By: Hailey Temple
As the popularity of iSchools across the nation continues to grow, the School of Information Studies (iSchool) at Syracuse University looks to exchange knowledge while discovering new ways of educating students in the information technology field.
To increase these efforts, Syracuse University undergraduate students Andrew Bauer (Information Studies), Jared Mandel (Information Studies and Broadcast Journalism) and Chelsea Orcutt (Public Relations) will attend the 2013 iConference in Fort Worth, Texas next week to learn more about the field and showcase the iSchool’s efforts to innovate the fields of teaching and information technology.
The iConference, hosted by the College of Information at the University of North Texas, will feature sessions concentrating on major areas of information studies, including social media, information security, digital librarianship and visualization. Syracuse University’s Chancellor Nancy Cantor is a keynote speaker at the iConference and will talk about her Scholarship in Action platform she promotes at Syracuse University.
“Syracuse University does a great job engaging students and faculty to connect and become a more close-knit community, which is important during the college experience. I am looking forward to seeing what other iSchools are doing and how they are innovating the educational experience,” said Mandel.
The students will also participate in the social media poster session where they will have the opportunity to share their experiences from last semester's Social Media and the 2012 Election course, taught by iSchool faculty member Anthony Rotolo. Orcutt, Bauer and Mandel submitted a video and paper about their class experience and were invited to participate in the iConference in mid December.
“We are so passionate about the class and topics we covered. Professor Rotolo implemented such an innovative learning model and we are excited to present that to other attendees. I am so thankful that the iSchool has given us this opportunity to share our experiences and to see what other iSchools are doing,” said Orcutt.
To follow along with the 2013 iConference sessions and speakers, follow @iConf on Twitter or visit their page on Facebook.