Countdown to 203!

In just a few hours the virtual doors will open and we'll be underway. I'm so excited. :)

I posted in my introduction how important it is to have an online presence. I'm serious. It's all that and a bag of chips. Muy importante. In a real class setting, I'd have no trouble leaning over to start a conversation or asking someone after class to walk with me to the co-op for a cup of coffee before my next class. I try not to be so obnoxious about not being overly shy--but that's in an analog setting. Face to face--breathing the same air--occupying relatively near each other physical space. Making friends virtually is almost an entirely different thing. Note that I said "different", I didn't say "difficult". It doesn't have to be anyway.

The cool thing about going to school in a virtual setting is you can catch up on conversations when you want to whenever you want to. You can go to class when you want to (for the most part so long as you don't have a mandatory synchronous meeting you're supposed to be sitting in on). Hey, you don't even really have to take notes b/c you're basically reading them right off the screen.

The not so cool thing about going to school in a virtual setting is--nothing beats an organic conversation between two living, breathing people. We do the best we can here though. SLIS provides fairly ample opportunities to integrate yourself into both the program and the populace of students working and learning. For now, in 203--I highly recommend you guys get active on the discussion boards. Accept those Blackboard IM invitations and set up your accounts.

203 is a 1-unit pass/no pass course. As if NOT passing were even an option! Hah! If you work at it, you'll find yourself moving through the modules fairly quickly. Students who are able to finish before the semester actually starts find themselves generally more able to concentrate on their 3 unit classes. Although the content is pretty straight forward, what we really want to get you to work on is practicing how to navigate around D2L. We really want you to use Blackboard but more then that, we want to help ease you into the process of Online School.

You only get to be a student again for such a small window in your life. Have fun with it. :)

Professor/Course Ratings! READ

When you first start out in the program, I don't care how seasoned you are with Social Media, Blogs, RSS Feeds, Web 2.0 you name it--there is just too much out there to sign up for. By now you've probably figured out Facebook has a few SLIS specific groups. You've probably signed up for Google+. You've probably even looked into Second Life. If you don't know what I'm talking about. Don't worry about it. You don't need it, really.

What you DO need to know about is this Yahoo group: SJSU MLIS.

What is it? It's a database comprised reviews on specific professors and classes taught at SJSU SLIS's program. If you have a Yahoo account, you can sign in that way, otherwise you can also sign in via your Facebook or Google account. Check out the Database link in the left hand nav-bar and locate: "Course/Professor Recommendation". To date, there are currently 2,338 submissions to help you in your quest in choosing a professor/course to meet your learning preferences.

In my personal experience using this resource, I've found it to be an invaluable source--and most always spot on. Try it out for a spin!

Hello From Your Friendly Neighborhood Peer Mentor!

Hi friends! My folks named me, Zemirah but everyone calls me, Zem. "Zemirah" in Hebrew means "Song of Praise". Unfortunately, I sing like a dying cow. So. Zem. Much shorter. Easier to remember.

 I live in San Diego, CA with my husband and three little kids: Naomi (7), Nathan (6), and Noah (3). I graduated from UCSD some time ago *cough cough* with a BA in English Lit and a minor in French Lit. I've been wanting to be a librarian since before I even knew I wanted to be a librarian! Really.

I took some time off school to have get married, have a family, do the house thing and so on and so forth. With my littlest one in pre-school now I'm hitting the books again full-force in library school and I couldn't be happier. I just finished my first full year at SJSU SLIS and currently, reference and instruction have been the most appealing topics I've come across.

LIBR203 was such a HUGE help for me when I first started. Of course, I know how to use my email. Of course, I know what a blog is and yes, once I figure out how to navigate around a platform like D2L, sure I can basically figure out how to read assignments and submit them. No problem. That's all mechanics. Really, what 203 helped me soothe, initially, was my trepidation at starting real school up again after a really long long break. I needed to know I still knew how to interact with other life-forms over 3 feet tall who most likely weren't drinking out of capri-sun pouches and most likely had drivers licenses. In short. I was worried about the whole getting back into school, and not only that... how does this ONLINE thing work?!

I had the BEST professor and the BEST peer mentor help me get my feet wet and really taught me how to ease into the program. I paid attention to the discussion boards and realized there were many others like me who were both nervous and excited to start this academic foray into all things library and information science.

When I saw an opportunity to actually BE a peer mentor come up, I had to take it. I mentioned having an interest in reference and instruction before and its true. In fact, I think to BE here, many of us have to have some sort of an interest in helping others. I'm excited to be here!

Thanks for checking out my blog. :) Welcome to SJSU SLIS!