Category: Technology

Posted on

HTML 5 and CSS 3 Training Class

In order to enhance the knowledge that I acquired in January when I took the WordPress theme design class at Noble Desktop,  I decided to sign up for an HTML5 and CSS3 course. The industry is rapidly moving towards these new standards due to the advanced feature sets in HTML5 and CSS3 which allows for advanced animation, as well as for audio and video files to natively be supported in the browser without the need for third party plug-ins like Adobe’s Flash. While I didn’t feel like spending the money for the class, I needed to get up to speed on the new standards in order update the LaGuardia New Media curriculum, and to complete a much needed design update to my own web site. The class was once again held at Noble Desktop, and was once again, led by an amazing teacher named Victoria Torres. The two day course took us through the process of building an site from scratch using these new standards.

One of the unforeseen benefits of the class was that HTML 5 and CSS 3, when used in conjunction with a new mobile framework called PhoneGap, is becoming an excellent way of building mobile applications for both Android and iOS devises. PhoneGap was recently purchased by Adobe and was integrated into the latest version of Dreamweaver, release 5.5. This is a huge development for me since I can leverage our existing curriculum and begin to instruct students in the basics of mobile application develop by using PhoneGap.

Posted on

Adobe eMagazine and Digital Publishing Training

In one of my earlier posts from a few months back I discussed how I took a group of my students to Noble Desktop  to view a presentation on digital books and ePublishing. What I didn’t mention was that the following day I signed myself up for two of the courses the Noble Desktop offers on creating eBooks and digital magazines with the new tools available from Adobe. Well, I recently completed both classes and was highly impressed with the tools currently available. Adobe has made some interesting strides in creating software that will enable designers and writers to easily publish contents in numerous formats on multiple platforms.

Posted on

DJ Offbeat on the one and two!

I seriously think that I am addicted to sites like Groupon and Zozi. Since the wife and kids left for summer camp I have been buying trial memberships to about half a dozen places like Bikram Yoga and City Wing Tsun. Well yesterday I indulged myself in yet another of my secret desires, to become a world class DJ by taking an Introduction to Digital DJ’ing class at the Dubspot with DJ Reborn and DJ Spictacular.

I have always Continue reading “DJ Offbeat on the one and two!”

Posted on

AAUP Conference: Presentation Day

The three and a half hour long train excursion down to Washington, DC did nothing to lessen my exhaustion of the last few days. Even though, I have to admit the the seating room on the Amtrak trains allowed me to sleep quite easily. Those big reclining chairs are way more comfortable than the JetBlue airline seats that I almost purchased. The good thing is that despite the bleary eyes, my afternoon presentation on “Redefining Tenure and Promotion Standards for Multimedia and Digital Arts Faculty” was fairly well received at the annual AAUP national conference on the State of Higher Education. The only major problem with

Continue reading “AAUP Conference: Presentation Day”

Posted on

AAUP Conference: Preparation

Tomorrow I am traveling to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Annual State of Higher Education Conference in Washington, DC to present some of my research on “Redefining Tenure and Promotion Standards for Multimedia and Digital Arts Faculty”.The presentation is based off of an article that I will be submitting for publication. This is a topic of importance many of the current new media professors teaching within higher education, And in the spirit of full disclosure, it is a topic of great importance to me as an non tenured college professor. I will post the video from the conference when I return. I am taking two of the Kodak Zi8 mini HD cameras to the conference to film the event. This is the little camera that I have fallen in love with recently. But again I digress. The full session description for the presentation

Continue reading “AAUP Conference: Preparation”

Posted on

Class Trip: Seminar on digital books and ePublishing

Today I took my HUW161 Web and Multimedia Design class to a talk on digital books and ePublishing held at Noble Desktop. The seminar was hosted by Dan Rodney, lead instructor and co-owner of Noble Desktop. Digital publishing has been attracting a great deal of attention as a result of all of the new ereaders and tablet devises that have been hitting the market. Amazon reported earlier this year that eBooks on the Kindle began outselling print books in 2010. In addition to books, magazines are moving to the iPad and other tablet as well. Adobe has just released a new digital publishing suite that companies such as Wired, Martha Stewart are using to create digital magazines for devices. Even more shocking is the fact that relatively unknown authors like Amanda Hocking, as well as more established writers like Barry Eisler are profiting from these new digital formats. It is going to be interesting to see how these new developments will impact upon traditional print media outlets. Digital publishing is hot and designers should be learning about it now. I think my students enjoyed the talk.

Posted on

The 2011 LaGuardia Publication Reception

This was a brief speech that I gave on the recent article that I authored addressing “Motivating at risk African American and Hispanic students through the study of New Media Technology“. I mentioned this article in one of my earlier posts. The reception was held at LaGuardia Community College. Special thanks to Michael Philogene of LaGuardia’s Business and Technology Department for the impromptu camera work.

The program for the event can be found here: PresidentReception11.pdf

 

Posted on

Affordable Mini HD Camera setup

Kodak Zi8 mini hd rig

I frequently get a good deal of questions from students and educators on what type of video camera should they buy if they have limited money and they still want great quality. In order to answer these questions I have been looking around for the cheapest rig possible that can still offer decent image and sound quality to recommend to these budget conscious videographers. I did a little research and set aside a maximum budget of 400 bucks for the entire project. The basic criteria for the video Continue reading “Affordable Mini HD Camera setup”

Posted on

My new article on student motivation – HETS Online Journal

HETS Online JournalI wanted to share with you a recently published article on the topic of the student motivation that I authored. The title of the piece is “Motivating at Risk African Americans and Hispanics Through the Study of New Media Technology“. The peer-reviewed article was based on many of the interactions that I have had over the years with my amazing students. The primary focus of the research was on how to inspire African American and Hispanic students by using digital media. However, the principles and techniques described can be applied to students of all races and cultures. The article was published in the second edition of the Hispanic Educational Technology Services (HETS) Online Journal. The digital copy of the journal can be found here in pdf format.

Posted on

iPad 2…..ehh!


Overall, I was very disappointed at what Apple announced today concerning their much anticipated update to the iPad. Let me state for the record that I absolutely love my 1st generation iPad. I love it so much that I touched my Kindle and netbook for the first time in months the other day only to brush the dust off of them as I was cleaning up my bedroom. And I loved both of those devises when they Continue reading “iPad 2…..ehh!”