by Irene Korber
Are you looking for new ways to connect with other SLIS students, as well as SLIS faculty and alumni?
It can be challenging to stay in touch in an online learning community, and social networking sites offer new opportunities to interact and keep up with important announcements. With this in mind, SLIS launched a Facebook page last spring, and students may want to check it out at http://www.facebook.com/sjsuslis.
The School’s Facebook page offers a number of benefits to students. Each week the School posts news about upcoming events, recent awards, scholarship application deadlines, and student and alumni accomplishments. You can also view and post photos on the site.
The Facebook Wall is an excellent place for students to ask questions and get responses from their peers, as well as faculty, staff and alumni. For example, after students attend a professional conference, they post their reflections on the Wall, helping their peers learn more about how to get the most out of professional conference attendance. Students can use this online presence to practice and hone their networking skills with fellow students and professionals in the field. They can also learn more about how to use social networking sites to build community – a skill many employers value.
Instructors use the Facebook page to describe their courses, answer student questions about upcoming curriculum, and recruit research assistants. Internship supervisors announce opportunities on the page, inviting students to network with them and ask questions. The page also includes interactions with students who have completed internships, so their peers can learn more about what internships are like. Alumni also use the site, making it possible for students to interact online with alumni and expand their professional network.
The School posts links to useful resources, such as career exploration strategies, job announcements, professional development opportunities, and conferences.
You do not have to be a Facebook user to view the page, but if you are, you can click on the “Like” button to incorporate updates into your news feed. You can also use Twitter to read the Facebook news feed.
Irene Korber is in her third and final year of the SLIS program, with an expected graduation date of May 2011. In addition to managing the SLIS Facebook page, she works part-time in University Advancement at California State University, Chico and is currently interning at the American River College Library in Sacramento. In her free time, Irene plays music in a folk-punk band and enjoys reading in the sunshine on the banks of the Feather River. You can find her on Twitter as IreneAlexis.