Category: Future of Education

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CUNY SPS here I come!

SPS Faculty and Staff

Not many people know this yet, but starting in the Fall of 2013, I will be taking over the Academic Directorship of the Communications and Media (B.A.) program at the CUNY School of Professional Studies (SPS). It is a four year online degree program that offers an interdisciplinary focus on issues related to communications and the convergence between new and traditional media.

I had my first meeting today with the Deans and the other Academic Directors at SPS. In truth, I was a bit overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reception that I received from everyone. I was offered the position a few month back and jumped at the opportunity because I believe that online programs are destined to play a big part in the future of education.

I was very happy and excited to meet my new colleagues and I look forward to helping them enhance an already amazing series of programs.

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The 2013 LaGuardia Publishing Reception

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Yesterday I was happy to be counted among the scholars from the LaGuardia Humanities Department that were celebrated for academic and creative accomplishments. The 2013 President’s Publishing Reception is an event that is held every year to acknowledge academic excellence. It was also the first time that the definition of scholarship was expanded to include some of the digital presentations and research in which I have been engaged.  However while my presentations were recognized, many of my scholarly pursuits in the areas of application design and development were still looked at as supplemental work. As I stated in my recent article, it appears that there is still necessary work that must occur in order to change long held academic beliefs.

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Behind the Seams at JITP – Changing Tenure Standards

A few weeks back I was interviewed on the process of publishing in the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy (JITP) and what the future holds for digitally engaged faculty within the academy. The video above is an edited version of the conversation that I had with some of the editors at JITP on my experience in submitting a controversial article to them for publication.

I say controversial because over the past two years a large Continue reading “Behind the Seams at JITP – Changing Tenure Standards”

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Changing tenure and promotion standards – JITP Online Journal

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Finally, the article that I submitted on “Establishing a New Paradigm: The call to reform the tenure and promotion standards for digital media faculty” premiered today in the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy. The focus of the article is to illustrate the challenges facing digital media faculty as they march towards tenure and promotion, and present a case for reform of the current system. The article was a deeply personal research project for me as it chronicled my journey through the tenure system at LaGuardia.

The introduction for the journal prominently featured a brief editorial review of my article that was rather positive. “Establishing a New Paradigm” was described as showing “how the tenure and promotion processes for most faculty working and publishing with digital technologies are ill-suited to recognize, reward, and nurture the intellectual and scholarly activities that such academics must undertake to stay abreast of rapid changes in their fields”. I was elated that the editors thought that I argued “forcefully that the academy must adapt its employment structures to more explicitly support and reward precisely the type of work that lies at the heart of the other three pieces in this issue”. I have to admit that those words brought a smile to my face.

A digital copy of just my article on tenure and promotion reform can be found here in pdf format.

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Opening Sessions

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I always love the start of a new semester! I spent the morning at LaGuardia’s Opening Session for faculty and staff. The meeting is held every year and provides faculty and staff with an opportunity to hear about some of the key initiatives currently underway at LaGuardia.

However, despite my start of the semester anxiety, my article on digital scholarship was accepted by a respected journal. I have updated my class syllabi and revised my course materials. My powerpoint lecture slides are prepared for for the coming semester. And for the first time in too many months I am starting off a new semester with a smile.

THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAAAAA!

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CUNY Pathways & The Council of Digital Media Programs


A few months back I organized and hosted a panel discussion at John Jay College’s 10th Annual City University of New York (CUNY) IT Conference. The presentation was on “Creating a CUNY-wide approach towards Digital Media Programs” and focused on what I believe are some of the major issues facing digital media programs within CUNY. I assembled the panel group from colleagues at four separate CUNY institutions and within five distinct New Media subdivisions. We discussed strategies that the university could implement to prepare our digital media programs for the future.

One of the major initiatives that I suggested during the conference presentation was the establishment of a digital media council to address the specific needs and concerns of the faculty and students within the digital disciplines. Well I am happy to say that the first steps toward the creating a CUNY-wide digital media council happened today thanks to my colleagues in the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) Media Arts and Technology Department. Today a luncheon was held at Continue reading “CUNY Pathways & The Council of Digital Media Programs”

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LaGuardia Online/Hybrid Teaching Seminar

The above video is from a brief overview that I gave to some of my colleagues at LaGuardia Community College. I was asked to talk about some of the work that I am doing in converting my lectures from a traditional classroom environment to an Online/hybrid setting. This Online/hybrid seminar is a year long group discussion sponsored by LaGuardia’s Center for Teaching and Learning to assist faculty into making the transition to online instruction.

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Presentation: Creating a CUNY-wide approach towards Digital Media Programs

The above video was from a presentation and panel discussion held at John Jay College’s 10th Annual City University of New York (CUNY) IT Conference. The emerging nature of Digital Media has challenged the ability of universities to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape. Due to the evolution of these new disciplines, and the speed in which cross-disciplinary technical innovations are implemented in programs with a digital media focus, very few universal standards are in place for instruction and assessment.

In order to set the stage for the panel discussion, my presentation focused on what I believe are some of the major issues facing digital media programs within CUNY. The panel group, assembled from my colleagues from various CUNY institutions, discussed specific strategies that the university could implement to prepare our digital media programs for the future.

Panel participants included:

Continue reading “Presentation: Creating a CUNY-wide approach towards Digital Media Programs”

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Presentation: Motivating Students to Succeed

LaGuardia’s Center for Teaching and Learning is currently sponsoring a New Faculty Colloquium. The New Faculty Colloquium is a year-long seminar designed to acclimate new faculty to the institution and to acquaint them with various pedagogical approaches to teaching. I was asked to present some of my recently published findings on motivating Black and Hispanic students to a new cohort of LaGuardia faculty. While the research for my presentation Continue reading “Presentation: Motivating Students to Succeed”