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Internship

All M.S. degree students are required to complete an internship designed to provide on-the-job experience in developing instructional systems design competencies. It is the student's responsibility to locate an appropriate setting; therefore, planning for the internship should begin during the first semester of study. For the purposes of Instructional Systems program, an internship is a product or a service that is produced in response to a client need and that provides student with an opportunity to apply skills learned during their studies in the program.

Prior to the semester, during which the internship will be taken, the student should:

• Describe personal goals and expectations for the internship by submitting Internship Expectations Form to the internship coordinator by January 31 if the student intends to complete internship during the upcoming Summer or Fall semesters of the given year or by September 30 for internships during the Spring semester of the following calendar year.
  
• Locate a setting (possibilities will be suggested by the major professor).
  
• Negotiate entry into the setting (e.g., obtain permission of relevant personnel, agree upon remuneration if applicable), and
  
• Document planned responsibilities via a memorandum of agreement, to be signed by the student, supervisor, and the internship coordinator.

During the internship semester, the student should enroll for three semester hours in EME6635 Instructional Design: Field-based Experience under the name of the internship coordinator. The student and internship supervisor should negotiate the student's working hours. It is expected that approximately three hours will be spent per week per credit hour of enrollment. As a general rule, a 3-credit internship would require about 150 hours of work within a given semester. However, no more than 4 credit hours may be awarded for an internship, regardless of length or hours of work, and only 3 credit hours can be counted toward the minimum of 36 required for the Masters degree.

During the internship semester, students will participate in a series of online experience sharing, reflection, and evaluation activities with other interns under the supervision of the internship coordinator. The purpose of these activities is to maximize student internship experience by reflecting on the lessons learned and connecting practical experience on the job with academic coursework content.

At the end of the internship, the intern’s supervisor will provide the internship coordinator with a Performance Appraisal Report about the student's performance. This appraisal will be placed in the student's permanent file. In addition, the student will provide the internship coordinator with a written Internship Report with a description of activities completed during the internship, a reflection of key lessons learned, as well as an assessment of the organization as an internship site. These reports will be kept in the student’s permanent file as well as by the internship coordinator for use by students planning internships. The internship coordinator will then assign a grade for the internship. The internship will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis.

Student will receive a passing grade for completing the internship if:

1. Their Performance Appraisal Report by internship supervisor is satisfactory.
   
2. They have submitted a thorough Internship Report.
   
3. They have actively participated in the online community activities as specified by the internship coordinator.

Students are strongly encouraged to work in a different organization or at least in a different department or division than their current employment site in order to gain as much real world-experience as possible. However, internship at their current site of employment, including their school for classroom teachers, may also be arranged. All the provisions for the internship stated above will also apply to this situation except that the internship coordinator or other appropriate faculty will also serve as the student’s supervisor.

Internship coordinator through the Summer of 2008 will be Dr. Zane Olina, e-mail: Olina@coe.fsu.edu, phone (in the USA): (850) 308 1357. Zane Olina resides in Latvia. Best way to contact her is by e-mail or by phone. Best times to call: early morning through 2 pm EST. (There is a seven-hour time difference between Florida and Latvia.) Contact her with any questions about the internship procedures and let her know as early as possible about the type of internship you desire.

See Masters Internship Guidelines document and IS Online Community site for more detailed information.