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University of MarylandHCI Lab Symposium
iSchools, iCaucus, iField, iFaculty,
iStudents – i..i..i. What Gives?Mike Eisenberg
iSchool, University of WashingtonMay 27, 2009
- Prologue -
M. Eisenberg 2009
- The End -
Thank you
very much!
The Question
How can we best meet the
information needs of users?
Multiple Choice
How can we best meet the information needs of users?
(a) technology(b) training(c) it all depends…
Answer
“It all depends…”
Eisenberg’s Rule
“Users”
“It all depends…”
M. Eisenberg 2009
USER(S)
NEEDS
TYPE PROCESSES
MANAGEMENT
RESOURCES ORGANIZATION
Depends on …
SITUATION
BEHAVIOR
SYSTEMS
VALUES
Common Binding Perspective
- Feature presentation -
M. Eisenberg 2009
Agenda
1. The Information Perspective
2. iSchools and the Information Field• Academic programs• Research• Attributes
3. Doctoral education
4. Q&A
M. Eisenberg 2009
Agenda
1. The Information Perspective
2. iSchools and the Information Field• Academic programs• Research• Attributes
3. Doctoral education
4. Q&A
M. Eisenberg 2009
USERS
Policy
Behavior Services
Management
Storage &Retrieval
Organization
The Science of Information
Resources
Systems
Agenda
1. The Information Perspective
2. iSchools and the Information Field• Academic programs• Research• Attributes
3. Doctoral education
4. Q&A
M. Eisenberg 2009
Academic Perspectives
M. Eisenberg 2009
Electrical EngineeringComputer ScienceBusinessInformation
M. Eisenberg 2009
Information Technology People
Information Field
Higher Education Today• The research imperative: produce or
perish.• For academic programs, there is no free
lunch.• If not high impact, at least high visibility.• Fund raising – who loves ya, baby?• Big (or at least critical mass) is beautiful.• While not futile it’s still feudal.
M. Eisenberg 2009
The Independent Information School
Critical Mass• Programs on all levels – bachelors, masters,
doctorate• Visibility-on campus & in the broader
community• Plenty of students• Diverse faculty• Significant support staff• Research funding• Endowment & fundraising• State-of-the-art facilities, technologies, and
space
M. Eisenberg 2009
Academic Programs• Bachelor’s
– Informatics– Information– Information Management & Technology
• Master’s– Library Science– Library & Information Science– Information Management– Information– Information Science
• Doctorate– PhD– Professional Doctorate
M. Eisenberg 2009
Sample Course
INFO 200
Intellectual Foundations of Informatics
M. Eisenberg 2009
Research
• Broad-based & inclusive
• Across all faculty
• Theoretical and applied
• Collaborative (within faculty, across campus, and with colleagues globally)
• Involves students on all levelsM. Eisenberg 2009
M. Eisenberg 2009
Research That Makes a Difference
People
TechnologyInformati
on
M. Eisenberg 2008
UW iSchool Research
Areas 2008
• biomedical informatics • Cataloging: conceptualization, use, and
design • classification• cognitive work analysis • computer-supported cooperative work • electronic government• design methods for systems and
information• digital libraries • digital reference • human-computer interaction• human information behavior• intellectual property• interaction design• international aspects of information
systems• knowledge management• knowledge organization• natural language processing• networks – technology, community, and
society• organizational impacts of information
systems• security• organizational learning• programming teams• social networks
• information ethics• information literacy for life-long learning• information management• information and the quality of life• information policy• information retrieval• information services• information technology management• information and system dynamics• information systems for children and
young adults• philosophy & theory of information and
library• privacy rights• school and public library services for
children and young adults• socio-technical analyses of information
systems• text and data-mining • user centered design & evaluation of
information systems • value sensitive design • organizational sustainability • personal information management• virtual worlds• Information literacy
UC Irvine iSchool
• SPROUT - Security and Privacy Research OUTfit
• Security in Unattended Wireless Sensor Networks
• Shows that, in the presence of a powerful mobile adversary, securing data stored on unattended sensors presents some interesting challenges and opens up an exciting new line of research.
• Sponsor: Secure Computing & Networking Center (SCONCE)
University of Maryland iSchool
• International Children's Digital Library (ICDL)
• Investigates how children access and use digital books to explore diverse cultures using a library containing almost 3,000 digitized books from over 37 countries.
• Sponsors: National Science Foundation; Institute of Museum and Library Services; Microsoft Corporation; Adobe Systems Incorporated, …
Florida State University iSchool
• Leadership in Action: School Library Media Specialists for the 21st Century: Leaders Educated to Make Difference
• To determine how library and information science education can better prepare school library media specialists to be leaders in the integration of technology in their schools.
• "This new grant will essentially determine if our leadership graduates can not only talk the talk but walk the walk.“
• Sponsor: Institute for Museum & Library Services (IMLS)
University of Toronto iSchool
• The State of Information Post 9/11• Examines the legislation, policies and practices around
"information" and informational activities in various countries, following the 9/11 attacks.
• In their quest for protecting citizens and enhancing national and global security, many governments have increasingly tightened control over the production, management and diffusion of any information deemed of a sensitive nature.
• This research project examines the significance and the consequences of such practices for various sectors of society, including the media and publishing sectors, the scientific and academic circles, civil society, and ultimately the broader public.
• Sponsorship: two grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (2004-2010)
• I-Schools Caucus
• To pursue common objectives with a collective commitment of resources
• Originally 5, then 9, now 25, soon ??
• iConference (4th annual at UNC in 2009, UIUC in 2010, UW in 2011)
• International – Wuhan (China), Royal School (Denmark), Singapore Management Univ, Humbolt Univ Berlin (Germany)
M. Eisenberg 2009
iSchool Attributes
• Big Tent
• Collaborative
• At the Center
• Innovative & Entrepreneurial
• Increasingly Visible
M. Eisenberg 2009
http://flickr.com/photos/smorkus/
M. Eisenberg 2009
Big Tent
M. Eisenberg 2009
• Multi-
• Inter-
• Cross-
• Trans-
• All of the above?
Disciplinarity
http://flickr.com/photos/smorkus/
At the Center…
M. Eisenberg 2009
M. Eisenberg 2005
Not just another computer geek
Talk of the N
ation—
Analysis:
Benefit of in
stant inform
ation can
become burden of to
o much in
formatio
nGoogle for a grade
WHAT'S NEXT; Now Where Was I? New Ways to Revisit Web Sites
The New York Times
seattle magazine
Are hackers using your PC to spew spam and steal?
The Perfect Piece of
Toast
E-serenity, now! Reeling from e-mail, cable TV, and cell phones, info-environmentalists try to reclaim mental green space.
Agenda
1. The Information Perspective
2. iSchools and the Information Field• Academic programs• Research• Attributes
3. Doctoral education
4. Q&A
M. Eisenberg 2009
Challenges
• No clear body of mastery knowledge, skills, and methodologies for all information doctoral students.
• Students do not and will not necessarily come from an information major.
• Undergrads and masters programs are almost all professional programs. Purpose = to educate for a profession.
• Under big tent, faculty come from many different fields: business, computer science, psychology, library science, as well as the emerging information programs.
• These faculty have approaches and conventions that differ.
M. Eisenberg 2009
But…
• We ARE an emerging field in our own right.
• We are NOT simply a bunch of fields thrown together or the intersection of a number of fields or puffed up library science or watered down computer science.
M. Eisenberg 2009
Eventually …
• We will have students entering our academic and research career ladder from undergraduate up.
• These students who come up through the information field ladder will be very different from most of those today who come from a range of different fields and traditions.
M. Eisenberg 2009
Also…
• Undergrad information students will likely be exposed the main tenets of the field – e.g., the user perspective (human-centered system design, user-based information services, knowledge organization, key policy understandings, behavior, search).
• Those who come from other areas will need to bridge the gap, perhaps with more extensive pre-program preparation, including a discipline-based masters, as opposed to a professional one.
M. Eisenberg 2009
Therefore…Near Future• Create a rich research environment – with multiple
avenues of learning and becoming socialized into the field (colloquia, classes, mentoring). Students must be engaged – either required or expected or compelling.
• Lots of projects, speakers, sharing, community-building.
• Doctoral education involves knowledge and skills, but also developing a worldview and mindset. PhDs come to look at the world in different ways – not nec. better, but different. Find ways to facilitate that growth.
• Embrace philosophy of the big tent – faculty respect and support each other. If not able or willing to directly collaborate, still support each other’s traditions.
M. Eisenberg 2009
And…Near Future• Base programs more on an apprenticeship model –
rather than many required courses and a set sequence, design for flexibility and alternative paths.
• Aim high and for the conceptual. The PhD is a research degree, not an advanced professional degree. .
• Be very careful in admissions – make sure there is a critical mass of faculty in an area that a student is interested in. And make sure that faculty in that area are committed to working with a student before admitting.
• Doctoral degree = “getting 3 regular faculty to agree with you.” Make sure there are at least 3!
M. Eisenberg 2009
More Long Term• Help to build and champion this
information field!• Look broadly at the academy and how it is
changing and how society is changing.– Online learning– Social networking– Collaborative
Cross college, school, dept. Cross-university Business Government National & Global
M. Eisenberg 2009
- Conclusion -
M. Eisenberg 2009
Long Term• It’s an information wonderland out
there! Let’s take advantage of it.
• Think big and bold…not small and incremental.
• Promote what is uniquely “information” and then collaborate with others (music, business, medicine, law, anthropology, poetry, computer science, public affairs…almost anyone!)
M. Eisenberg 2009
Opportunities
• What are the biggest, most pressing problems? Let’s tackle them!
• What do our universities and outside partners value (innovation, making a difference, collaboration, self-supported growth)? Let’s do that!
M. Eisenberg 2009
Opportunities
•We can be leaders in the academy and in society: From the information perspective.
•Above all…
M. Eisenberg 2009
Think
BIG!!
The
iSchool is
my school!
M. Eisenberg 2009
- The end –
(really)
M. Eisenberg 2009
Questions or
Comments?
Thanks for
listening!
