The Technological Advance: Moving Forward with Online Programs

Posted February 12, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas

Anyone who has stepped into a library, museum, or archives in the last ten years has seen the field’s foray into technology.  But what happens when not only the institutions in the library and information sciences field – but the education that provides the people to eventually staff those institutions – also takes the plunge into embracing technology?
Completely online programs for awarding certificates – or even entire degrees – have rocketed to popularity, even with Simmons.  Within the past year or so, the GSLIS program alone has installed two certificate programs – one for Digital Stewardship and one for Instructional Technology – and one master’s degree in Archives Management.  Through these programs, Simmons has created an entirely online community where students interact with other students and teachers, attend office hours, submit assignments, give presentations, and have discussions.
There is even a completely online orientation, which, in the case of the Archives Management Degree, included a coffee hour where Simmons sent Starbucks gift cards internationally and set up a Skype meeting space.   Then, a professor and a facilitator answered any and all questions the new students had about the potential program.
With all of these advances, the space between the online programs and the face-to-face programs is diminishing – but is this for the better?  It appears that the online students approve, so far; however, only time will tell.
Technology has given so many new dilemmas and problems into the field of library science, but it has opened the doors into a new way to exchange information through the online platform.  This new step that Simmons has taken has placed it on the forefront of a change in how learning occurs, and has experienced great success thus far.
For more information, take a look at the links for the online programs!
Master’s Degree: Online Archives Management Concentration:
http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/academics/programs/masters/online-mslis/index.php
Post-Master’s Certificate: Digital Stewardship:
http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/academics/programs/post-masters/dsc/index.php
Post-Master’s Certificate: Instructional Technology Licensure:
http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/academics/programs/post-masters/technology/index.php