What is an iSchool?

  (ischools.org)

iSchools provide emergent academic programs. iSchools are emerging because we now live in the age of information. There are contemporary challenges of ubiquitous information. We also notice rapid technical and social changes. iSchools focus on the relationship between information, technology and people which is characterized by a commitment to learning and understanding the role of information in human endeavors.(

There are 21 members in the iSchool caucus, and most of those are in the U.S. iConference, an annual conference of iSchools, has been hosted by Pennsylvania State University, University of Michigan, and UCLA. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_I-Schools)

1. What makes I-schools different than more traditional departments, colleges, fields?

Interdisciplinary nature, Real world problem solving, and various perspectives. I-Schools promote an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the opportunities and challenges of information management, with a core commitment to concepts like universal access and user-centered organization of information. The field is concerned broadly with questions of design and preservation across information spaces, from digital and virtual spaces like online communities and databases to physical spaces such as libraries, museums, collections, and other repositories. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_I-Schools)

2. What are some of the things that most I-schools have in common?

Interdisciplinary research would be one of the most common things in iSchools. Popular research topics in iSchools include human-computer interaction, medical informatics, semantic web, and social informatics.

3. What are some of the different flavors of I-schools?

Some iSchools have a strong legacy in library studies because their programs are former Library Science.

4. Why did you choose to do your graduate education at an I-school?

"You cannot connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. That approach has never let me know, and it has made all the difference in my life." said Steve Jobs as commencement address at Stanford. I realized that all my diverse experiences, skills, and knowledge I have obtained so far have made a perfect iSchool Ph.D. student. It was just "connecting-the-dot" moment according to Steve Jobs' address.