Feelings

Well, today is Good Friday and of course Wayne State is very much open. All in all, today is going smoothly and it's a beautiful day out. Monday of this week marked the beginning of 2010 Fall Registration. I am super excited because time is flying...I have one more semester to register for classes and that's 2010 Winter. I remember when I first started my MLIS Degree in the Fall of 2008. So much has happened since then and I wouldn't change anything. One of the major things that occurred in Fall of 2008 was the start of the MLIS Online Degree. Wayne State's Library & Information Science Program, as it was known in 2008, has grown tremendously. In 2009, the program became the School of Library & Information Science. Recently, a student within the SLIS began an email discussing the interest in parity between on-campus and online courses. Naturally, the the middle of the discussion quickly became on campus vs. online courses. This was my response:

Hello everyone,

I've seen/read nearly all of the responses to Ben's original post. I must say that I am very impressed to see my fellow students, with such passion might I add, articulate their beliefs/opinions regarding on campus/online courses. I too believe that the School has begun to tailor the degree more so to the needs of online students, as of late. I want to work in Public Libraries, essentially I want to become a Childrens Librarian. It was disheartening to see the lack of on campus classes being offered for the 2010 Spring/Summer semester(s). While I was blessed to find one being offered by the College of Education, I was amazed at how the SLIS is offering an abundance of online courses instead.I have been very fortunate in taking face-to-face courses, so encountering this "issue" for the 2010 Spring/Summer Semester(s) was a little surprising. I am not here to say which course style is better. I prefer face-to-face interaction/teaching because that is what most benefits me. I have only taken one online course and that was 6080 and I had a STRONG dislike for it. On the other hand, there are things that I learned from that class that I am still applying to my other LIS classes today. I would also like to add that in attending on campus classes I recognize that my mere attendance in those classes and doing homework aren't hardly enough. What should set any of us apart is the ambition and drive that each of us posesses, be it on campus/online, to adapt and thrive in a competitive profession.