With the pandemic limiting in-person events, the iSchool Student Showcase moved to a virtual format. Instead of poster presentations and lightning talks, students prerecorded three-minute research talks, which were presented at the showcase on April 2 and 7. Students participated in a live Q&A with the audience after their videos were shown. Twenty-four MS students presented their work on a broad range of topics relating to information sciences, and the showcase also featured its first presentation from a student in the new BS program.
The California Library Association (CLA) has named MS/LIS online (Leep) student Luisa Leija the 2021 recipient of the Begun Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes a graduate student who shows a strong commitment to youth services librarianship in California public libraries. Leija will receive $3,000 and a one-year student membership to CLA.
In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the School Librarian Licensure program, the iSchool is highlighting 20 school librarians who have made a difference in the field. Kim Anderson (MS '07, CAS '09), librarian at Jefferson Middle School in Champaign, loves being a school librarian and mentoring future librarians. Through the years, she has mentored 25 practicum and student teachers in her role as a cooperating librarian. She also contributes her time and expertise as a member of the iSchool's School Librarian Licensure program advisory board.
The trivia talents of six iSchool alumni—and a faculty member—catapulted them to one of America's most popular game shows, Jeopardy! Nanette Donohue (MS '03), Erin Hart (MS '19), Charlie Jorgenson (MS '12), Ana Palmer (MS '07), Becky Reisig (MS '07), Associate Professor Carol Tilley, and Clare Gaynor Willis (MS '10) recall their appearance on the show.
Adjunct Lecturer Kristen Mattson has authored a new book on teaching digital ethics. Ethics in a Digital World: Guiding Students Through Society's Biggest Questions was recently published by the International Society for Technology in Education. Mattson designed the book to help students look at the technology around them through a critical lens.
PhD student Jamillah R. Gabriel will present her research at the Association of College & Research Libraries Conference (ACRL 2021), which will be held virtually from April 13-16. The theme of this year's conference is "Ascending into an Open Future."
Professor Michael Twidale will discuss his research on computer-supported cooperative work at the Columbia Science Review's event, "E-Living: Social Interactions in a Virtual World." E-Living, which will be held virtually on April 15, will include a panel discussion on how people form relationships online and how software can be better designed to support this networking. As described on the event's website, discussions will also focus on how videoconferencing companies like Zoom are evolving to make online interactions easier, "especially considering the fact that numerous companies and schools are moving online even after the coronavirus pandemic ends."
Associate Professor Jana Diesner and her students have organized two tutorials for The Web Conference 2021. The conference, which will be held virtually from April 12-23, will address the evolution and current state of the Web through the lens of computer science, computational social science, economics, public policy, and Web-based applications.
iSchool researchers will present their work at The Web Conference 2021. The conference, which will be held virtually from April 12-23, will address the evolution and current state of the Web through the lens of computer science, computational social science, economics, public policy, and Web-based applications.
M. O. Grenby, dean of research and innovation and professor of eighteenth-century studies at Newcastle University, UK, will deliver the 2021 Gryphon Lecture on April 15. Sponsored annually by The Center for Children's Books (CCB), the lecture features a leading scholar in the field of youth and literature, media, and culture.
