Archive for May, 2007
Buffaloes and Indians
May 30th, 2007
Today we are starting a new (the one that the book was supposed to be at the library, but wasn't) about Plains Indians. It is based on the book "Where the Buffaloes Begin" by Olaf Baker. Jellybean is really interested in the Plains Indians so I think she will really enjoy this one. We will be reading this book several times, as well as others, and we will also be doing lots of hands-on projects. Ladybug, Jellybean, and Sugarbear will be making notebooks and I will help Boo-bear make a lapbook (it will be her first). I have broken it down to do one major subject area (like science, language arts, etc) each day every week and it will take us 5 weeks to get through it. There are a couple of other subject areas that don't have as much to do, so I will combine those with one of the major subject areas. For instance, on Mondays we will do Social Studies, Tuesdays-Language Arts and Bible/Character studies, Wednesdays-Science, and Thursdays-Applied Math and Art. Then we will try to add in a couple of the extra activities each week. (This schedule will be pushed back to start today and go through Friday this week since yesterday was Memorial Day.) Most of our narrations and copywork will come from the unit study work and we will continue our regular math lessons and our other religion lessons. I think breaking it down to one subject area a day for the unit study will allow us to get a deeper study of it without rushing. I will post updates about how the unit study is going every so often. We are pretty new to the unit study idea (this will be our 3rd), but so far we have enjoyed them and it makes it easier to do more lessons together as a family. So off we go to the wide open plains....
The Carrier
May 30th, 2007
I arrive at Art & Play decidedly late for my turn at "setting up", although as I remembered to bring food to share for snack time, I decide that this is just as acceptable as being on time/early but with no food.
I proceed to unload the buggy from the boot when I realise that there is, in fact, no buggy to unload. Arrrgh.
So, not only do I walk up and down the village high street, relay-style, which is already trying my patience, I get to carry baby, rucksack, lunch, and extra spare clothes for the potty-training one. I attract lots of quizzical looks from the village inhabitants in my new role as a pack donkey.
Fortunately, another Mum offers to half my trips by taking Squiggle with her older daughter, if I will escort her younger daughter. As a result, I am reassured that other people's children also have a slight obsession in toiletting habits.
Trolley Swap
May 30th, 2007
One of the benefits of home education is being able to your shopping during the week, off-peak. Of course one of the benefits of school is being able to do your shopping without any children at all.
However, we are in Big Supermarket to do a big shop at the busiest possible time and it's while I'm contemplating this situation that I start to fill someone else's trolley and attempt to push it away, even though mine clearly has a baby and a toddler in it and hers clearly does not.
I Did It . . . Finally!
May 28th, 2007
I just emailed a letter to the Dean of the School of Information, Communication and Library Science at SCSU. I had initially sent him an inquiry at least a month ago, and he asked for the issues that I would like to have addressed. With the end of the semester, I had to push it off a bit - and really, I needed some space and some distance from this past semester. Once things quieted down, I began to second guess myself, question whether I wanted to continue to push things, and think about climbing back into my shell and just powering through the rest of the program. I definitely got the impression that several people would be very happy if I just let things go. Fortunately, I had the support of my advisor and with some subtle (so subtle he might even have realized that he was doing so) prodding on his part, I made myself revisit the whole . I determined that I needed to say something. We (students) can sit back and complain incessantly about things we think are unfair, wrong or unclear. However, how do people know what is wrong if people don't tell them? I don't want to be someone that just accepts status quo. If they will let me, I want to be an agent of positive change - to make things better - to make the education experience more rewarding. Along with some help from Pink and my new favorite song, U + Ur Hand, I got myself fired up again.
So, it is done. I wrote the letter - and we shall see.
Correspondence Courses
May 28th, 2007
4 out of 5 practicing private detectives agree: Correspondence courses are not worth your time and money.
Don't believe them? I was skeptical too. Honestly, they were the first thing I thought of when I thought of doing private investigations. After all, I had seen dozens of advertisements for them, and when you Google for information on how to get into the business, you will get many different distance learning courses in the first few pages of results. Then I did my due diligence, and the results tend to indicate that the majority is correct. You can decide for yourself, and if you know of more programs, feel free to let me know and I'll add them to the list.
- For $799, you'll get 35 lessons in 7 units which cover a large number of PI related topics. The guy who runs it does investigations, and the first lesson is actually free for the download so that you can see what it is all about. If you are the type who needs structure but can't put it together yourself, this is probably the course I would recommend. It seems comprehensive, puts a bit of emphasis on field exercises, and is not overly expensive. It is not accredited, so the diploma is mainly for show.
- For $372, you'll get 25 lessons in 5 units, which again cover a large number of topics. They also offer a downloadable curriculum for $285, and an add-on 12 lessons on cassette for $60. The DTI website specifically points out GSI as being an unethical school, but I haven't looked into that. It is not accredited, so the diploma is again mainly for show, but they also include a badge! Fan-cy (and illegal if you practice in California).
- A bit different than the other offerings, Hodson & Associates (a detective agency in LA) provides a series of video seminars, a certificate of completion, and more interestingly, "contact with investigation firms hiring now" for $150. Whether this is an introduction or a link to a job site is unknown.
- Now we get into the big bucks. This is a 2 year, 60 credit hour (20 courses), community college style program which costs $3795 and results in the Associate of Specialized Technology degree. Unfortunately this program isn't accredited either, but they get points for having the snazziest-looking diploma, and textbooks are included in the cost. If you don't have four grand, they also offer several certificate courses which focus on specific areas like undercover investigations and cost between $65 and $105 each.
- You know those post cards that fall out of magazines and offer to teach you how to become a locksmith, or a gunsmith, or an interior decorator, or a paralegal? Penn Foster gives you the option of "becoming" a private investigator by taking their 9 month, $1113 course (in California...the rest of the country gets a discount). Some of the pros for this school are that the course qualifies as continuing education if you need CEUs, offers some sort of mentorship program so you might get some experience out of it, and the school is accredited. However, the PI program does not yield a degree of any sort, so you'll have to be happy with the diploma. It is organized into 8 "instruction sets" that cover an apparently very wide ranging set of topics, from homeland security to handwriting analysis to executive protection. Personally, I think it is too wide ranging to be very useful for anything, but what do I know?
- I'll bet you think I'm going to tell you that this one, being free, is worth it. Well...I'm not.
- This $397, unaccredited certificate program includes 3 courses having 2 modules each, with 'labs' that encourage you to practice the skills conveyed.
- Another all-purpose school, PCDI offers 18 lessons for $918 which cover a wide range of activities, some of which may actually be useful. As Homer Simpson says, "How can I lose!?"
- This course doesn't pretend to be a school. For your $139, you get 4 hours of video, 400 pages of text, access to a website and a certificate for your troubles. The same group also has some instructional articles .
- Four modules with a disjointed educational plan for $589. As usual, unaccredited.
- This isn't a correspondence course, but rather an online provider of seminars on PI related topics, like skiptracing, surveillance, pretexting and marketing. Each hour is around $35, and delivered in a very odd way - you see the video online, and receive the audio by telephone. For a couple of dollars more, you can order the presentations on CD or USB drive, but for most of the apparently useful offerings, you must present proof of licensure, so it isn't much use for me and I can't comment on the quality.
As for the tagline, I really did ask 5 practicing PIs whether they thought the online courses (no particular course specified) were useful for someone getting into the biz. One said it couldn't hurt, the others laughed.
Distance Learning & Quality
May 28th, 2007
In the recently released issue of (Volume 30, Number 2, 2007), Stephen R. Ruth, Martha Sammons and Lindsey Poulin examine the current state of distance learning in an article titled "" One of the things that I found very helpful about this article is the section with demographic statistics about online learning enrollment in the U.S. - including the fact that there are about 3 million students (out of 17 million total) enrolled in online programs. While a good portion of these students are studying in community college, approximately 1/3 (or 1 million students) are in graduate programs. The authors then go one to look at several areas that they believe will provide significant challenges to distance programs: use of part-time and non-Ph.D.'d instructors, overall quality of programs, incentives for faculty to teach online programs, faculty productivity and an atmosphere of innovation at the administrative level.
The article is worth a read for anyone interested in distance learning. I can say that I honestly wasn't aware that some institutions have a great deal of difficulty getting established faculty to teach online - which can often lead to a greater number of adjunct faculty having to teach the online classes. I was also amazed at the number of students taking classes from non-accredited, online programs. This seems to be a large problem - especially for distance business programs where the top three online programs, in terms of enrollment, are not accredited.
These are exciting times in postsecondary education, and there's probably no issue more significant than the dramatic proliferation of e-learning. The foresight and innovative spirit of academic administrators will determine whether the next few years of e-learning are characterized by discipline, efficiency, and attention to quality—or unbridled growth, decreases in graduation rates, and fragmented service.
Here, they stress the need for an innovative spirit in order for online programs to distinguish themselves. This part caught my attention. Innovation will be the ways the schools and programs distinguish themselves from the crowd. It isn't enough for schools to take their traditional classes and just put them online. In order to succeed in the long run, online programs need to be better.
Some Thoughts on My Program:
SCSU’s MLS program is accredited by the American Library Association - that much I did check before I applied. Fortunately, there is not a significant percentage of adjunct faculty or instructors versus full-time faculty. So far, all of the classes that I have taken have been taught by full-time, tenured instructors that teach both online and face-to-face classes. However, this was not something that I thought to check before I enrolled. I guess students ought to add these items to the list when exploring and comparing distance programs.
Distance Education & The Library - Web Resources
May 28th, 2007
These are web resources that I used for my recent paper on the impact of distance education on the academic library for ILS560-College & University Libraries.
College & University Distance Education Websites
- - Ferdinand D. Bluford Library at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University - Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Hilton C. Buley Library at Southern Connecticut State University - Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Ramsey Library Off-Campus Services - D. Hiden Ramsey Library at University of North Carolina at Asheville - Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Central Virginia Community College Library - Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Ferris Library for Information, Technology & Education, Ferris State University. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - J. Murrey Atkins Library - University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - McGoogan Library of Medicine - University of Nebraska Medical Center. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - The University Center Libraries. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Utah Valley State College Library. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Eastern Kentucky University Libraries - Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Hamilton Library at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- . Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Merrill-Cazier Library - Utah State University. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Lane Library - Artmstrong Atlantic State University. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - The J. Conrad Donagan Library Online - The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Golden Library at Eastern New Mexico University. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Indiana University at Bloomington Libraries. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Calvin T. Ryan Library - University of Nebraska Kearney. Accessed May 4, 2007.
- . Accessed May 4, 2007.
- - Gelman Library - George Washington University. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Owens Library - Northwest Missouri State University. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - The University of Texas at Arlington Library. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - University of Wisconsin Colleges Libraries. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
Other Web Resources
- - University of Wisconsin-Extension. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- . Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Journal of Library Services for Distance Education - ISSN: 1096-2123 - 1997-1999. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
- - Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. Accessed on May 4, 2007.
Distance Education & The Library Resources
May 28th, 2007
These are the resources the I used for my paper on the impact of distance education on the academic library for ILS560-College & University Libraries earlier this semester.
- ACRL (2004). Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services. American Library Association. (Accessed on April 13, 2007).
- Adams, Chris. (1997). The Future of Library Services for Distance Education: What Are We Doing, Where Are We Heading, What Should We Be Doing? Journal of Library Services for Distance Education, 11(1). (Accessed on April 15, 2007).
- Bancroft, Donna and Susan Lowe. (2006). Helping Users Help Themselves: Evaluating the Off-Campus Library Services Web Site, Journal of Library Administration, 45(1/2), 17-35.
- Black, Nancy E. (2001). Emerging Technologies: Tools for Distance Education and Library Services. Journal of Library Administration, 31(3/4), 45-60.
- Buchanan, Elizabeth A. (2000). Going the Extra Mile: Serving Distance Education Students. Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 3(1) (Accessed on April 19, 2007).
- Buckstead, Jonathan R. (2001). Developing an Effective Off-Campus LibraryServices Web Page: Don’t Worry, Be Happy! Journal of Library Administration, 31(3/4), 93-107.
- Butler, John. (1997). From the Margins to the Mainstream: Developing Library Support for Distance Learning. An Occasional Newsletter of the University of Minnesota Libraries. 8(4). (Accessed on April 19, 2007).
- Calvert, Hildegund M. (2001). Document Delivery Options for Distance Education Students and Electronic Reserve Service at Ball State University Libraries. Journal of Library Administration, 31(3/4), 109-125.
- Casado, Margaret. (2001). Delivering Library Services to Remote Students. Computers in LIbraries, 21(4), 31-38.
- Cassner, Mary and Kate E. Adams. (2006). Assessing the Professional Development Needs of Distance Librarians in Academic Libraries, Journal of Library Administration, 45(1/2), 81-99.
- Caspers, Jean, Jack Fritts and Harvey Goover. (2001). Beyond the Rhetoric: A Study of the Impact of the ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services on Selected Distance Learning Programs in Higher Education. Journal of Library Administration, 31(3/4), 127-148.
- Coffman, Steve. (2001). Distance Education and Virtual Reference: Where are We Headed? Computers in Libraries, 21(4), 20-25.
- Cooper, Jean L. (2000). A Model for Library Support of Distance Education in the
USA. Interlending & Document Supply, 28(3), 123-131. - Cornell University Library. (1998). Cornell University Library Distance Learning White Paper. (Access on April 15, 2007).
- Croft, Rosie and Nancy Eichenlaub. (2006). E-mail Reference in a Distributed Learning Environment: Best Practices, User Satisfaction, and the Reference Services Continuum, Journal of Library Administration, 45(1/2), 117-147.
- Dewald, Nancy, Ann Scholz-Crane, Austin Booth, and Cynthia Levine. (2000). Information Literacy at a Distance: Instructional Design Issues. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 26(1), 33-44.
- Dewald, Nancy H. (1999). Transporting Good Library Instruction Practices into the Web Environment: An Analysis of Online Tutorials. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 25(1), 26-32.
- Gaide, Susan. (2004). Integrated Library Services Boosts Online Recruitment and Retention, Distance Education Report, 8(8), 1-4.
- Gandhi, Smiti. (2003). Academic Librarians and Distance Education: Challenges and Opportunities. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 43(2), 138-154.
- Getty, Nancy K., Barbara Burd, Sarah K. Burns and Linda Piele. (2000). Using Courseware to Deliver Library Instruction Via the Web: Four Examples. Reference Services Review, 28(4), 349-359.
- Gibbons, Susan. (2002). Course Management Systems. Library Technology Reports, 41(3), 7-11
- Gregory, Vicki L. (2003). Student Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Web-based Distance Education. New Library World, 104(1193), 426-431.
- Hanson, Brian. (December 2, 2001). Distance Learning. CQResearcher, 11(42). Retrieved online at (Accessed April 14, 2007).
- Hines, Samantha Schmehl. (2006). What Do Distance Education Faculty Want from the Library? Journal of Library Administration, 45(1/2), 215-227.
- Hisle, W. Lee (November 2002). Top Issues Facing Academic Libraries: A Report of the Focus on the Future Task Force. College & Research Libraries News, 63(10). (Accessed April 14, 2007).
- Kazmer, Michelle M. (220). Distance Education Students Speak to the Library:Here’s How You Can Help even More. The Electronic Library, 29(5), 395-400.
- McIsaac, M.S. & Gunawardena, C.N. (1996). Distance Education. In D.H. Jonassen, ed. Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology: A Project of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. 403-437.
New York: Simon & Schuster. (Accessed April 19, 2007). - McLean, Evadne and Stephen H. Dew. (2006). Providing Library Instruction to Distance Learning Students in the 21st Century: Meeting the Current and Changing Needs of a Diverse Community, Journal of Library Administration, 45(3/4), 313-337.
- Moyo, Lesley Mutinta and Ellysa Stern Cahoy. Meeting the Needs of Remote Library Users. Library Management, 24(6/7), 281-290.
- Nipp, Deanna. (1998). Innovative Use of the Home Page for Library Instruction, Research Strategies, 16(2), 93-102.
- O’Leary, Mick. (2000). Distance Learning and Libraries. Online, 24(4), 94-96.
- Painter, Mary Ann. (2005). Library Support for Distance Learning. Distance Education Report, 9(12), 3.
- Peacock, Judith and Michael Middleton. (1999). Mixed Mode Education: Implications for Library User Services. New Library World, 199(1146), 11-19.
- Reiten, Beth A. and Jack Fritts. (2006). Distance Learning Librarianship Over Time: Changes in the Core Literature, Journal of Library Administration, 45(3/4), 397-410.
- Richard, Debbi. (2006). On the Road Again: Taking Bibliographic Instruction Off Campus, Journal of Library Administration, 45(3/4), 411-425.
- Roccos, Linda Jones. (2001). Distance Learning and Distance Libraries: Where are they now? Journal of Distance Learning and Administration, 4(3). . (Accessed on April 20, 2007).
- Stevens, Norman D. (2006). The Fully Electronic Academic Library. College & Research Libraries, 67(1), 5-14.
- Wang, Chengzhi and Zao Liu. (2003). Distance Education: Basic Resource Guide. Collection Building, 22(3), 120-130.
- Williams, Pete and David Nicholas. (2005). E-learning: What the Literature Tells us about Distance Education. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives, 57(2), 109-122.
- Woolls, Blanche, Ken Dowlin and David Loertscher. (2002). Distance Education: Changing Formats. The Electronic Library, 20(5), 420-424.
Online Education: Things That Work & Things That Don’t
May 28th, 2007
Over on the blog , there is a bit of discussion about and in online classes - and it looks like the comments are from students. I have to agree with most all of the comments expressed. Even more, I love the fact that students and the administration at San Jose State University are having these conversations!!!!