PREREQUISITES:
This is a mandatory course for MLIS and MASLIS students to be taken during the last year of their program. It can only be taken by students registered in the MLIS or MASLIS program.
MLIS students need to have completed a minimum of 36 credits by the time they take this course.
MASLIS students need to have completed a minimum of 69 credits.
GOAL: As information professionals, graduates of the MLIS program need to be skilled at assessing their own learning and identifying additional areas of knowledge and opportunities for self-development in this rapidly changing field. This course will prepare graduates for future careers by providing: a framework for reflection and self-assessment of learning; an opportunity to further develop essential digital literacy skills; and an interactive forum in which to discuss current topics and reinforce knowledge of professional ethics and core commitments. Students will be graded on course assignments building up to the completion of an e-portfolio.
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Make effective use of an e-Portfolio for career planning and development.
- Reflect in an informed and critical manner on personal learning, knowledge, assumptions and practices, for purposes of self-development.
- Apply relevant theories of communication and principles of user-centred design in the creation of a digital media object.
- Organize and manage information to facilitate access and use in a professional context.
- Communicate effectively to professional audiences using digital media.
- Demonstrate collaboration and leadership in a small group setting.
- Draw upon knowledge of professional ethics, Indigenous peoples’ rights, and principles of equity, diversity and inclusion to guide your practices.
CONTENT:
- Role and function of Portfolios
- Content management systems and applications
- Information architecture and information design applied to Portfolios
- Professional writing and communication
- Writing for digital media; resumes & cover letters
- Job interviewing skills and approaches
- Critical self-reflection and reflective practice
- Life-long and life wide learning practices
- Career planning in the information fields
- Employment trends and key skills; the future of work
- Broader trends in LIS: future scenarios and directions
- Ethical and social commitments in the information professions