For professional development, Click University: new online education service will take learning to members' desktops.

Starting this month, SLA's new Click University is coming to an Internet connection near you. In fact, to your very own desktop.

This new service will enable members to study from their work or home offices to improve their knowledge of information management, business management, software applications and more.

Click University will debut at the SLA annual conference in Toronto. It all started with a meeting in Chapel Hill ...

In 2003, Janice Lachance was sitting in a room with a group of librarians at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Having rarely spent much time with librarians during her tenure as director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, she wasn't quite sure what to expect. This was one of her first meetings with members of the Special Libraries Association, where Janice was now serving as executive director.

"My first thought was, 'what the heck are they going to expect of me?' I think they were in awe of me, but what they didn't know is that I was just as much in awe of them!"

As the discussion ensued, Janice did what she always had done with groups of unfamiliar people: She asked them what they needed.

"It was pretty obvious within the first few minutes that they were starving for new learning experiences. But they also intimated that participation in live learning events was often very difficult. Either the costs were prohibitive for them personally, or their employers were unwilling to invest in professional development on their behalf. My instincts told me right then and there that we needed to do something."

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I first met Janice on October 23, 2003. It was my first day on the job at SLA. Five minutes into our conversation, it was apparent that we were in agreement on the need to lower the barriers for participants in our learning experiences. We agreed that an online learning community could be the primary initiative necessary for achieving that goal. There are many factors that make this true.

The rapidly changing world of library and information science requires that 21st century information professionals update their skills through continuing education. Many information professionals seek continuing education in information science and professional development topics, but are limited to either attending preconference workshops or seeking local workshops available within driving distance. Online education offers an alternative point of access and program flexibility. An SLA online community would be able to bring the collaborative model of online education to our membership.

Over the past 10 years online education has moved beyond the initial "no significant difference" paradigm. Instructors in developed distance education programs are finding that online education has advantages over traditional face-to-face delivery. The benefits of well-designed online education include delivery of courses anytime and anywhere, an increased level of student-to-instructor and student-to-student interaction, participation by otherwise isolated student populations, and the cost-effectiveness of distance programs for students, instructors, and institutions.

That said, embracing online education is not a simple task. Potential students may wonder whether online education offers convenience at the expense of quality. Fortunately, there is an emerging body of research informed by theory and practice to guide this transition.

Library and information science is particularly well suited for online education. Before the advent of online education, information professionals recognized the value of professional networks to increase access and improve quality in meeting a wide range of information needs. Learning online serves as a model for LIS professionals. Online communities provide opportunities for developing skills and knowledge that may later be directly applied to providing services during their careers. It is not surprising then, that according to the 200 Association for Library and Information Science Education Statistical Report, approximately 80 percent of LIS schools now offer part of their programs at a distance.

One of SLA's objectives for 2003-2004 was to "explore, evaluate and, if feasible, establish an on-line learning center to bring just-in-time professional development opportunities to each member at their worksite or home." In January of 2004, I met with the Professional Development Committee, and we agreed to pursue the evaluation of an online learning community. Staff evaluated its feasibility and determined that it could and should be done.

Learn.com, a learning management system and Web portal provider, was selected based on cost-effectiveness, references, and reliability. At the 2004 SLA Annual Conference in Nashville, I gave a one-hour presentation to preview the online learning portal. We negotiated the best price possible and submitted the proposal to the Finance Committee and subsequently to the SLA Board of Directors. We gave a presentation to the board in October explaining the operation and value of the online university concept and outlining the projected content of the site.

"Once I visualized the concept, I was on board," quipped SLA President Ethel Salonen, who is an information manager for Mitre Corporation. "It just makes sense. Our profession is full of success stories--people who have made it big. But the majority of our members are working hard to succeed, and we needed to find a way to get them there."

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At the meeting in October, the SLA board unanimously approved the creation of an online university to serve the library and information profession. The new service, titled, "Click University," will reverse the 20th century model that required people to go somewhere for learning experiences. Click University will bring learning experiences to the learner.

Now scheduled for launch in June at the 2005 SLA conference in Toronto, Click University is expected to lower the barriers to access for many information professionals and knowledge workers who are thirsting for low-cost, easy-to-access learning opportunities. The initial course library will be based on template programs from the arsenal of Learn.com, the developer of the technology behind Click University. But SLA expects the offerings to ultimately range from core skills such as software and technology use to management, communications, and leadership strategies and effective practices and methods for the collection, sharing, and use of information and knowledge in the modern working world.

The CLICK University Concept

As a student or community member, when you have access to a university campus, you have access to a wide range of learning experiences. You can take an advanced degree; you enroll in a specific career-enhancing program that leads to a certificate; you can take advantage of courses that help you achieve your professional and personal goals; you are able to sign up for seminars; and, when you all you need to do is find an item of information, you can go to the library and locate the right resource. Our vision is that as a member of Click U, you will be able do all of this and more. You will be able to do everything from finding an article in the library all the way to taking an advanced degree. You will also be able to go to the lounge in the Student Center--i.e. chat rooms--and share information and ideas with fellow students.

Click University Content

When Click University goes live this month, there will be six major content areas: the SLA virtual seminar program, continuing education sessions, course libraries, university partner programs, adjunct faculty, and research partner programming.

The virtual seminar program has been expanded for 2005, and will continue to grow. Each month, we present two seminars on a common theme. Themes so far this year have included content management, competitive intelligence, identifying client needs, and weblogs. All of our seminars from this year and most from 2004 have been recorded exactly as they originally occurred and are available online. This means that as Click University goes live this month, you will have access to more than 30 excellent information studies seminars.

Several of our continuing education sessions in Toronto will be captured as courses. The audio will be recorded and synchronized with the slide presentation so the experience will be available online. This means that if you are unable to attend the conference--or if you're attending a different session--you can still virtually attend sessions you might have missed. In the coming years, this technology will be improved and our library of courses will grow and improve.

Click University has several excellent libraries of courses to enable both professional and personal development. The Office Application libraries provide access to more than 150 courses that can enable you to become proficient in Microsoft Office products. There also are courses in applications from other vendors, such as Adobe, Lotus, and Corel. The Professional Development libraries offer 70 courses that cover a wide variety of career-enhancing skills, including management, communication, assessment, and coaching and team dynamics. The Business Fundamentals libraries contain 50 courses to enhance your career knowledge in topics such as leadership, project management, change management, and financial planning.

Perhaps the most important component of Click University is its collection of university partnerships. As of this writing we have formed partnerships with Drexel University, Syracuse University, and the WISE consortium.

SLA has entered into a partnership with Drexel University eLearning, whereby any SLA member who wishes to take advantage of online degree and certificate programs offered by the College of Information Science and Technology will receive a 20 percent discount when they identify themselves as a member of SLA. The master's and graduate certificate programs are available at discounted rates to our members. When you apply, you will need to use the code "SLA" to qualify for reduced rates. Drexel has also approved a proposal to offer courses that will satisfy the objectives corresponding to our Core Competencies. This will enable you to take courses at Click University to complete a certificate in each of these competencies.

SLA has also entered into a partnership with Syracuse University that will allow members to take courses at a significantly discounted rate. The partnership began with the Regnier Summer Institute 2005 courses. Syracuse is offering SLA members courses at a 40 percent discount on tuition, so long as students are not taking these for graduate credit. For graduate courses, SLA members a 10 percent discount. The 40 percent discount makes the cost comparable to the CE courses that SLA offers at conferences, and students will get a certificate that they have completed the class.

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The WISE initiative is an exciting new development in the field of online education. WISE stands for Web-enabled Information Science Education. WISE is a consortium of 12 universities that share classes, students, and resources online. The initiative, funded by an IMLS grant and spearheaded by Syracuse University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is specifically charged with developing a collaborative model for online education. As a WISE participant, a student at the University of Pittsburgh who needs a particular course offered by Victoria University of Wellington will be able to take the course and receive the credit. Also, as part of this project, teachers who develop and/or deliver online courses will be trained in a standard pedagogy for online education that will be developed as part of the funded program. We are exploring ways to allow Click U students to take advantage of this collaboration. WISE will be at the conference in Toronto. In fact, that is where the consortium will hold its official launch of the WISE initiative.

The online offerings of Click University will be greatly enhanced and expanded through what I have termed our adjunct faculty. These are online instructors/professors who already have online courses that they present on a regular basis and who have agreed to work with Click University to enable our members to take advantage of these courses.

In a sense, they will be faculty members at Click U. By the time we launch, we expect to have three or four individuals on our "virtual staff," but as of this writing there is only one for whom arrangements have been finalized, Lesley Ellen Harris. Lesley--who writes the "Copyright Corner" column in Information Outlook--is well known for her expertise in copyright law and digital licensing, and she will be offering her online courses to our members at a discount on the Click University campus. These offerings include courses in basic copyright law and more advanced topics such as managing copyright issues, digital licensing, and profiting from digital property. Our adjunct faculty will expand rapidly.

Click University's Future

As we roll out Click University this month, we are laying the foundation for the future, and you can be assured that this is only the beginning. All of our programs will increase in value and scope. We are exploring partnerships with other institutions. We will hopefully be able to offer courses via the WISE consortium, giving Click students immediate access to 12 universities throughout North America. In partnership with Syracuse University, we have applied for an IMLS grant that will fund the development of courses specifically for Click University by the Syracuse faculty and will enable us to hire instructional designers to develop our own courses. We can also be sure that the technology underlying online education will improve exponentially. You might say, "The future's so bright we gotta wear shades."

John Lowery is director of professional development at SLA.