Non Matric Courses for Spring 2010

Continuing and Professional Education

The Department of Library and Information Studies is offering a selection of 1 credit hour mini courses for spring 2010 aimed at providing continuing and professional education.

Apply for permission to take the courses using the LIS Non-Matric Application

Contact person: Ms. Rita Packard, (716) 645-2412, packard@buffalo.edu

LIS 703 Integrating Web 2.0 into the Classroom: Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, VoiceThread, Zoho, Googledocs, Pixton, Trailfire, Ning, RSS - does this sound like a foreign language to you? Find out what all the hype is about by actually using these Web 2.0 applications. Learn how to use Web 2.0 applications to meet NYS standards, in a pedagogically sound way, while engaging your students and enriching their learning. During your journey into the world of the Web 2.0 you will use many of these applications to learn, and will read and discuss how to incorporate them into your classroom or library to enhance student learning. Integrating these technologies will not require discarding your current lesson plans, but will inspire you to modify them.

LIS 703 will be conducted on Web 2.0 applications. The use of these various applications gives participants hands-on experience as well as modeling their use in the educational environment. The class portal where information and assignments are delivered is a wiki. There is a weekly podcast that talks about what is expected for the week as well as giving background information on the topic for the week. One of the major vehicles of learning is asynchronous discussion forums. One or two forums are seeded with a discussion topic each week and the class carries on discussion via this method. There is a required reflective blog that is read weekly by the instructor. All assignments are emailed to the instructor and returned the same way
The course cohort will include educators and librarians who want to get past the hype and tour the world of Web 2.0 together...

The course will be delivered entirely online with three hours of contact and appropriate outside work weekly, five weeks, February. 22 - March 26, 2010

LIS 705 Practical Cataloging for School and Public Libraries: This course is designed to teach practical cataloging applications specific to school and small public libraries. You will learn subject headings suitable for K-12 and the public, Dewey classification, patron records, cataloging records and MARC fields, types of automation systems, where to obtain cataloging records free or paid, how to work within a larger system, how to analyze your collection, how to incorporate multimedia items, and how to use temporary records. You will be prepared to hit the ground running to effectively produce a complete user-friendly catalog for your library.

Weekly lessons, exercises, readings, examples, and assignments as well as a space for questions and discussion will be available on the University of Buffalo's learning platform UBLearns. Assignments will be handed in and returned electronically.

The course will be delivered entirely online, with one hour of contact and appropriate outside work weekly, 15 weeks, January 11 - April 26, 2010

LIS 706 Teaching Internet use, ethics, and safety in the classroom: This course is intended for teachers and school library media specialists. Participants will learn strategies for teaching students effective Web searching, Web site evaluation, and recognition of information that meets their research needs. Participants will become certified to teach Internet safety and ethics, including cyber bullying awareness and response as well as appropriate online behaviors for students on social networking sites and in chat rooms, as required by the “Broadband Data Improvement Act” / “Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act” in order for schools to receive federal funding for broadband access under the E-Rate program. The course will emphasize how to incorporate Internet use, ethics, and safety into current curricula. There are plans for a follow-on course that will prepare participants to be Internet safety trainers and safety program administrators at the school or district level.
This class will be conducted on Web 2.0 applications. The use of these various applications gives participants hands-on experience as well as modeling their use in the educational environment. The class portal where information and assignments are delivered is a Wiki. There is a weekly podcast that talks about what is expected for the week as well as giving background information on the topic for the week. One of the major vehicles of learning is asynchronous discussion forums. One or two forums are seeded with a discussion topic each week and the class carries on discussion via this method. There is a required reflective blog that is read weekly by the instructor. All assignments are emailed to the instructor and returned the same way. Feedback is given to each student by the instructor every other week.
The course will be delivered entirely online, with three hours of contact and appropriate outside work weekly, five weeks, January 11 - February. 12, 2010.

More Non-Matric Options…….

In addition, the following 3 credit hour courses offered for spring 2010 would be good options for anyone interested in taking Education related courses as a non-matric, without being formally admitted to a program in the Graduate School of Education.

A more comprehensive listing of spring courses is available at: src.buffalo.edu/schedule

Please use the specific links under each department to apply for permission to take these courses.

Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology

(CSEP)

Apply for permission to take the courses using the CSEP Non-Matric Application
Contact person: Ms. Nancy Myers, (716) 645-1110, nmyers@buffalo.edu

CEP 503 Tests and Measurements:The course focuses on the basic assessment principles, client assessment in the rehabilitation and counseling process, and the nature of tests used in the field. The first half of the course focuses on: history of measurement, basic concepts, important social and ethical issues in testing, and technical/statistical concepts in measurement. The second half of the course deals with the content, administration, scoring and interpretation of tests frequently used in the field. Upon completing the course, students will be better able to identify and gather essential client information, interpret test information, and use test results to assist in planning. The specific course objectives are to promote:

1. An understanding of the foundations of assessment and the role of tests and measurements in the counseling and rehabilitation processes.
2. Knowledge of basic psychometric properties (e.g. reliability and validity) which are important to the selection of assessment devices and the interpretation of scores or other performance measures.
3. The ability to read and understand test manuals and determine the types of uses for which a particular test is most appropriate.
4. Knowledge of a variety of assessment devices commonly used in the field.
5. Skill in determining the implications of (weighting) client assessment information for clients.
6. Integration of medical aspects and foundational limitations of disability in developing evaluation plans that are appropriate for answering common referral questions. Relatedly, students should gain competence in selecting, administering, scoring, and interpreting tests in the light of client disability.
7. Ability to develop and conduct vocational evaluations

CEP 506 Introduction to Technology: This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to the theoretical bases and practical applications of technology, particularly as used in classrooms. There are several objectives: (1) Assure some basic familiarity with computing technology and its common uses in the classroom; and (2) encourage a perspective toward viewing classroom technologies contextually.

CEP 532 Introduction to Statistical Research: For many students, statistics is their least favorite course and they only take it because they have to. It frightens people. This course will not frighten you. People are only afraid of the unknown. Knowledge reduces fear. In this course you will learn statistics slowly, carefully, and one step at a time. You'll come to see that, taken methodically, statistics is easy. You'll come, if not to love statistics, at least to view them as your friend. Or, if not friend, acquaintance. At least not your enemy! The purpose of the course is to learn how to conduct a research study involving empirical data and, especially, to learn a number of basic statistical techniques for analyzing such data. You will learn by doing and in the process reduce whatever apprehension you may have about statistics (especially chi-square - everybody comes to love chi-square) and will be able to speak research jargon well enough to impress even your skeptical qualitative analysis friends.

Topics to be focused upon include:
• Types of variables
• Types of studies
• Sample and population
• Summation notation
• Writing a journal article
• How to choose a statistic
• Reliability
• Types of analysis
• Standard deviation and variance
• Prediction equations
• Post hoc tests
• Regression analyses
• Standard scores
• Correlation coefficients
• Hypothesis testing
• Chi-square
• Validity
• Analysis of variance
• t-tests
• 2-factor ANOVA.

CEP 541 Human Growth and Development: This course is designed to engage students in a meaningful exploration of human development from prenatal experience through adolescence. The central questions of developmental psychology concerning the nature and sources of development, as well as the importance of the cultural contexts in which development occurs, will be considered throughout. Special attention will also be given to contemporary themes, such as the meaning of childhood, cognitive development and schooling, identity formation, and cultural influences on development. This course is especially useful for professionals who work with children in a variety of settings, such as schools, daycare centers, or child service agencies.

CEP 560 Psychology of Learning and Instruction: Can all students learn to a high level? Do fast learners remember more or less from their lessons than slow learners? If schools are set up to resemble prisons and teachers assume the role of guards, what role will students play? Under what conditions does punishment act to reinforce the behavior the punishment was intended to eliminate? These are some of the issues studied in this course. First, behavior, emotion and social processes are studied in relation to classroom management and discipline. Then such cognitive processes as knowledge, memory, and transfer of learning are studied, along with suggestions for curriculum development. Finally, instructional processes based on the above are considered, along with techniques to expand the teacher's repertoire, including mastery learning, cooperative groups, grading and creativity.
Prerequisite(s): Attendance to first class required; open to non-matriculated students contingent on space available. TEI students should enroll in CEP 501.

CEP 661 Medical Aspects of Disability: This is a required course in the Rehabilitation Counseling master's degree program. Students in related programs having interest in the course material may enroll with prior permission of the instructor. The goals of this course are to:

1. Give students an introduction to the physical structure and functioning of the human body.
2. Provide students with a basic medical vocabulary and orientation to the medical treatment of disability.
3. Enhance student understanding of the impact of various disabilities in the body and functioning.
4. Examine the functional, psychosocial and vocational impact of various disabilities.
5. Increase student awareness of medically related resources in the community.
6. Address the role of the rehabilitation counselor as part of the rehabilitation team of medical/health providers.

Department of Educational Leadership and Policy (ELP)

Apply for permission to take the courses using the ELP Non-Matric Application
Contact person: Ms. Susan Ellsworth, (716) 645-2471, se7@buffalo.edu

ELP 503 Intercollegiate Athletics in higher Education: This provides an introduction to the role and importance of Intercollegiate Athletics in American Higher education. It attempts to provide an overview of the major issues involving college athletics at various levels and types of institutions. We will examine the nature and role of Intercollegiate Athletics, beginning with the earliest athletic event, moving forward to the present. Course materials are provided to stimulate class discussions and to facilitate an understanding of the complex nature of this enterprise, and its involvement with the larger academy.

ELP 508 Community College: This course is designed to provide an overview of the community college in the United States. It covers the historical development of the community college, looks at the various aspects of the community college today such as governance, funding, collective bargaining, students, student services, accreditation and other areas as determined by the interests of the students. The course also explores the community college within the context of higher education in the United States, as well as the variety of such colleges within and among the states.

ELP 509 American College Student: Characteristics of various college and university student populations in the United States are explored as they are influenced by demographic and political changes, and sociocultural issues. Concurrently, the effects of various college environments on student development and educational attainment are examined. Student development theories are explored along with their utility for improving services to students, program evaluation and shaping policy research.

ELP 510 College Access and Choice in the US:Access to college is a complex and contentious issue in American higher education. On one hand, the U.S. system is the most permeable and diversified system in the world, suggesting that access to college is high. On the other hand, opportunities for access and success are not equitably distributed across major demographic group.. In this course, we are primarily interested in exploring two key questions: (1) Access for whom? and (2) Access to what? In order to answer these questions, the course focuses on the four primary barriers to college access -academic preparation, college affordability, encouragement and support, and information to navigate the process and the approaches designed to address them. As part of the course, students will participate in, create, and shape a research project designed to explore how web technologies have been utilized to improve students and parents access to information - and by extension, access to college. By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand and articulate demographic differences in college enrollments.
• Discuss major barriers and institutional responses to college access.
• Examine policies and programs intended to address inequalities in enrollment and success.
• Examine the growing focus on the transition from high school to college vis a vis the K-16 educational alignment model
• Critically examine existing college access strategies and web tools.
• Formulate a researchable question in the area of college access and begin the process of answering that question.

ELP 515 New Futures for Higher Education: This course is the second in a series of two new courses designed to explore cultural diversity in educational settings. This cultural diversity series challenges students to understand themselves, other people, and institutional structures in increasing complex and dynamic ways. This second course, New Futures for Higher Education: Transformative Literature – ELP515, is appropriate for all students regardless of prior course work or training on cultural diversity; however, students are encouraged to take ELP 513 – Cultural Diversity in Higher Education – prior to enrolling ELP 515.

ELP 571 Women in Educational Comparative Perspective: Women play a specific role within the field of economic and social development. Their education is a point of both contention and contribution. This course focuses on the specific role of women and how that role is enhanced, changed or degraded by the educational experience. Conceived within an activist perspective, the course is designed to examine specific educational policies that affect women's education. As such, the course is organized around three major themes: Challenges, Opportunities, and Possibilities. The three topics represent a particular assumption about women's education. That is, that, while women face identifiable constraints to access and quality of education, their education also represents a particular set of possibilities to the society. Thus, the potential of women's education ought to be both critically examined and celebrated. The ability of class members to analyze educational policy is considered critical to the course. As such, each class member will focus on one country or one region within Africa. Using collective knowledge and teamwork, each member will pick a particular constraint, possibility or opportunity within the chosen region or country and examine educational policy options. The course will make use of experts in the fields of Women in Development and African Education to investigate and frame the issues. Each class member will organize an interview session in conjunction with his/her group. A final paper should analyze the challenges, possibility or opportunity within the context of the region under study.

ELP 604 Law and Public Education: This course will study the legal structure of the American school system and the role and constraints created by the process of judicial review. Students will learn how to apply statutes and regulations as required by law, and to implement school policies in accordance with law.

ELP 627 Issues and Perspectives in Policies for Education Administration: This course uses a critical democratic perspective to examine some of the most urgent policy issues and ideas facing K-12 public schooling today including neo-liberalism, standardization, high-stakes testing, safe schools and "zero tolerance", character and citizenship education, students ‘at risk’, French language and bilingual education, and Aboriginal education. Policies will be examined in a range of contexts: local, state, national; and international. Cross-border comparisons between Canada and the USA will be an integral and unique aspect of the course as participants will discuss how similar policy issues are taken up in these two nations through two face-to-face meetings and online discussions with graduate students at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. Policy outcomes (both intended and unintended) will be analyzed with specific attention directed towards implications for democracy, equity, diversity, and social justice.

ELP 631 State and Local Policymaking: School district as a policy system; role of the school administrator in it; relationships of districts to state policy processes; constraints imposed by federal law and court decisions; implications of the state/local system for local control, program coordination, and resource allocation; effects of community expectations and participation on policy-making in districts.

ELP 633 Issues in Urban School District Leadership: The role of the superintendent in urban school districts: women superintendents, relations with principals, relations with school boards; analysis of case studies and diverse leadership styles.

ELP 689 Politics of Education: This course examines how power is organized, exercised, and experienced by various groups and individuals in education. Its purpose is to enable students to critically analyze the political context of educational leadership by building an understanding
of the politics of education. We will consider theories and practice of politics at macro (e.g., international organizations, federal government, state departments of education, the courts), meso (e.g., school boards, teacher unions), and micro (e.g., school communities, community groups, parents, teachers, principals, students) levels of education.

Department of Learning and Instruction (LAI)

Apply for permission to take the courses using the LAI Non-Matric Application
Contact person: Ms. Karen Klie at 716-645-4039; krklie@buffalo.edu

Course list and descriptions to be added soon

Department of Library and Information Studies (LIS)

Apply for permission to take the courses using the LIS Non-Matric Application

Contact person: Ms. Rita Packard, (716) 645-2412, packard@buffalo.edu

LIS 509 Introduction to Archives Management: The course covers all aspects of managing an archive including the principles of arrangement, description, acquisition, and appraisal of archival records. Preservation and conservation of archival materials and establishment of research services for archival records will also be covered.

LIS 510 Law Library Administration: This course will examine the history of legal information and law libraries, the types of law libraries, the role of the law librarian in the larger organization, planning and budgeting processes, human resources, reporting and management structures, issues and trends in law library services, and the functions of professional associations. Regular, on-time attendance, active in-class participation and group participation, presentations, and course assignments will be used to determine the final grade. Assignments include both individual and group class presentations and either (1) a publishable-quality research paper on a current issue in law librarianship, or (2) a practical law library management project. Cooperative group work, role-playing, and simulations will form a substantial component of the course.

LIS 511 Materials of Legal Practice: A detailed walk-through of the litigation process from assessment of remedies to appeal; emphasis is on terminology, procedural stages, and fundamental values of the system. Upwards of 40 secondary legal sources are discussed in context and used for hands-on exercises. Readings consist of cases and journal articles. For those interested in law librarianship (especially reference work) and also for those who are interested in how the courts go about their business.

LIS 520 Business Information Sources: A study of sources of business information in accounting, business law, consumer information, finance, industry, international business, job information, management, marketing, small business, taxation and related areas. Also covers: forms of business organization, uses and users of business information and the role and function of a business library or information center. Prerequisite: LIS 518 or equivalent

LIS 522 International Publishing and Bibliography: Provides an analysis of how publishing works in the United States and in a comparative and international framework. The role of book and journal publishing in the knowledge distribution systems of the US and other countries is covered. An analysis is given on how decisions are made in publishing, including the economics of publishing. The relationship between publishing and libraries is also discussed with attention given to the new electronic environment.

LIS 562 Networking Technologies: This course covers the concepts of networking technologies with an emphasis on Local Area Networks (LANs), communication concepts, network architecture, wiring and connection methods, access and contention, data communication software and hardware, protocols, network management, client server and distributed information systems. Included in this is hands-on practice in setting up and managing a LAN. Pre-requisite: LIS 506

LIS 563 Digital Libraries: Digital libraries are defined as electronic libraries in which geographically scattered users access diverse repositories of electronic objects, including scientific, business, and government datasets, networked text, images, maps sounds, videos, merchandise catalogs, hypertext, hypermedia, and multimedia compositions. The course will cover professional issues related to digital libraries, technical aspects, tools for creation and use of digital products, and library and public policy. Pre-requisite: LIS 506

LIS 566 Digital Information Retrieval: Emphasis is twofold: the practical aspects of online bibliographic retrieval and its implications for the library and information profession. Students develop skills in searching, with numerous laboratory assignments in bibliographic and full-text databases. They also study issues of question negotiation, search strategy formulation and database evaluation. Discussions, readings and some assignments require a consideration of the place of on-line retrieval in reference services and its impact on libraries and information centers, on the professionals who work in them, and on the people who use them, and on providing equal access to patrons with assistive technology needs. Prerequisite: LIS 518

LIS 567 Government Information: This introduction to the Government Printing Office, Federal depository libraries, and government information production covers print and electronic sources, with practice in reference use and emphasis on U.S. Federal resources.

LIS 568 Computer Applications in the School Library Media Center: Study of computer operation, use, and application in school library media centers. Includes selection and evaluation of educational computing hardware and software, automation systems, current and emerging technologies, telecommunications, and computing facilities design and devices and software designed for students with special needs. Covers the integration of computer applications into the instructional program and management of the school library media center. Examines technological issues, such as copyright, equal access and intellectual freedom.

LIS 569 Database Systems: Study of microcomputer-based data management techniques and systems, including evaluation of software packages, for the organization, manipulation, and retrieval of information. Examination of relational database techniques such as sorting, searching, indexing, report generation, and data transfer using DBMS command language. Projects include development of a working system. Prerequisite: LIS 506

LIS 580 Intellectual Freedom: An examination of freedom as it relates to human thought and communication and the effect on library and information resources and services. The effects of censorship, pressure tactics, cultural pluralism, personal bias and the effect on unrestricted access to materials. Professional librarian and information specialist concerns are examined and practical applications of principle are discussed.

LIS 581 Management of Libraries and Information Agencies: Management theory and practice applicable to varied information service agencies and to supervisory, middle, and top managers are explored through lecture, case studies, problem analysis, role playing, and course assignments. Includes an overview of equal employment guidelines and understanding diversity. It is recommended that students defer LIS 581 until their final course work for better translation of management principles to work environments.

LIS 583 Public Libraries: Surveys the growth of public libraries and examines their history, governance, organization, finance, services and role in contemporary society. Special emphasis is placed on the development of public library systems and on the current problems and challenges facing public libraries.

LIS 584 Academic and Research Libraries: Covers academic libraries in all types of institutions: community, 4 year, university, public, private, liberal arts, technical and research. Includes topics in administration, budget, organization, personnel, planning, mission, objectives, networking, automation, collection development, standards, evaluation, and library buildings.

LIS 588 Music Librarianship I: >Beginning with an overview of the history and literature of music librarianship and music libraries, the course addresses the materials of the music library: their selection, acquisition, and physical treatment. Emphasis is placed on the cataloging, classification, and subject analysis of music, books about music, sound recordings, and related formats. Emerging formats and bibliographic relationships also are explored. An examination of public services in the music library addresses reference, bibliographic instruction, circulation policies, reserves, and outreach such as exhibits and concert series. Music library equipment, renovation, and space planning are discussed the context of facilities. Considerations of music library administration included the music library=s relationship to a larger institution, budgets and statistics, personnel, and development. Careers in music librarianship and opportunities for professional development are also explored.

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