GSLIS Gateway: Courses & Registration

WISE (Online) Courses

GSLIS Policies governing WISE courses are different than those governing regular, on-site, courses. Please be sure to read the WISE Guidelines and Policies if you are considering enrolling in a WISE course.

Course descriptions and details

Course descriptions for WISE courses currently offered to Simmons GSLIS students are below. Please read the following information for an explanation of the categories used for the course description records:

Course number: every WISE course will be assigned a number in the LIS 540s.

Course title: the course title is the title given by the host institution.

Class number and Class section: like the course title, these are assigned by the host institution. For registration purposes you will use the Simmons-assigned LIS450 number; however, once you are in the course, you will most likely find it identified by the host institution's class number.

Faculty: the faculty member teaching the course is associated with the host institution, not with Simmons GSLIS.

Credit hours: as assigned by host institution. If a course is offered at three credit hours through WISE, students do not have the option to take it as a four-credit course.

Class description: as listed in the host institution's catalog

Seats: host institutions choose how many seats to make available to WISE consortium members. Because the courses are listed within the host site's semester's course offerings, the majority of seats are for that site's students. However, if those seats don't fill, more slots may become available.

Delivery is either "synchronous" or "asynchronous." If it is synchronous, it means that there is at least one time period in which all students are required to log in at the same time; "asynchronous" means that no such requirement exists. Please note any synchronous requirements.

Start/End Dates: the starting and ending dates indicate the timeframe in which the course will run. As noted in the guidelines, GSLIS students enrolling in WISE courses must adhere to the the host institution's academic calendar even when it falls outside of the GSLIS academic calendar.

Start/End Time/Days of the Week will be noted in cases where the delivery mode is synchronous. If this is the case, each student is responsible for being aware of the Time Zone in which the course is offered.

Last Add Day: for registration purposes.

Residency Start Date/End Date/Location: some programs require all students enrolled in their courses to complete a residency requirement (e.g., one day or one week at the host institution). If so, the information will be listed here.

Class Disclaimer: host sites use this space to convey comments and notes to students registering from other institutions.


WISE Course Descriptions:

Fall 2008 WISE Courses

Fall 2008 WISE Course Descriptions

540B-OL:
From Seuss to Sendak to Sis page top

Home School: Rutgers University
Class Name: From Seuss to Sendak to Sis
Class Number: 17:611:544
Class Section: n/a
Course Tool: eCollege
Faculty: Constance Vidor and Michael Joseph
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: This course will study the development of children's book illustration in the work of three masters of the twentieth century. You will explore the picture books of Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, and Peter Sis, considering issues such as the use of history made by each illustrator and his concern for social context, the relationship of image to text and of illustration to a linear narrative, and repeating motifs and symbols that join individual publications into an organic whole. Students in the course will be divided into groups which will explore the three illustrators; this exploration will include a look at work by other important 20th century contemporaries such as Hillary Knight, Mitsumasa Anno, and Quentin Blake. The final weeks of the semester will be a conference period during which the groups will share some of the papers they have written and together discover how different perceptions, research, and group dynamics led to alternate hypotheses about these three masters.

Seats:3
Delivery:Asynchronous
Date: Start: 9/2/2008 End: 12/18/2008

Class Disclaimer: This course is part of our Youth Literature Online Certificate Program, a 15 credit post-degree online course of study for librarians, teachers, and others concerned with preserving and passing on the rich literary heritage to children and young people in a technological age. This is not a course within the Rutgers MLIS program; however with permission of an adviser MLIS students may take the class for credit towards their degree. The class is offered online asynchronously. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

540C-OL:
Fantasy and Speculative Fiction page top

Home School: Rutgers University
Class Name: Fantasy and Speculative Fiction
Class Number: 17:611:542
Class Section: n/a
Course Tool: eCollege
Faculty: Waller Hastings
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: This course offers professionals serving middle and high school students the opportunity to increase your appreciation and knowledge of fantasy and speculative fiction through intense reading and discussion of representative works. Among the authors whose works we will cover are Ursula LeGuin, William Sleator, and Robin McKinley. You will read texts on topics such as reader response/reception theory and explore the nature of literary response through examination of your own responses the responses of the other professionals in the class. Finally, we will investigate and consider options for teaching Fantasy and Speculative Fiction with young people.

Seats:3
Delivery:Asynchronous
Date: Start: 9/2/2008 End: 12/18/2008

Class Disclaimer: This course is part of our Youth Literature Online Certificate Program, a 15 credit post-degree online course of study for librarians, teachers, and others concerned with preserving and passing on the rich literary heritage to children and young people in a technological age. This is not a course within the Rutgers MLIS program; however with permission of an adviser MLIS students may take the class for credit towards their degree. The class is offered online asynchronously. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

544W-OL:
Theological Librarianship page top

Home School: The University of Illinois
Class Name: Theological Librarianship
Class Number: LIS 590
Class Section: TL
Course Tool: LEEP
Faculty: Carisse Berryhill
Credits: 2 or 4 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: Provides an overview of the contexts, materials, services, and issues characterizing theological librarianship. Course activities include readings, online discussions, writing assignments, and a weekly two-hour live session. Students interact with a number of librarians currently working in the field. Students enrolled for 4 hours complete an additional term project.

Seats:5
Delivery:Synchronous
Date: Start: 8/27/2008 End: 12/10/2008
Syllabus Link: N/A

Class Disclaimer: Students in LEEP classes are expected to actively participate in synchronous, asynchronous, and residential aspects of each course. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

546W-OL:
Managing Info Systems Projects page top

Home School: Syracuse University
Class Name: Managing Info Systems Projects
Class Number: IST 645
Class Section: M003 19434
Course Tool: WebCT
Faculty: Robert Emborski
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: **POSTED SYLLABUS IS FROM 2007 - UPDATED SYLLABUS FOR FALL 2008 WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE** Course Overview: IST 645 covers the issues necessary for successful management of information systems projects. Technical and behavioral aspects of project management are discussed. Major topics include: • Managing the project adoption issues such as selection and approval of projects, cost/benefit analysis and requirements analysis; • Planning for systems development and estimation; • Scheduling and implementation issues such as project organization, implementation, and control; • Project closure Course objectives: The objectives of the course are (1) to enable students to understand issues in the management or development of real-world information and telecommunications systems, and (2) to develop project management skills and experience that will be transferable to the students’ professional lives. Instead of a final examination, the course involves an team project to complete a task of significant complexity, drawing on your education and experience in Information Systems. The project will model the development of the planning process and supporting documents for a major information system implementation project.

Seats:3
Delivery:Asynchronous
Date: Start: 8/23/2008 End: 12/9/2008
Syllabus Link: http://wiseeducation.org/documents/syllabi/Syracuse University-IST 645 37653-Spring 2008(10.1.2007).pdf

Class Disclaimer: Students agree to the course parameters of the host institution, including but not limited to: course management tools, grading, any required residencies, possible synchronous sessions, and academic calendars. Students are expected to meet deadlines as outlined in course syllabus and to contribute to class participation. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid. **POSTED SYLLABUS IS FROM 2007 - UPDATED SYLLABUS FOR FALL 2008 WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE**

564W-OL:
Seminar in Contemporary Issues: Digital Copyright page top

Home School: San Jose State University
Class Name: Seminar in Contemporary Issues: Digital Copyright
Class Number: Libr 281
Class Section: 14
Course Tool: Blackboard
Faculty: Mary Minow
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: This course examines digital copyright and gives students a legal and policy framework to evaluate the myriad of copyright scenarios facing libraries today. Copyright issues permeate the library's digital environment, from Web site design to book scanning projects to digital reference. To participate in the active debate about fair use, digital rights management systems, orphan works and the like, librarians need to be well versed in both the newest interpretations and the basics of copyright law.

Seats: 2
Delivery: Synchronous (8 - 9 p.m.)
Date: Start: 8/25/2008 End: 12/10/2008
Syllabus Link: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/281.minow/281fa07gs.htm
Prerequisite Syllabus Link: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/200.hansenweedman/200sp08gs.htm

Class Disclaimer: Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

576W-OL:
Seminar in Contemporary Issues: Digital Copyright page top

Home School: San Jose State University
Class Name: Seminar in Information Science: Immersive Worlds including Second Life
Class Number: Libr 287
Class Section: 11
Course Tool: Other
Faculty: Jeremy Kemp
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: This class explores the intersection of Multi-User Virtual Environments and the new social web. It is a survey course in that it will review milestones in MUVEs and examine historical trends leading to the current rapid expansion of non-game 3D environments. It is also a design studio for students who want to build 3D immersive settings, clothing, vehicles, objects, etc. Students will see several virtual worlds but will delve deeply into the Second Life platform.

Seats: 2
Delivery: Asynchronous
Date: Start: 8/25/2008 End: 12/10/2008
Syllabus Link: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/287.kemp/287sp08gs.htm
Prerequisite Syllabus Link: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/202.weedman/202sp08gs.htm

Class Disclaimer: See comments and general prerequisites on syllabus. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

587W-OL:
Metadata page top

Home School: Syracuse University
Class Name: Managing Info Systems Projects
Class Number: IST 681
Class Section: M001 19493
Course Tool: WebCT
Faculty: Jan Qin
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: **POSTED SYLLABUS IS FROM 2007 - UPDATED SYLLABUS FOR FALL 2008 WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE** Metadata has broad applications in many domains that deal with digital information management and services. This course introduces concepts, principles, and practices of metadata. Topics covered include the design of metadata schemes, data binding formats, interoperability, metadata administration, tools, vocabulary for metadata elements and values, and quality control and evaluation. Students will have opportunities to examine international metadata standards, activities, and projects through case studies. The course will discuss metadata’s role in digital information search and display, and provide extensive opportunities for hand-on experience with metadata management systems. Students’ performance will be assessed by a series of exercises and presentation as well as a final group project.

Seats:3
Delivery:Asynchronous
Date: Start: 8/23/2008 End: 12/9/2008
Syllabus Link: http://wiseeducation.org/documents/syllabi/Syracuse University-IST 600 M001 22228-Fall 2007(4.3.2007).pdf

Class Disclaimer: Students agree to the course parameters of the host institution, including but not limited to: course management tools, grading, any required residencies, possible synchronous sessions, and academic calendars. Students are expected to meet deadlines as outlined in course syllabus and to contribute to class participation. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid. **POSTED SYLLABUS IS FROM 2007 - UPDATED SYLLABUS FOR FALL 2008 WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE**

588W-OL: Strategic Planning in an Info-Based Organization page top

Home School: Syracuse University
Class Name: Managing Info Systems Projects
Class Number: IST 673
Class Section: M002 19477
Course Tool: WebCT
Faculty: Sharif
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: ** POSTED SYLLABUS IS FROM FALL 2007 - UPDATED SYLLABUS FOR FALL 2008 WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE** Linking information needs and technology support to organizational goals as a critical skill for professionals. How to develop a strategic planning process for information resources, identify strategic issues, link strategic planning with organizational mandates and mission, write a strategic plan with appropriate performance measures, implement the strategic planning process, and evaluate the planning system and outcomes.

Seats:3
Delivery:Asynchronous
Date: Start: 8/23/2008 End: 12/9/2008
Syllabus Link: http://wiseeducation.org/documents/syllabi/Syracuse University-IST 673-Fall 2008(3.5.2008).pdf

Class Disclaimer: Students agree to the course parameters of the host institution, including but not limited to: course management tools, grading, any required residencies, possible synchronous sessions, and academic calendars. Students are expected to meet deadlines as outlined in course syllabus and to contribute to class participation. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid. **POSTED SYLLABUS IS FROM 2007 - UPDATED SYLLABUS FOR FALL 2008 WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE**

589W-OL: Technologies in Web Content Management page top

Home School: Syracuse University
Class Name: Technologies in Web Content Management
Class Number: IST 558
Class Section: M001 24814
Course Tool: WebCT
Faculty: Wen-Yuan Hsiao
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: This course introduces concepts and techniques in website content representation, organization, presentation, and development with XML and related technologies. Students will learn about the basic XML syntax, XML vocabulary specification, data modeling, and XML Schema programming. Advanced topics will also be covered on manipulating XML data, including standards, namespaces and schemas, XML Transformation Language, and databases in relation to XML. Lab excises, case studies, and projects will be used to give students a hands-on experience as well as analytical skills in the Web content design and implementation.

Seats:3
Delivery:Asynchronous
Date: Start: 8/23/2008 End: 12/9/2008
Syllabus Link: n/a

Class Disclaimer: Students agree to the course parameters of the host institution, including but not limited to: course management tools, grading, any required residencies, possible synchronous sessions, and academic calendars. Students are expected to meet deadlines as outlined in course syllabus and to contribute to class participation. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid. **POSTED SYLLABUS IS FROM 2007 - UPDATED SYLLABUS FOR FALL 2008 WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE**

590W-OL:
Seminar in Contemporary Issues: Digital Copyright page top

Home School: San Jose State University
Class Name: Web 2.0 and Social Networking Tools
Class Number: Libr 246
Class Section: 12
Course Tool: Other
Faculty: Meredith Farkas
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: Social software is rapidly changing the way we all work and play online. Social technologies have turned the web into a participatory medium (Web 2.0) where everyone can add their own creativity and knowledge to the whole. It is also opening up new opportunities for reaching out to patrons and providing library services in the online medium. This course is focused on developing the skills and knowledge necessary to evaluate, implement and maintain social software tools. We will examine the social technologies that define Web 2.0 and how libraries can capitalize on these tools to improve communication between the library and its patrons, build online communities, and better share information professionally. Many social software tools are quite easy to get started with. It takes mere minutes to create a blog or a wiki and start adding content to them. This has led many libraries to dive into these technologies without properly planning for their ongoing use and maintenance. Blog posts must be made engaging so that people will read them. Wikis must be made inviting so that people will contribute. While the technologies are not difficult to learn, the challenge is to make them effective, engaging and useful in your library. This course will focus on social software best practices, highlighting successful examples and discovering what makes them so effective. This course will involve a significant amount of hands-on experience with the technologies as well as frequent reflections on how to apply what you've learned in a professional setting. You will have the opportunity to explore social software from an academic standpoint and a practical standpoint; understanding how communities form through these tools and how you can capitalize on them in a library setting.

Seats: 2
Delivery: Synchronous (6:30 - 8 p.m.)
Date: Start: 8/25/2008 End: 12/10/2008
Syllabus Link: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/246.farkas/246sp08gs.htm
Prerequisite Syllabus Link: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/202.weedman/202sp08gs.htm

Class Disclaimer: Prior experience with HTML recommended. Four synchronous online meetings: 9/4, 9/25, 10/30 and 12/4 (6:30 pm - 8 pm Pacific) Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

591W-OL:
Seminar in Contemporary Issues: Publishing for the Profession page top

Home School: San Jose State University
Class Name: Seminar in Contemporary Issues: Publishing for the Profession
Class Number: Libr 281
Class Section: 13
Course Tool: Blackboard
Faculty: Laurie Putnam
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: The health of any profession depends on the vigorous exchange of news, knowledge, and ideas, and today the field of library and information science (LIS) is especially vibrant. Libraries and their services are evolving, adapting to new technologies and user needs. Information issues are reaching across disciplines and communities and touching people everywhere, inside and outside the library. By writing about library and information subjects, we can support our profession and reach out to our communities. We can share, inform, and advocate.There’s plenty to write about. And there are plenty of publishing venues, in print and online. In fact, there are more professional publishing opportunities available to us today than ever before: professional journals and newsletters, weblogs and discussion lists, magazines and newspapers. To maintain the richness and relevancy of their content, many of these publications depend on the work of authors, editors, reviewers, and other contributors. You can join them. If you like to write and you have something to say about library and information science, this is a great time to start developing your ideas, sharing your work, and building your own portfolio of publications.

Seats: 2
Delivery: Asynchronous
Date: Start: 8/25/2008 End: 12/10/2008
Syllabus Link: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/281.putnam/281fa07gs.htm

Class Disclaimer: One synchronous online session 9/9, 6:30pm-8pm PDT To register for this course,it’s recommended that you have already completed several LIS courses. In this course you’ll be responsible for choosing the topics you want to research and write about. It’s easier to do that if you’ve already taken some electives, written lots of research papers, and had a chance to develop your own interests within the field. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

592W-OL:
Digital Citizenship page top

Home School: The University of Pittsburgh
Class Name: Digital Citizenship
Class Number: LIS 2970
Class Section:
Course Tool: Unknown
Faculty: Stuart Shulman
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: This course will examine the following topics: the digital divide; the role of librarians in addressing digital inequality; and the changing norms, laws, architecture, and markets governing information technology in politics and society more generally. This course incorporates a service learning component which will allow students to connect course information to hands-on, community-based learning experiences.

Seats: 5
Delivery: Asynchronous
Date: Start: 8/25/2008 End: 12/13/2008
Syllabus Link: Coming Soon...

Class Disclaimer: One synchronous online session 9/9, 6:30pm-8pm PDT To register for this course,it’s recommended that you have already completed several LIS courses. In this course you’ll be responsible for choosing the topics you want to research and write about. It’s easier to do that if you’ve already taken some electives, written lots of research papers, and had a chance to develop your own interests within the field. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

593W-OL:
Health Sciences Resources and Services page top

Home School: The University of Pittsburgh
Class Name: Health Sciences Resources and Services
Class Number: LIS 2586
Class Section:
Course Tool: Blackboard
Faculty: Ellen Detlefsen
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: Survey and evaluation of current sources, services, and trends related to information transfer in the health sciences, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, allied health, and veterinary science. Materials and services appropriate to hospital, academic, and special libraries, and information centers.

Seats: 5
Delivery: Asynchronous
Date: Start: 8/25/2008 End: 12/13/2008
Syllabus Link:

Class Disclaimer: One synchronous online session 9/9, 6:30pm-8pm PDT To register for this course,it’s recommended that you have already completed several LIS courses. In this course you’ll be responsible for choosing the topics you want to research and write about. It’s easier to do that if you’ve already taken some electives, written lots of research papers, and had a chance to develop your own interests within the field. Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

594W-OL:
Resources & Information Services: Digital Humanities page top

Home School: San Jose State University
Class Name: Resources & Information Services: Digital Humanities
Class Number: LIB220
Class Section:
Course Tool: Blackboard
Faculty: Schreibman, Susan
Credits: 3 Credit Hours at host school

Class Description: This course will explore the burgeoning field of digital humanities – how computational methods are being used to further humanities research and teaching. Most humanities scholars now use computers daily in the form of word processing and email. This course, however, will explore how advanced and experimental computational techniques are being used to challenge and change the very nature of humanities research as well as its system of academic rewards. Areas to be discussed include thematic research collections, a new genre akin to the scholarly article or monograph; 3D virtual recreations of ancient cities or monastic ruins; scholarly editions of films in which the film and its annotation are preserved in the same medium; born digital literature and art which poses new and substantial challenges in the area of preservation; e-lit and e-art which are breaking down traditional barriers between disciplines; and the experimental field of datamining and visualization which may provide us with more effective ways of sifting through hundreds, even thousands of pieces of information than methods we currently employ. This course will also focus on the various roles that librarians and archivists have played and will continue to play in the chain of digital scholarly communication, not simply because their repositories are the holders of the majority of primary resources from which many disciplines in the humanities draw, but because they are increasingly being turned to as final custodians for this born digital scholarship. This course will also discuss the crucial rule that information professionals play in the digital humanities by applying and adapting traditional library practice (such as classifying and cataloguing) to this new environment. The primary textbook for this course will be A Companion to Digital Humanities (Blackwell 2004), augmented by online articles, tools, and projects.

Seats: 1
Delivery: Asynchronous
Date: Start: 8/25/2008 End: 12/10/2008
Syllabus Link: N/A

Class Disclaimer: Please allow 2-3 weeks for grade processing after the end date of the course. Check that this delay will not interfere with deadline dates at your school for graduation or financial aid.

This page was last updated on August 7, 2008.