Tag: CUNY

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Digital Directive: The NY Observer Interview

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A few months back I was questioned by a writer from the New York Observer on my role as the Academic Director of the Communication and Media program at the CUNY School of Professional Studies (SPS). The writer was interested in discussing the online nature of my program and what sets it apart from other traditional and internet based learning environments. Well, today I found out that I was prominently quoted in the Educated Observer, a special advertising supplement to the NY Observer, on the work we are doing over at SPS.

A digital copy of the article, and my statements on the programs at SPS, can be found here.

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Digital Scholarship Revisited

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Today I attended a presentation by Professor Kathleen Fitzpatrick on the role that open access and new forms of peer review will play on the future of scholarly communication. Professor Fitzpatrick is Director of Scholarly Communication at the Modern Language Association (MLA) and Visiting Research Professor of English at New York University. She is the author of Planned Obsolescence: Publishing, Technology, and the Future of the Academy. Her writings are among the most respected on the subject of scholarly transformation and were a great influence on my research into digital scholarship and the need to reform tenure and promotion standards for technology engaged faculty.

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The SPS Bachelor Degree Program Info Session

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Every few months the academic directors at the CUNY School of Professional Studies (SPS) have a formal information session for potential students interested in our online degree programs. The purpose of these events are to introduce these potential students to our programs, our school, and to give them a taste of what will be expected of them if they decide to attend SPS. Well at the session last night while I was presenting I ran into a former New Media Technology student that I taught at LaGuardia many years ago. He is planning on going back to school to get a BA and is applying to the Communication and Media program that I am heading up.

I guess this is what they mean by full circle.

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The SPS Fall 2013 Student-Faculty Reception

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The other night at the CUNY School of Professional Studies annual Student-Faculty reception I had the opportunity to finally meet some of the students in the Communication and Media program. While working with students in an online can be rewarding, there is a special thrill that can come with interacting face to face with the people in your major. The only downside of the evening was that I had to wear a suit. I hate wearing suits.

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Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!

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While I officially started last week at the CUNY – School of Professional Studies (SPS), this week was the kickoff of the 2013 Fall I session at LaGuardia. It was a very full day which included Opening Sessions, as well as programmatic and departmental meetings, technical consulting session, and student advisement. At the end of the afternoon I felt like I needed a juice box, my blankie, and a nap. I am hoping that this wasn’t going to be indicative on how the semester was going to unfold. Because  just to clarify, despite some of my poorly worded previous posts, I haven’t left LaGuardia. My responsibilities have just shifted a tad.

As the sole full time instructor for the New Media, I didn’t want to abandon the program that I have helped build over the past 12 years. But Continue reading “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!”

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No Sleep ’til Brooklyn part deux

This was my first bike ride since returning home from Oslo. I have been getting over a cold for the past week or so. I think my body has been rebelling against the NYC air quality and humidity. I had trouble getting to sleep because my legendary insomnia was in full effect as a result of the new job. Since I was wide awake I decided to go for a little late night ride. I was still missing Oslo but I felt pretty good all things considered.

I had forgotten how much I love NYC at night. I stopped biking in the city more than a year ago after being Continue reading “No Sleep ’til Brooklyn part deux”

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CUNY SPS – New Office Space

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Today was my first day at the new office. There is a ton of work that needs to be done and I am looking forward to getting underway. I have been asked to take charge of the Communication and Media program at the CUNY School of Professional Studies and to help redefine the degree in light of the recent technological and societal shifts brought forth by digital innovation.

I must say that it was kinda weird to be Continue reading “CUNY SPS – New Office Space”

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Game Changers: The Community College Journal Interview

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I had been so busy toward the end of the semester that I had forgotten that a few months back I was interviewed on the curriculum changes that I had put in place for the LaGuardia New Media Technology program. Steve Zurier of the Community College Journal contacted me to see if I would be interested in talking to him about some of the emerging technologies impacting digital media programs.

It appears that he wanted to feature my comments under a section on media literacy in his article. I agreed to speak with him and discuss the challenges in developing a technology based curriculum to address the changing economic and educational shifts facing college students. Since I had given a fair amount of thought on the subject over the past year due to having to draft the Periodic Program Review (PPR) for the New Media major, I hoped the interview would be painless. Luckily it was straight forward like I assumed. I am quoted in the piece on my approach to digital media curriculum design.

A digital copy of the article can be found here.

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Lone wolves ride alone!

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A few months back my wife and I signed up for an introductory motorcycle class. We have been doing all of these semi-adventurous things as a way to celebrate her promotion to full Professor and her year long sabbatical. Over the past year we have gotten NRA Certified for Pistols, taken up Thai style cooking, started practicing archery. I am proud to say that she just got her motorcycle license after a 2-day intense course at the Motorcycle Safety School (MSS) at Lehman College. I wasn’t able to join her because of my work schedule, which is sad because we always have a lot of fun together doing this type stuff.  The good thing is that she is no longer opposed to me getting a bike. Plus she is now talking about wanting to travel down Route 66 on 2 wheels for our next big vacation trip. Personally I would rather ride through Europe, but we have time to figure all that out. I still have to get my license.

 

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End of the semester… and on to new adventures!

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Today was the last day of finals. The students in my HUW 269 New Media Project lab capstone course were scheduled to turn in and present their final professional portfolios. The final presentations are always interesting because it gives the students, and me,  an opportunity to see how far they have progressed as multimedia artists since the beginning of the semester. This year was a little different. In addition to displaying visually stunning portfolios, these capstone students, many who had graduated last week,  surprised me with a end of the semester thank you party. They bought pizza, cake, and soda that we all chowed down on as we laughed and critiqued the final portfolios that were presented.

In the 12 plus years I have been teaching at LaGuardia Continue reading “End of the semester… and on to new adventures!”