LaGuardia New Media Technology Update

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Last week I was part of a faculty panel that presented on the upcoming curricular changes to the LaGuardia New Media Technology major. In addition to the core web development classes we are now adding new tracks in digital journalism, ecommerce/entrepreneurship, game design/mobile app development, and digital media/VFX.

These are changes that I had fought for over a number of years and were outlined in the Periodic Program Review (PPR) which I produced over two years ago. The event was well attended and many of my new colleagues in seem extremely excited to begin this work. After so many years of being the sole full time teaching member of the New Media program, it is great to have additional voices involved in shaping the future direction of the major.

This is why I teach.

I had just returned from one of the many meetings that I have during the week to find a Facebook instant message from a former student of mine. I hadn’t seen or heard from Juan directly since a few months after he graduated. It was great to hear that he was doing fantastic and that I was able to play a small role in his success. At the end of the day this is essentially why I continue to teach. None of my other responsibilities as a professor even comes close to the satisfaction of helping students find their way in life, both personally and professionally.

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Webinar: Creating Engaging Content

Here is the video from my recent webinar on “Creating Engaging Content for the Web and Social Media”. This was the second in a multi-part series of online seminars to educate potential students at CUNY School of Professional Studies about the field of new media. I decided to conduct the webinar because attracting users to build a sustainable social media presence for themselves or their organizations requires the Continue reading “Webinar: Creating Engaging Content”

The NYC Tech Scene and Community Colleges

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Almost a year ago Shuprotim Bhaumik and the team from HR&A Advisors produced a comprehensive report on the New York City Tech Ecosystem and how it is generating economic opportunities for many New Yorkers (http://www.hraadvisors.com/nyctechstudy/). Last week Gail Mellow, President of LaGuardia Community College, had a number of the college faculty and staff attend another important meeting with the same team from HR&A.

Shuprotim and his team gave a presentation that went a step further than Continue reading “The NYC Tech Scene and Community Colleges”

We got drones!

Husban Quad Copter

The Husban H107 Mini quadrocopter, with built in HD camera, I ordered for Christmas finally arrived yesterday. This was fairly cheap and yet functional mini drone. I was interested in getting one for a few months now. I had decided to bite the bullet and snag one after visiting some of my colleagues in the media program at York College during a recent conference. They have integrated drones technology into various aspects of their new media curriculum, which covers everything from videography to programming. The visit made me think about Continue reading “We got drones!”

Bridging the Gaps in Digital Media

The following video is of a panel discussion I organized for the 13th Annual CUNY IT Conference back in December. The talk that took place was on the topic of designing digital media programs within higher education. I gathered a number of my colleagues from some of the digital media programs throughout CUNY to find out how they approach program design and the maintenance of curricula in evolving technical disciplines.

This has been an area that has been on my mind since completing the Periodic Program Review for the LaGuardia New Media Technology degree, as well Continue reading “Bridging the Gaps in Digital Media”

Webinar: Leveraging Social Media

This past Monday I conducted my first webinar on how individuals can leverage social media to achieve their personal and professional goals. In truth, I was more than a little nervous about the event since this was going to be my first live streamed lecture. The fact that we had a few hundred attendees sign up for the live stream also added to my anxiety. Maybe I shouldn’t have worried about it as much as I did, because so far the responses and feedback that I received Continue reading “Webinar: Leveraging Social Media”

New Media Tech Info Session

This a short video excerpt of a discussion on the field of digital development and the upcoming changes to the New Media Technology program at LaGuardia Community College. Last year I was tasked with the responsibility of conducting the Periodic Program Review (PPR) for the New Media Technology program at LaGuardia. In drafting the PPR I was forced to research the current status of the industry in which the program was preparing students to enter in the hopes of developing a plan to assess the effectiveness of the major and improve student outcomes.

Based on the information discovered during my research, I Continue reading “New Media Tech Info Session”