USF SLIS: East Coast Connection

One thing I have to say about Dr. Simon is that he teaches the best classes in the program. He is on top of cutting edge information technology, and is aware of many interesting projects taking place in the tech sphere of libraries. I absolutely loved this class, and I was really sad that I was so busy this semester between work and school that I did not get to take full advantage of it. I love the assignment structure of the class. There were really only two assignments, a course journal, and the 5-7 page (single spaced) research paper. The texts were informative, but not exactly inspiring, but the best part about the class is that every week Dr. Simon gave us 4-5 websites to explore and critique. I also had a great group of passionate classmates, who were just as interested in the material as I was, so there were a lot of real discussions that took place, not the usual forced crap. If you are interested in information technology take this class.

I took foundations my first semester at USF with Dr. Scott Simon. There was some interesting, yet challenging reading material. Foundations is a core class that is impossible to avoid. Taking it with Dr. Simon is definitely an acceptable route. There are 4 assignments along with the expectation of weekly readings, and entries into the discussion forum. The readings include Raber's Problem of Information and Batelle's The Search. The assignments include a paper on the history of the library, or a library, an interview with a librarian, a paper on ethics, and a 5-7 page research paper. It is kind of an average class, nothing to get excited about, but manageable, and at times thought provoking. m.

I took Dr. Scott Simon for the 5020 Foundations class my first semester at USf. I thought he chose interesting and challenging reading materials, and I believe the class was set up in a strait forward and logical fashion. The class knew what was expected of us, and it was an environment that was easy to succeed in. There are some things I think he could improve. He was more or less absent on the discussion boards, offering little more than generic compliments every couple of weeks. He assigned us thought provoking reading material, and I would have like to seen him take charge of the discussion boards a bit more, and probe us to really think about the materials. Another problem I had was the complete absence of feedback on the four assignments we had. If I spend two months on a research paper, I would like my professor to say a few things about it. Overall, he is definitely not a reason to avoid taking a class. I am taking another class with him this semester, digital libraries, and I am looking forward to it.

...wish I'd thought of it! Thanks for doing this, Martin. I originally posted this in my comments section, but think it may be more useful here, so I'm reposting. I'm taking Intro to Library Admin with Dr. Dee this semester. I started last semester with Foundations with Dr. Simon. I liked him, he made my first experience with grad school relatively painless. However, I didn't care for the textbook and don't feel I really learned much from it - the theory of information just didn't thrill me. On the other hand, I liked the assignments we did, and learned a lot from doing them. But I've heard him called an "A" machine, which upsets my competitive nature! Dr. Dee has two sections of this class, and I got closed out of the online only class. So Friday I went to Tampa for the first of two class meetings. The second meeting is optional, but I think it falls on the same weekend as Bern's wine festival, so that may make it worth the effort to go back! It was great meeting people who are otherwise just names on a discussion board. I was a little bothered by a comment that Dr. Dee made, that she feels that students who take online only classes do so because they don't want to get as involved. I can't help but wonder if other professors feel the same way. I take them because I'm 4 hours away from Tampa, work full time at the library, have a family to take care of, not to mention a website (bookbitch.com) and a book I'm working on. Which also explains the one class a semester track I'm on. One of the main reasons I selected USF over FSU was the possibility of having classroom time versus 100% online. I didn't want to have to drive to Tampa for it, but in my two semesters so far, I haven't been able to manage a classroom setting on the east coast. But I'm hopeful.

I took Dr. Scott Simon for the 5020 Foundations class my first semester at USf. I thought he chose interesting and challenging reading materials, and I believe the class was set up in a strait forward and logical fashion. The class knew what was expected of us, and it was an environment that was easy to succeed in. There are some things I think he could improve. He was more or less absent on the discussion boards, offering little more than generic compliments every couple of weeks. He assigned us thought provoking reading material, and I would have like to seen him take charge of the discussion boards a bit more, and probe us to really think about the materials. Another problem I had was the complete absence of feedback on the four assignments we had. If I spend two months on a research paper, I would like my professor to say a few things about it. Overall, he is definitely not a reason to avoid taking a class. I am taking another class with him this semester, digital libraries, and I am looking forward to it.