S574 (Formerly 551): Information Inquiry for Teachers

"Conducting a personal inquiry project and documenting the process was extremely valuable. It made me much more aware of the inquiry process and more sensitive to difficulties that students may experience. Dr. Lamb's upbeat, enthusiastic attitude was a good motivator. I really appreciated that from the beginning she made it clear that she was there to make me successful!! The online learning environment, although convenient, can be quite intimidating and isolating. I liked being offered choices with the Skyhopper assignments and the openendedness of the WebQuests... Being exposed to current trends and thinking in the media educator's world is invaluable for professional knowledge and job seeking."

"I found the reading materials and projects done for this class to be very useful, and to be exactly the types of knowledge I had hoped to gain from the experience.  Thanks you very much, Annette, for providing a very USEFUL learning experience."

"I am currently sharing information about information inquiry models with the teachers at my school!"

"All the links to articles and workshops were great. I loved having more reading available to me if I wanted to learn more about something I was particularly interested in; this being beyond the 'required' reading. The projects were extremely pertinent and enjoyable because we were encouraged to choose topics/projects important to us or relevant to our lives. I appreciate that, especially as a student who is working full time. I think Annette does a great job of tailoring the course to meet the needs of the students, while being demanding of quality of work."

"The course web site was wonderful and very comprehensive. I have bookmarked it for continued use."

"Annette has done a great job of being understanding and quick with responses and a great teacher. I learned so much more in this class than I have in many of my other classes so far in the program. I appreciate her hard work."

"Dr. Lamb is very open to questions and gladly brainstorms with students to help them with any idea, project or task they invite her to help them with. She does a great job in the online classroom because she is so accessible and makes her students so comfortable. She somehow lets students know, even via the impersonal avenue of e-mail/oncourse postings, that she: 1) loves teaching, 2) cares about her students as individuals, 3) takes pride in her work, 4) constantly educates herself on the newest ideas and methodology in her field, 5) organizes information so students can easily navigate the online classroom and have access to re sources, 6) creates an open online atmosphere anyone can feel comfortable in... The class was great and she is a terrific professor."

"It worked. I was very skeptical before taking the course. I did not think I would learn much online. It was one of the most beneficial courses I have ever taken. . . probably the most beneficial of all the education courses I have taken."

A Year Later

"I am currently teaching 7th grade composition on a temporary contract for a teacher on maternity leave. I am here for their expository wriing unit, and I have turned it into a true Inquiry Project thanks to Dr. Lamb's 551 Information Inquiry course... I am having a blast, the kids are having a blast...and they are beginning to 'get it'...they are researching out of their own interests, and they are enjoying the ride (i.e. learning the information search process...) The Information Inquiry course was invaluable to me--personally, with my own children, and now with my awesome students! I recommend that class to everyone."

S621 (Formerly L552): Audio & Video Information Sources & Delivery

"I especially appreciated the assignments that asked us to explore areas outside of our realms of familiar topics. There were plenty of opportunities to "stretch" and venture into completely new disciplines."

"I found it very valuable to learn new ways to use audio and video resources in the media center and classroom. The projects I completed have been and will be useful tools for my school."

"This was the first online course I have taken and I loved it! I thought the projects were relevant and helpful. I liked the discussions."

"I really appreciated the diversity of project options for each individual project. This left room for students to pursue areas of strength and or weakness while still learning and growing through an assignment."

"I can't imagine an online course being handled any more effectively. Dr. Lamb is phenomenal in her knowledge, organization of that knowledge, and her ability to break it down into terms non-techie students can understand. She has a wonderful personality that manages to come through even in emails and makes students feel connected, accepted, and able. She's terrific!!!"

"I love the discussion forums--I appreciate the fact that we have several to choose from, that they are all applicable to real situations and that they're linked to specific articles. I like being able to take my time to compose postings/responses (as opposed to chat)--I like being able to mull over the question/someone else's comments and respond later. I love the fact that this is totally online--with the discussion forums and the email updates I still feel connected to people even though I don't see them. The scheduling flexibility this has given me, I feel allows me to really get the most out of the class--the 4 hours driving time each week can now be used to work on projects instead."

"This was a great course and I learned a lot. Larry was very reachable and we even had a few IM chat sessions.. Thanks for a great class."

"Larry was one of the best teachers I have ever had. He is johnny-on-the-spot if you have questions or concerns. He helps so much. He is just wonderful... keep him on for a long, long time!"

"The email class updates were really helpful. In them, Dr. Johnson would write about questions that other students had that answered my own questions. They were great for helping me feel like I was doing what I needed to be doing."

"I think that Dr. Johnson has organized this class in an easy to use and logical manner. The syllabus is designed to make sure that students know what is due when, and the quick feedback (using the Oncourse gradebook) allows students to chart their own progress and know if they need to improve anything. Also, the e-mail updates help to keep me on track with the class. Great class!"

S532 (Formerly L571): Information Architecture for the Web

"I have never learned this much in a class before."

"The skill builders were extremely helpful in developing new skills with the various topics covered in class, the projects were all interelated...that was very helpful."

"Very valuable and can't believe amount of tech info covered."

"I am glad that Annette has decided to start the class learning XHTML, I think that with that language becoming the dominant one, it just makes sense."

"I think Annette is one of the best instructors I have ever had. This is my second course with her and if I weren't finished with the program, I would seek to take more from her. She has the online instruction environment and student contact down to an art form and I have learned more and had more interaction with her in the two courses we've had than in many of the face-to-face courses on campus. I think that face-to-face/typical classroom settings are important for many of the core courses in SLIS, but for electives and specialization courses, this medium cannot be beat (as long as the instructor utilizes Dr. Lamb's methods). She's awesome!"

"Dr. Lamb was great, always very helpful and understanding. I would take a class of hers again in a heartbeat!"

"I really think Annette Lamb has teaching effectiveness "down". She does a superb job in keeping in touch with students and using time so that students learn more and feel more in touch with the class and teacher in the online course rather than even a traditional classroom course."

"This was an amazing learning experience! It was very time-consuming and intense, but I have a real sense of accomplishment and feel well-prepared to plan, implement, and maintain other web sites in the future."

"I appreciated the regular contact initiated by Dr. Lamb. In addition she was regularly available via email. This level of contact and availability is more access than I have with many of the instructors in typical face-to-face settings...especially for someone like me who is a commuter."

S603 (Formerly L595): Electronic Materials for Children & Young Adults

"The projects were great! They encouraged me to expand my thinking about using the Internet for education."

"The course materials posted online were great resources. I expect to revisit the pages many times in the future for needed resources! The projects and tremors were great learning experiences as well!"

"The projects allowed us to design and create products that were representative of our learning experience and knowledge and understanding of the course materials."

"This is one of the best classes I have taken at IUPUI. The course material will be valuable in my professional life. I was a little hesitant taking the course, but the instructor helped out with some points that I did not fully understand. I would recommend the instructor and the course in the future. I will be taking another online class in the fall."

"The projects were extremely valuable in demonstrating the potential applications of electronic resources."

"I found nearly everything valuable, but most valuable were the websites provided. Awesome resources I will use forever!"

"Creating the webquests and pathfinders was awesome! I learned a lot about programs available on the net, as well as how to reign them in for students' use."

"I feel that in this course I had more feedback than in many face-to-face courses. I am sure that this is due in part to the instructor's personality and her willingness to make this digital course a positive experience for all of the students as well as herself. I am looking forward to my next class with this instructor and will highly recommend her to any other students in SLIS."

"Dr. Lamb was fantastic. This class was super-organized and flexible. She was always available to help and responded to emails so quickly. The topics covered were very informative, and her critiques of our work were helpful and fair. I will highly recommend her classes to others!!"

"She (Lamb) did a great job! In fact I am signed up for a class this fall with her and I can't wait! I would take all my classes with Annette if I could! She is the most down to earth and reasonable professor I've had. She knows what we're capable of doing, her assignments are worthwhile and educational. I had an overall great experience:) "

"This class was terrific! I wish there were more like it. I thought that Larry did a great job communicating on an ongoing basis with the class. I really appreciated his regular emails."

"All of the SLIS classes are a learning experience for me, so all of the projects open my eyes to new ways of completing tasks that are exciting for me and I think kids as well."

S603 (Formerly L595): Technology-Rich Learning

"Everything covered in this course has helped me in my job as a media specialist right now. I learned about many valuable resources and ideas for using technology in teaching."

"The most useful thing was that the projects were actually things we would do in a real world setting and in fact we were encouraged to find topics for our projects that we could use in our jobs. I did two projects that my workplace is currently using and my boss is thrilled with what I have produced for our library this semester."

"Dr. Lamb is already great! She is always online and gets right back to you within a few hours of sending an e-mail! Unbelievable. She is very organized and you always know what she expects."

"The online format was great! I was able to work on my own time schedule. I really liked the weekly updates and looked forward to getting them to make sure I was on the schedule. I also liked the video clips and photographs as they helped to get know the instructor a little better."

"Dr. Lamb is great! I wouldn't change a thing! I will definitely take more classes with her. And I love the online aspect. This was my first online class and it was great to not have that commute!"

"I appreciated how practical it was and how I was able to focus on areas most pertinent to my needs. Busy work and boring lectures are very ineffective teaching methods. This class had neither. I am a better instructor for taking this class. It exposed me to so many things."

"The totally online format was awesome. The weekly updates were very important and necessary. This format worked well for me. Believe me, I worked my tail off for this class but felt all my work was relevant and useful."

"Annette effectively created a sense of personal connectedness despite the limitations of the web environment."

"Having to construct projects with a real-world dimension to them was very helpful, and ultimately will be of great use."

"Annette's people skills translate well into an e-environment. She did a great job of making herself accessible. The projects are very valuable as well as the stars assignments in gathering ideas. I also liked the choice aspect in relation to all of the assignments. Were weren't tied to one idea and were encouraged to be creative."

"I think Dr. Lamb bends over backwards to help the students in her class. She is so encouraging and really wants everyone to be successful!"

"Everything was just wonderful! Annette is the best professor I have had at IUPUI! (and I'm almost done too) I have tried to take as many classes with her as possible because she makes learning interesting, valuable, practical, and actually a fun challenge!"

Comments to Annette Lamb.
Created 10/2005. Updated 5/2007.