SJSU School of Information faculty members receive grants to develop a digital repository of materials that will support the internationalization of online courses and to create a new globalization and information course syllabus.

Drs. Sue Alman and Christine Hager of the School of Information (iSchool) at San José State University (SJSU) received faculty awards from the university’s College of Applied Sciences and Arts (CASA) that will be used to promote global citizenship and engagement.

With the grant award, Alman will develop a digital repository of materials to support iSchool faculty members as they internationalize their online courses. According to Alman, the repository can also be used as a model for all CASA faculty members.

“The receipt of this award is an honor, and it indicates the high level of importance that the SJSU CASA administration has placed on assuring that all students are introduced to international and intercultural perspectives in order to prepare them to live and work in an increasingly globalized world,” Alman said.

Hagar will use the grant to create a new globalization and information course syllabus that will provide iSchool students with a broad overview of the influence of globalization within the context of an information society and focus particularly on political, economic, technological and socio-cultural issues.

Hagar previously has held positions at several international organizations such as the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP), an international non-governmental development organization based in Oxford, United Kingdom; and the International Centre for Information Management Systems and Services (ICIMSS), University of Nicolaus Copernicus, in Torun, Poland. She will be drawing from her intercontinental experience to develop the course syllabus.

“I am very excited and delighted to receive this award. Developing a course on globalization and information is something that I’ve wanted to do for some time; this grant gives me the opportunity to do so,” she said.

Dr. Sandra Hirsh, iSchool director, said, “I believe that Dr. Alman and Dr. Hagar’s projects fit the purpose of the award well and that their projects will not just benefit the iSchool, but will have wider application in the college as well.”

The faculty awards support the CASA International Experience that requires all students in the college to participate in an international experience prior to graduation. iSchool students fulfill the international experience requirement via Competency O of the culminating e-portfolio for earning the Master of Library and Information degree.

More information about faculty research projects and grants can be found on the iSchool’s virtual research center.