Karlyn Barilovits, Ph.D. Chair, MSIT Department, Kaplan University

Desiree DePriest, Ph.D.Professor, MSIT Department, Kaplan University

 Mariana Craft

Student, MSIT Department, Kaplan University

Online Academic Internship

OverviewDr. Karlyn Barilovits, Department Chair, Master of Information Systems, Kaplan University.

Two academic measurements of program success used in university settings have been the scholarship of faculty and the scholarship of students.

Faculty who contribute to the body of knowledge in the departmental discipline attract students to the program, keep course presentations current and motivate students to excellence.

Students who participate in scholarly activities serve a positive role in attracting new students and serve as peer mentors to their classmates.

Introduction

Benefit faculty in professional development

Benefit students in research methods

Contribute to the overall body of knowledge in the program

Provide opportunities for collaboration

Provide opportunities for community building

Benefits of Scholarly Activities to the University

Traditional InternshipsPartnerships are

built between the university and industry.

Students train on-site in a given industry.

Guidance is provided primarily by supervisors in the industry.

Blended InternshipsPhysical partnerships

that utilize web-based technologies to hold meetings and collaborations between the university and the student.

Student presentations reflect on outcome of hybrid research.

Virtual InternshipsStudents perform

research in a purely online environment.

Students collaborate with faculty at the online university in an agreed upon research topic.

Two types of online internships are being proposed:

Information Interns – One intern for every one or two faculty members.

Technology Interns – team of interns with one or two faculty members.

Types of Internships

Work with faculty on research for individual scholarship.

Learn to distinguish scientific peer-reviewed sources from secondary sources such as industry websites.

Gain proficiency in editing, referencing and summarizing.

Information Interns

Collaborate with mentoring faculty and other interns.

Research current topics in a particular area of the field and present newsletter to all graduate and undergraduates in the program.

Build proficiency with desktop publishing, online collaboration tools, and writing skills.

Technology Interns

Faculty perspectivesDr. Desiree DePriest, Professor of Information Systems, MSIT Department, Kaplan University.

Information Internships &

Ph.D. in field or related field.

Good standing.Interested in directing

and mentoring student interns.

Committed to full internship term.

Identifying faculty qualifications

Technology Internships

Detailed project plans to research and further the body of knowledge in the approved research area.

Directing & Mentoring - Information

Faculty will regularly critique intern team as non-contributing editor in information gathering activities, cutting edge project, topic or new trend, and adherence to newletter deadlines.

Directing & Mentoring - Technology

Opportunity to expand research and recognition through the assistance of academic interns.

Opportunity to collaborate with students in more depth through small teams exploring cutting edge innovations in technology.

Mentor the group process holistically.Developing agile telepresence.Contribute to academic intern’s experiences

in information system and technology processes.

Benefits for Faculty

Student perspectivesMariana Craft, Honor Student, MSIT Program, Kaplan University.

Information Internships &

3.5 GPA or greater for three semesters or more consecutively.

Good standing.Completed one year in

the program.Committed to full

internship term.

Identifying student qualifications

Technology Internships

Information Interns

Scholarly research in field

Critical thinking skills

Contributing to the body of knowledge in industry through publication recognition

Technology Interns

Group collaboration and desktop/web-based publishing.

Entrepreneurial thinking and trend setting skills applied to projects.

Building a repository of student-based innovative articles through project and systems planning, application of technology and research.

Benefits for StudentsGraduating with

marketable knowledge and experience.

Recognition in the field of information systems and technology.

Individualized telepresence with professionals in the field.

Online Academic Internships offer a number of benefits at little to no cost.

Academic Internships will highlight the work of faculty and staff in the field at conferences, workshops and in publications.

Conclusions

Centre College Internships. Retrieved 12/20/2008 from: www.centre.edu/web/news/2008/internship_plus2.html.

Education Volunteers. Retrieved 12/22/2008 from: http://www.educationpioneers.org/becoming-a-fellow/program-details.

Gatto, K. To go or not to go, when is a virtual internship right for you? Retrieved 12/22/2008 from: http://externs.com/externshipdef.cfm#more.

Go Inside Magazine Internship. Retrieved 12/22/2008 from: http://goinside.com/intern/

Internship Information Session On-Line, a presentation by Metropolitan State University, Center for Community-Based Learning, retrieved 12/19/2008.

TCC 2009 Call for Proposals, Teaching Colleges, and Community Worldwide Online Conference, received November 22, 2008.

The Mentor Corner, a presentation by Terry Miller, Kaplan University, July 22, 2008.

The virtual internship guide. Retrieved 12/22/2008 from: http://www.virtualinternshipguide.com/.

University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Administrative Policy Statement Academic Internships, retrieved 12/21/2008.

USJournals Internships. Retrieved 12/22/2008 from: http://www.usjournal.com/en/about/internship.html.

Xerox: Internship project Proposal. Retrieved 12/22/2008 from: http://www.xrce.xerox.com/internships/JW-FR.WebBasedCollaborativeColorCorrections.2009.html.

References

Thank you TCC Worldwide Online Conference for the

opportunity to present!