Spring is in Full Bloom

Spring in Massachusetts

Originally uploaded by ScruffyNerf.

The weather here in southeastern Massachusetts has been beautiful of late. As a result, there are so many vibrant colors.

That’s A Wrap!

I’m not sure I believe it, but I am done!

It Is A Good Night

I turned in my paper today.

I finished a critique of a classmate’s paper.

I burned a CD of my portfolio.

Now, I only need to write a critique of my own paper - and mail the CD.

Life is good! I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed.

Computer Self-Efficacy Data

I learned something interesting this week. If you copy and paste tables from Excel 2007 into WordPress, Google Reader will not display the post. Additionally, WordPress doesn’t really care for this either. It gets slow and sluggish - although it does eventually save and publish the tables. I plan to leave the original post alone, but probably won’t copy any more tables into any blog posts.

Anyway, I wrote a post earlier this week with some of the results from my computer self-efficacy survey of academic librarians. While I saw the post in Bloglines, it appears as if Google Reader plans to simply ignore it. Many people were curious about the results, so here they are. I do plan to do some posts with narrative about my conclusions etc. This will most likely be after I have officially turned my paper in and completed the rest of the work for my class.

So, What’s Left?

I spent this weekend finishing up some of the different sections of my paper. As it stands, the paper is essentially done. I will probably re-read it in a day or two in order to look for any remaining grammatical and/or style errors. I’m making myself stay away from it for next day or two so that I will be able to read it with fresh eyes. I still have to do a self-critique and really feel that I need some space in order to do that effectively.

My portfolio is also essentially done. Now that I have finished my paper, I can finish this, make sure all of the links work correctly and burn it to a CD. I then have to mail the CD (and my Student MLS Degree Audit Checklist) to the ILS department. I plan to put the finished touches on the portfolio today and, hopefully, get the CD made and ready for mailing also.

For remaining classwork, I then need to write my self-critique, write a final journal entry of reflections on the class and actually turn the paper in to the professor. All work is due on Friday. Not too bad at all!!

Some CSE Survey Results

I am currently finishing up final edits on my research paper on computer self-efficacy in academic library workers. It is now titled - Computer Self-Efficacy and the Academic Library Employee: An Examination of Their Relationship (and yes, titles are not my forte). Several people have asked about reading the paper and getting the results. I’m not quite ready to share the paper (but will share with those who asked to see it after the semester is over - and possibly after grades are in). However, I do want to publicly share the findings from the survey.

The following tables give the mean computer self-efficacy levels for those demographic variables that turned out to be major determinants. Some notes: SD stands for standard deviation; Total # is the total population for that category and # is the total percentage of the entire population (which is 167).

Computer Self-Efficacy Levels by Technical Support Model

Category	Mean	SD	High	Low	Total #	%
Entire Population	153.29	16.06	179	81	167	100
Library Systems Support	151.3	16.93	179	111	81	48.5
Combined Library/IT Support	155.08	11.51	172	126	24	14.37
IT Support	154.9	16.03	178	81	41	24.55
Vendor Support	147	n/a	147	147	1	0.6
No Formal Support	135.67	34.15	173	106	3	1.8
Other Means of Tech Support	157.75	6.02	163	150	4	2.4
Multiple Means of Support	160.23	10.65	177	142	13	7.78

 

Compute Self-Efficacy Levels by Age

Age	Mean	SD	High	Low	Total #	%
20-29 Years of Age	156.92	10.05	171	134	50	29.94
30-39 Years of Age	153.74	15.18	179	111	68	40.72
40-49 Years of Age	155.51	16.54	175	115	29	17.37
50-59 Years of Age	140.07	28.37	179	81	15	8.98
>60 Years of Age	137.8	16.81	167	126	5	2.99

 

Computer Self-Efficacy Levels by Sex

Sex	Mean	S.D.	High	Low	Total #	%
Female	154.03	15.52	179	81	137	82.04
Male	149.93	18.27	171	123	30	17.96

 

Computer Self-Efficacy Levels by Educational Attainment

Degree	Mean	S.D.	High	Low	Total #	%
High School Degree	156	16.44	174	126	7	4.19
Bachelors Degree	156.6	11.93	177	141	25	14.97
Masters Degree	152.57	16.85	179	81	129	77.25
Doctorate	152	14.64	175	135	6	3.59

 

Computer Self-Efficacy Level by MLS or Equivalent

MLS or Equivalent	Mean	S.D.	High	Low	Total #	%
Library School	155.48	10.09	171	135	16	9.58
No MLS	155.57	14.06	177	126	21	12.57
MLS or Equivalent	152.66	16.96	179	81	130	77.84

 

Computer Self-Efficacy Levels by Length of Career

Length of Career	Mean	S.D.	High	Low	Total #	%
<10 Years	154.18	15.64	179	81	108	64.67
10-19 Years	154.63	14.48	178	125	41	24.55
20-29 Years	148	18.7	176	123	12	7.19
30-39 Years	139	25.88	167	106	5	2.99
>40 Years	137	0	137	137	1	0.6

 

Computer Self-Efficacy Levels by Job Classification

Job Classification	Mean	S.D.	High	Low	Total #	%
Library Assistant	152.71	15.23	177	126	38	22.75
Other	156.83	9.5	168	147	6	3.59
Professional Librarian	153.3	16.63	179	81	123	73.65

 Computer Self-Efficacy Levels by Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction	Mean	S.D.	High	Low	Total #	%
Extremely Satisified	160.44	11.27	179	125	36	26.28
Mostly Satisfied	152.9	15.98	179	81	98	58.68
Neither Satisf. Nor Unsatisf.	137.33	19.86	171	106	9	5.38
Somewhat Unsatisfied	151.32	16.53	175	111	22	13.17
Unsatisfied	137.5	0.71	138	137	2	1.2

 

Computer Self-Efficacy Levels by Computer Experience

Computer Experience	Mean	S.D.	High	Low	Total #	%
Extremely Experienced	162.7	11.08	179	131	50	29.94
Much Experience	152.42	14.03	177	115	96	57.49
Some Experience	134.9	18.07	163	81	21	12.57
Little Experience	0	0	0	0	0	0
No Experience	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

Computer Self-Efficacy Levels by Computer Training

Computer Training	Mean	S.D.	High	Low	Total #	%
No Training	154.81	16.71	179	106	36	21.56
Training	152.88	15.92	179	81	131	78.44

It Was All Going So Well . . .

until I found something on the ILS department’s web page (close to the bottom of the page in the Preparing for graduation section) this morning that almost made me have an apoplexy.

Preparing for graduation

In order to receive a degree, the student must apply for the degree by the posted deadlines. The degree will not be posted until the Undergraduate Degree Application or Graduate Degree Application is properly filed and a degree audit is successfully completed. If the degree is not posted, the student has not been granted and does not hold the expected degree.

In addition, MLS students must complete the departmental Student MLS Degree Audit Checklistform and file one copy with the department office and one copy with the MLS Program Coordinator within the first two weeks of the semester in which they will complete their program/graduate.

Remember how much I worry and obsess over things? I knew all about having to apply for graduation with the Graduate School. I did this way back in November and received confirmation that my only outstanding issue was the special project. However, the second paragraph is something that I have NEVER, EVER, EVER seen or heard about previously. Needless to say, I did not complete the Student MLS Degree Audit Checklist at any time this semester. I decided not to get stressed out or upset and to try and get more information.

I called the ILS Department and fortunately, this turned out to be a non-issue. The department does want two copies of the form - in hardcopy. They do intend to require this form to be filled out within the first two weeks of a student’s last semester. However, it is a new form that has only been in use since earlier this year. Thank goodness! This was a close one.

It All Makes Sense Now (Mostly)

I’m sure most people who have been reading my blog over the past couple of years will probably have noticed that I am the type of person who suffers great angst over school. I agonize over class selections, over whether I understand the assignment correctly, over whether I have been able to do justice to an assignment, etc. I admit that I am a compulsive rule follower and as such, also worry obsessively about dates, deadlines and graduation requirements. I’m the type that has nightmares that I get a call my from high school saying that my diploma is invalid (for some asinine reason) which, of course, invalidates my college degree - and I guess shortly these dreams will include my graduate school credentials as well. I’m pretty sure that I must have driven my advisor a bit crazy checking in with him to make sure that I understood what I needed to do as I started to approach the end of the program.

One of the most mysterious graduation requirements that I have somewhat struggled to understand at SCSU has been the capstone portfolio thing and how it relates to the special project. In all master’s degree programs, Southern requires that students complete (successfully, of course) a capstone experience. A capstone experience may be a thesis, a comprehensive exam or a special project.  The Graduate School defines a special project in the current graduate catalog as follows:

SPECIAL PROJECT. The special project requires the application or drawing together of knowledge and skills acquired in the graduate program. Projects are typically completed under a particular course designation and result in a written report or other product, such as a recording of a performance or photographs of an art exhibit, which will be kept on file for review by students, faculty, and accrediting agencies. The master’s degree is conferred after successful completion of a minimum of 36 credits including the special project.

The ILS Department requires that students in the MLS program complete a special project rather than take comps or do a thesis.  And, students needs to complete a portfolio that includes information about or links to their special project. There have been several mentions of the fact that the portfolio needs to be put on a CD and mailed to the ILS office. This part makes sense, but all along I’ve wondered why the school needs a CD, especially if the portfolio is web-based.

Additionally, I’ve been confused about the special project. There has been a great deal of conflicting information about the special project and how best to complete it. Initially, I thought I would take an independent study call ILS590 - Special Project. That seemed to be an obvious way to do the project. Then, I learned that many students used their Digital Libraries’ class project to fulfill the special project requirements. Later, I found out that most other students used their ILS680 - Evaluation & Research project. As I went on in the program, I became more confused. At first, it seemed that one needed to confer with one’s advisor who would be the one to sign off on the project. I was in contact with my advisor several times thinking of ideas, etc. for my project.

Then last spring, a professor mentioned that the ILS department was making some changes to the special project requirement that should be in place by the fall of 2007. This led me to believe that my best bet for a special project would be to use the research project that I would do in ILS680 - Evaluation & Research. I discussed this with my advisor and it seemed to be a good decision. I was a bit surprised when I emailed my advisor early this semester intending to keep him in the loop on my research project, and he replied that successful completion of the special project requirement was entirely up to the professor of ILS680. I wasn’t surprised in a bad way - this definitely seemed to simplify the entire process. However, I was a bit bewildered by all of the changes (minor though they might have been) to the requirements.

The good news is that as of this point, the entire system seems to make sense. The portfolio is intended to be a vehicle that provides documentation of the special project - including the knowledge and special skills learned in the program. Students are supposed to include information about core competencies learned, coursework that shows what they have learned, a resume and information about the special project. Beyond that, the requirement that the portfolio be on CD is mostly for auditing purposes. The ILS department keeps the CDs in each student’s file, and they are used by ALA for accrediting review and auditing purposes. Ok, it makes some weird sort of sense now - just in time, I suppose. And hopefully, I am well on my way to completing both my major research project for ILS680 (which will be my special project) and my capstone portfolio (which is all saved locally to my laptop ready to burned to CD).