IA - Education and Career
October 14, 2002
"This course will introduce you to the principles of information storage and retrieval systems and databases. You will learn how effective information search and retrieval is interrelated with the organization and description of information to be retrieved. You will also learn to use a set of tools and procedures for organizing information, and will become familiar with the techniques involved in conducting effective searches of print and online information resources. The course also introduces the major types of information retrieval systems, the different theoretical foundations underlying these systems, and the methods and measures that can be used to evaluate& them." This is a great introductory class that Marti Hearst and Ray Larson of UC Berkeley's School of Information Managment and Systems teach and were kind enough to post the contents of online. Review the 1998 version of the course... or Review the course as it was last taught in Fall 2000...
August 14, 2002
"How do you keep up with the field? And what sources of information are most important? The results of this survey will help paint a picture of which resources information architects use to learn and keep informed about their field." An IAsk ACIA survey conducted in June 2001 and reported in July 2001. See the survey results...
June 05, 2002
"The ACIA received 229 responses to this survey, which ran from January 3 through January 10, 2001." See the survey...
Another salary calculator, this one from Salary.com. Visit the calculator...
"The surveys come from several kinds of sources. You'll want to evaluate the information in terms of currency, geographic coverage and application to your own situation. " View the site...
Jenn's page hasn't been updated since 1999, but it still has some valuable information and resource links. View the website...
A series of surveys of design professionals and their salaries from the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).
June 04, 2002
"The School of Information at the University of Michigan works to develop an integrated understanding of human needs as they relate to information systems and social structures. Formerly the School of Information and Library Studies, SI pioneers the development and application of principles of information management and educates professionals to lead in the information age." [About SI]
I don't know anyone who's been to this program, but everyone I know who went to undergrad at Ann Arbor loved it. Visit their website...
"The primary educational mission of the program will be to prepare professionals for corporations, government agencies, and the academic world who can develop improved approaches to handling information, to design and manage information functions, and to merge them with other aspects of the organization. Evidence strongly suggests the existence of a very large demand for such professionals in business, government, and the academic world." [SIMS: History]
It's Berkeley, so it must be good(?). Visit their website...
"Information architecture is the science of figuring out what you want your site to do and then constructing a blueprint before you dive in and put the thing together. It's more important than you might think, and John Shiple, aka Squishy, tells you why."
From Webmonkey comes this pretty decent overall explanation of IA work. Check out the tutorial...
"We believe there is great need and opportunity for professionals trained in state-of-the-art information technology and science with an emphasis on creative human applications. There is an urgent need in our society for graduates with education and experience in informatics, particularly with interdisciplinary skills. The School of Informatics will be foremost in the country to graduate professionals with formal preparation in Information Technology with subject area expertise." [Mission Statement]
Posted by seralat at 08:03 PM | Permalink
Filed in: IA - Education and Career
"Georgia Tech's M.S. in Information Design and Technology (IDT) is a graduate program of humanities-based professional education for the digital age. IDT students follow a studio and seminar-based curriculum that places digital design within technical, cultural, aesthetic, and historical contexts. The program rests on the assumption that digital media belong to an historical, aesthetic, and conceptual continuum, whose legacy and future must be addressed in order to understand the digital artifact in its own right."
This is the program that I graduated from, and I found it quite useful in my IA career. Check out the program...
"The ACIA received 202 responses to this survey, which ran from November 1 through November 7, 2000."
From the Argus Center for Information Architects. See the survey...
"Egyptian scribes sat every day in the marketplace and wrote hieroglyphic letters, reports, memos, and proposals for their clients. At least since then, the business of assisting others to make their communications more effective has flourished. Specialists in communication already abound in our society: ghost writers, technical writers, advertising writers and art directors, public relations writers, and marketing consultants are only the most obvious ones. In any field of human endeavor there is a process of, first, specialization and, then, increasing professionalization. Information design is the most recent manifestation of the age-old profession of communications assistance."
An article by Robert Horn, Chapter 2, in Information Design, ed. by Robert Jacobson, MIT Press, 1999. Read the rest...
"However, instead of taking sides in this great debate, pounce upon the opportunity of becoming an information architect, somebody who would tend toward the Nielsen camp, but nevertheless reap rich rewards. If you have the skills and talent, you can claim a lot of respect and a good salary."
We were so naive back then...
From a 21 December 2000 Webreference article. Read the article...
"To find out exactly what it takes to succeed in this intriguing job, I spoke to Mattie Langenberg, principal of the Chicago-based Schema Studios, and Creative Director Michael Brooks."
From a Monster.com article by Sacha Cohen. Read more...
