LIS4910: IT Project

In Spring 2007, I was given the task of developing LIS4910 IT Project. Some textbooks were suggested but they were all dry business-school write-ups of projects that did not really convey to the students the realities of working in IT. Nothing goes according to book in this business and the only way you learn anything is trial by fire. As in the medical professions, there is no substitute for hands-on learning and believe me - you want your new IT hire to be hardened and up to speed BEFORE you put them in charge of your organization's most vital asset.

In my business, I always used student interns and the one thing that consistently stood out is that while they had lots of "book-learning" they did not actually know how to DO anything. As an employer, I found this lack of practical experience frustrating to say the least! I would put them on my payroll and set about the task of making them useful which cost me lots of time and money before I started to get a full day's work from them. I felt that LIS4910 would be an opportunity to solve the problem by having the students both plan and DO a technology project of their choice. I waded out into the community and began to form partnerships with various non-profit entities that were willing work with my students on IT Projects to the betterment of both. The non-profits receive much-needed technical assistance at no cost while the students gain valuable, hands-on project experience that simply cannot be taught in a classroom setting.

Links to exemplary students and their projects are highlighted here but for a full listing of projects completed by CI students please visit the CI Projects wiki. As of August 2008, it is still a work in progress. Please email Melissa Raulston for any missing information, questions about the projects or how to have your project included on our list. For more information about Experiential Learning and why we do it, have a look at this piece that I created to educate the CI Leadership Board about our work in this area.

Spring 2007

Summer 2007

Fall 2007

Spring 2008