DSL. Each course requires about 5 hours of connectivity time and 5 hours of additional work per week. Unreliable connectivity due to inadequacies of a service provider (public or private) or due to geographic, technical infrastructure, societal issues, family issues, or political circumstances is not an acceptable reason for incomplete assignments.
Taking a course on-line in Library and Information Sciences is quite similar to taking a class face-to-face. Each week there are lessons, interactions with other students and with the professors, and assignments to be completed and returned. The biggest difference is that students do most of the work on their own schedules. Students will spend about 10 hours per week each semester on each class, just as they would on an on-campus class. Students will get to know their classmates and work with them just as they would on-campus. E-mail is used to enable both one-to-one discussions between faculty and students and to provide a simple 'newsletter' for each course. Blackboard discussions are used as the equivalent of classroom discussions, and students are required to participate and share their knowledge just as if they were in the same class room. Our professors may use any or all of the following tools in the Library and Information Sciences On-Line classrooms.