Even I Had Questions as a New Student

When I need to think through something and plan, I write things down. I write down lists of what I could decide on, questions I have, things to consider--basically anything remotely related that I think of gets written down. When I was trying to figure out the logistics of my program (and everything that entailed), it was no different.

I even went to visit my advisor. Since I live within driving distance of the campus and she is also within driving distance, I was able to meet with her on campus one day before the start of my program. I had a list of questions that I took in with me. Now, mind you, I had done some research on the program and MLIS programs at other schools before applying at the campus where I now attend. And I was working full-time--as I am now--so I knew I couldn't speed through my program as fast as I would like. When I took my first steps on the campus on my way to her office, I already had a general idea of how I expected my program to go (which I find hilarious because I've drifted somewhat from my original plan).

So here are the questions I asked my advisor on that summer afternoon and her responses:

1. Which of the 200, 202, and 204 classes should I plan to take my first semester if I only plan to take one of them? Take 200. It will fulfill the writing requirement.


2. Is there a limit to the amount of time that a student can take to finish the MLIS degree? 7 years.

3. Regarding internships, are they a mandatory part of the program? If so, can I consider my current position as librarian for internship credit? They are not required. There is a database of internship opportunities. One credit is equal to 45 hours in an internship. There may be weekend internship opportunities. (I don't know if this was before virtual internships, but those work well for those with full-time positions or that won't be able to be on-site due to geography.)

4. Can students exceed the 43 unit requirement for the program? No.

5. In your experience, how often should online students plan to be "online"? Approx. how many times a week do students typically log on? To be successful, plan on logging on every day. Also, be active on the discussion forum!

6. How accelerated are the summer courses? 10 weeks instead of 14 or 15 weeks.

7. Does the schedule of summer courses change from year to year or are there some courses that are always offered at this time? Check the class rotation list.

8. Do the "seminar" classes work any different than the other classes? No, they are done the same.

9. Can students who have earned their MLIS degree from the SJSU program come back and take other courses offered after they graduate? No. (This was before the department began offering the Post Master's Certificate Program.)

Some other advice my advisor gave me was to follow the new student checklist and read it carefully. She suggested becoming organized by using a calendar for important things and logging in frequently. She also mentioned scholarships available through the school and possible grants from ALA. The last piece of advice she gave me was to get involved. Being a distance student is hard (we are so isolated at times it seems), and getting involved in the program or the school in some way can help to build connections. Joining and participating in some of the student organizations--SLISConnect, ALASC (ALA Student Chapter), etc.--would be great experience and are ways to build your resume. I ended up becoming the Student Representative on one of the department's governance committees and got to help with the self-assessment for the program for next year's accreditation!

To all my new students, we all have questions when we first begin. Don't hesitate to ask yours!

To the New Online Student -- How Do You Do It?

For the new online student, becoming a student in a virtual classroom--while still keeping up life and work obligations--may seem like a huge undertaking. Back when I first started my online program I was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle school on top of everything else I had to do, despite my determination to succeed. For many of us that enter this MLIS program, we aren't coming in fresh off the BA/BS boat; it's been some time since we last were in school, be it a few years or even a few decades. We have jobs that we can't leave for school because, let's admit it, we need that paycheck. We have families that all require time from our day. And sometimes we just need to take a break and spend an hour or two reading, playing another couple rounds of Mario Kart, gardening, crafting, cooking, walking, or whatever else it is that we enjoy. So in our already busy lives, is it even possible to do it all? Today, I can tell you IT CAN BE DONE!

Three big things come to mind when I think of how I made it all work for me: motivation, organization, and scheduling. Motivation is what keeps me going, the drive to check in with my course several times a week (and sometimes at least once a day) and complete all reading and assignments on time. The amount of reading you'll do varies from course to course. Some have a lot of reading--textbook, articles, additional content--and some have less just because of the nature of the course content (such as LIBR 240, where you learn how to code in HTML and CSS). The assignments also vary from class to class. Some classes have several papers or assignments due over the course of the semester. Others have one big project that you work cumulatively on over the entire semester. Finding a way to stay motivated will help you to stay on top of everything you need to do. My motivation is getting my diploma in May of next year (which will open doors and give me more options of where I can take my career from here). Why are you in this program? What do you hope to do after you finish? Answering these questions can help you find a reason to be motivated and do your best.

But motivation isn't all you need. There's a lot to keep track of: deadlines, readings, assignments, lectures, discussions, etc. Online students also would do well to find a way to stay organized. I use my calendar in Outlook to record class lectures and deadlines, and set up reminders so that I don't forget them. Each course gets a binder or manila folder (depending on how much I have to keep track of) where I can put the course syllabus, articles (I'm someone that needs to print them out so I can highlight and write on them), assignment descriptions, and any other notes I may have. I use post-its to mark important sections in my textbooks. If I'm feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work it seems like I have to do for an assignment, I make a to-do list and break it down into smaller tasks; each task I accomplish gets checked off and I'm much less likely to forget something. I log into my course site regularly to make sure that I don't miss important information. It sounds like a lot of work (and it is!), but doing some work each day helps to keep it all under control and prevent you from falling behind. Courses seem to go by really fast, so it's hard to catch up if you fall behind.

Scheduling your time can work really well to make sure you're giving everything (including job and life) enough time and attention. For me, I would schedule time to work on school during my lunch hour, at night when I get home from my job, and on the weekends. Sometimes I find other opportunities to work on school; but even if I don't, I know I have enough time for course work because I've scheduled it in. I also schedule time to do something fun--I need breaks/downtime, too! My scheduling method is really informal (I tend to just note down general times), and others may find that they need to put together a day-by-day calendar where they can fill in exact times for things. This is fine, but keep in mind that things can change; assignment deadlines could be pushed back, readings could be switched around, or unexpected things in life could come up--all of which might affect your schedule. So schedule away, but be flexible.

There is a learning period when jumping into an online program. You're not necessarily going to get everything perfectly balanced when you first start. Find your groove, be as organized as you need to be, build a schedule that works for you, and stay motivated!

Pork Tenderloin With Apricot Jam

I love apricot jam. It is the one jam that I always have in my fridge. I don't even need to make anything to eat with it; just a small piece of sliced bread from the bag is enough for me. My mom makes the best homemade apricot jam, and I just got two jars from her over the weekend. I had a pork tenderloin that I had been meaning to cook, and what could go better with pork than apricot jam? Okay, you may have another preference, but I like combining sweet substances with pork (for example, bacon tastes outstanding with maple syrup).

So here is a recipe for making a pork tenderloin with apricot jam. And even better, it's for a slow cooker.

What you'll need:
1 pork tenderloin, about 2 lbs. (can be frozen)
2 c. baby carrots
1 med. red onion, thinly sliced
1 c. chicken stock
1 jar apricot preserves*
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 large spring of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper

What you'll need to do:
1. Place the onions and carrots into the bottom of a slow cooker (not sure how big it needs to be, but mine is at least 4 quarts).
2. Season the pork loin with salt and pepper and place on top of the carrots and onions. If using a frozen pork loin that's on the large size, you may have to partially thaw it in order to fit it into the slow cooker.
3. Mix the chicken stock, apricot preserves, and Dijon mustard together. Pour over the pork loin and add the sprig of thyme.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. If using a frozen or partially frozen pork loin, increase cooking time by 1-2 hours.

*There are jars of different sizes out there, so find one that is at least 12-14 oz. Otherwise, you'll not be able to taste much apricot.

You may need to add more salt and pepper to the dish before eating it. I found that I needed more than what I seasoned my pork loin with; I got a mostly sweet flavor, rather than a balance between sweet and salty that I prefer. You can serve this with rice (my preference) or potatoes. Or just use a couple thick slabs of bread to soak up the sauce!

Embarking as a Peer Mentor

Over the next couple of months, the focus of my blog is going to shift. In my last post, I mentioned that I am going to be a peer mentor for new students starting their SLIS program this fall. I will be a resource, a coach, and a TA all wrapped up in one package. While a little nervous (it's been a long time since I was in charge of a class as a teacher or TA), I'm looking forward to the prospect of helping these students get a firm foot into the door of their program. Online classes are not easy, and any guidance I can give them to get them acclimated to the online learning environment translates to less stress about where to go and how to do things.

During the course of the class, I will be posting regularly on my blog (I seem to be getting a lot of use out of it for my classes this year), but these posts will be tailored more to the taste of new online students. My goal will be to address questions or concerns they may have, and my blog will be filled with my answers and advice for them. I will still sprinkle it with recipes (I can't wait to get cooking in my new kitchen!), and of course dear reader you are welcome to read all of the advice I give and the questions I address. But all in all, expect to see more activity here, at least until late September when this particular class ends.

I did want to also mention this fun list of websites provided by the ALA. It's called the Best Websites for Teaching and Learning. The ALA makes a new list every year. These sites are fun and creative and have the potential for so many uses outside the classroom. Tagxedo, the site I used to create the word cloud in my last post, was on the list in the past, as was Glogster and Prezi. I invite you to go through the list and check out some of the sites listed, even if you are far from a classroom (physical or virtual). I did some exploring and found a really fun presentation-type site called Smore. You can create flyers (for free!) that are much more than your run-of-the-mill, stapled-to-a-lamppost flyer. These flyers are interactive. In addition to text, you can add pictures with captions, embed videos and audio, and list links that visitors can click on. It's a creative way for businesses and non-profits to get their names out, to be sure. But students can use it for organizing report summaries and resources, instructors/teachers could use it for posting weekly assignments or resources relating to class, or (as in my case) TAs can use it to introduce themselves to the class they are working with. It's fun, try it!

I definitely want s'more Smore.

Technology Is Fun!

Really, it is. There's no reason to be afraid of it, and a little practice will have you using it like a pro.

I am about to start my second-to-last semester as a peer mentor for new MLIS students who will be starting their very first classes in the program. My job is to help make them comfortable with the online learning environment, learn about and become familiar with the various types of technologies they will use as part of their program, give them an idea of what to expect in their program, and help alleviate worries they may have. This is a class I've wanted to take for awhile, and this semester is my last opportunity to do it, so I'm very glad that I was accepted for the peer mentor program.

Us peer mentors have a bit of preparation before the beginning of the class that we will be mentoring in, which opens before the official start of the semester to give those new students that want to the opportunity to begin settling in the online learning environment before the additional pressures of their other classes begin. As we (the peer mentors) are introducing ourselves to each other, we're being encouraged to incorporate other technology into our introduction to make it a little more interesting. So far, someone has used Spice Nodes, Glogster, and YouTube. I decided to make a word cloud using the words of my blog. And since it's blog-related, it only seems appropriate that I share that here too.

If you want to make one of your own, head on over to Tagxedo.

Bachelor Surprise and Refrigerator Soup

I was able to spend a good part of my weekend with K and her husband (and my adorable godson of course), and once again they so generously invited me to stay for a meal. Saturday was pulled pork tacos (the pork was made by K, and very well done I might add) on homemade corn tortillas (a la Z), and Sunday was Bachelor Surprise. K doesn't like to cook much, even though she can and does make good food like awesome red velvet cake; most of the tasty food in the household can be attributed to her husband Z. Z is very much a do-it-yourselfer in the kitchen; he comes from the same school of thought that homemade from scratch is best. He even roasts his own coffee (something Scooter hopes to try after we move); it's because of Z that I discovered and have come to love the "city roast," a roast of coffee that I can't find in the store since it has a much shorter shelf life than the whole bean or ground coffee you can buy. I wish I could accomplish some of what he's able to do, but alas with a shoebox-sized kitchen (that is to say a "galley") cooking everything from scratch is not always possible because I don't have enough workspace or can't fit the appliances into my (microscopic) kitchen. I love eating over there because even if I don't recognize the dish, I know it will be good.

On Sunday when we were eating his latest batch of Bachelor Surprise, he explained what it was and how he made it. He started making it years ago to use up leftover food. It's an amalgamation of the leftovers in the fridge--whatever they might be--seasoned with complementary spices. Because leftovers inevitably change (and the spices he then chooses do too), the dish is different every time he makes it, and sadly there's no real recipe for it. K fondly remembers him meeting her at the airport with a bowl of Bachelor Surprise many a time before they got married.

When she was alive, my grandmother would do something similar with soup. In her house, soup was a staple every day for lunch, except on Sundays when she would make brunch. Every few days, Gramma would make Refrigerator Soup. She would start with a soup starter (a brand that you can no longer find around here) and add leftovers from the fridge: sauteed zucchini and squash, giblets she saved from a chicken she pan-fried, leftover chicken, cut-up cooked string beans, sometimes even pasta, anything that needed to be used before it got too old was fair game. Despite the hodge-podge of ingredients, the end result was always a thick, hearty soup that she was well-known for among family and friends. Her Refrigerator Soup was relished any time of the year regardless of the weather, usually with a small sandwich or two on the side.

Both Z and Gramma didn't work from a recipe--the mixing of ingredients and spices is done by inclination, by feel. And even though no version of Bachelor Surprise or Refrigerator Soup is ever the same, it's still really good. It is the measure of a true cook to be able to create something delicious by just throwing things together sans recipe. Z and my grandmother have/had the idea down, and I would like to think that Scooter and I are coming along with that kind of cooking too. We'll get in a lot more practice once we have a bigger kitchen to work in.

Do you have something you make that you just "throw together?" Feel free to post about it in the comments.

Friday Fireworks

It's tradition in this little coastal town to set off fireworks for Independence Day, although they aren't always scheduled on the actual holiday. Apparently, this is a much bigger local event that I thought. I have seen the fireworks here before, but that was at my great-uncle's house which had the perfect view from the glass-fronted covered deck next to the living room. All the viewing pleasure without having to go out in the cold. And with the TV on and family laughing and joking, we could easily ignore any traffic going by the house.

This time, we were outside on the deck (wrapped up in warm clothing and a blanket) in a house that faces the only access road to the fireworks' ground zero. We had a great view from the house and didn't need to drive anywhere--and good thing too. Apparently, people want to be as close to the fireworks as possible because cars were driving by the house all day. I can only imagine what kind of creative parking people were doing to fit their car in so they could watch the show. I assume that there was much parking on grass and at angles only a protractor could replicate (that is my poor effort at a math joke). To give you an idea of how many people there were, the line of cars after the fireworks stretched all the way to the other side of of the harbor past where we could see (a couple of miles at least). There were still cars going by after 11pm, more than a hour after the show ended. So yeah, it's a popular show in this area.

We also got to enjoy another American summer tradition: smores. Nothing like a good smore washed down with a glass of milk for a little pre-show treat. For those who don't know what a smore is (I do get some international readers apparently), it's made by sandwiching a roasted marshmallow--it needs to be gooey for full effect--and a piece of chocolate between two graham crackers. It's really sweet, but still really good.

There is always a risk that the fog will come in and cause the fireworks show to be canceled. Luckily, that didn't happen last night. The sky remained clear and I could see still see stars when we went back inside. I looked outside this morning and there is a healthy cover of fog over the water. Good thing the fireworks weren't scheduled for today. And I think my sunbathing may be over. The heat wave has broken.

July Travels

I spoke to my mom yesterday. She's dealing with some minor medical issues, and to speed her recovery and keep them from becoming major medical issues she has adopted a personal mantra of keeping things stress-free. Thanks, Mom for the inspiration because at least for this weekend I am doing the same.

Scooter and I have escaped to the coast, back to my aunt and uncle's summer home in the coastal village I love so much. The uncomfortable heat at home means that for the first time ever (at least since I started bringing Scooter up here), the weather is warm enough to spend time enjoying the deck. Last night, after getting into town late, we sat out on the deck for quite awhile, enjoying the quiet and looking at the stars in a clear night sky that should have been shrouded in fog. We relaxed and talked and just were. A drastic change in my chaotic routine, and one I have desperately needed. Stress-free, just like the mantra says.

This morning, we cooked a simple breakfast and ate while sitting in the deck chairs with a chorus of morning bird calls and the harbor's foghorn. I hear the gulls off in the distance at one of the wharfs calling out for food. The sky is a perfect color of blue, although there seems to be a fog bank out in the direction of the ocean that is fighting with the sun and losing. I can see boats coming into the harbor right up the Channel, turning the calm water into white froth. Turkey vultures are soaring through the sky, using the wind to lift them without a single flap of their wings. The warm wood of the deck is soothing on my bare feet and the slight breeze that's making the tree branches gently sway feels delightful. It's really the perfect, idyllic morning and I'm sorry it's taken a few years of coming up here to finally win the weather lottery.

The rest of the day will likely be more of the same. I brought up some of my old art supplies, something I've been wanting to take up again after having been away from sketching and drawing for years. This place inspires me, and I want and hope to somehow capture the kinship I feel with this place. I still think this town would be the perfect setting for a fantasy novel, for it possesses a quiet mystique if you only know how to see it.

Yep, definitely a stress-free day.