It's About Learning

When you consider a video like Socialnomics 2011 you must acknowledge that the media component of this social media phenomena we are experiencing is every bit as important and perhaps even a prerequisite for the social aspect of this revolution. With Youtube ranked as number one search engine with the under eighteen year old population and the number two search engine overall, there very little room for dispute that we are living in a media dominated culture. This is much more than just entertainment when you consider that the protein causing AIDS in rhesus monkeys that hadn’t been solved for 15 years was finally solved by Foldit, a multiplayer online game that challenges players from across the world to solve difficult protein-structure prediction problems. Media plays an extremely important role in the all of our lives and especially the lives of our youth.

So what is the best way for our educational systems and in particular high education to address this phenomena? There are three primary options that are being are currently being considered or implemented:

1. Do nothing
2. Offer a specialized Media/Visual Arts program
3. Embed media into all programs

The first option “Do nothing” is by far the most popular option in higher education and is characterized by the “Turn Off Cell Phones” signs that are posted at entrances of many classrooms and labs. The option is further reinforced by the faculty preventing students from using laptops or tablets to take notes in their classrooms. The advantages of this option is that there are several hundred years of tradition in the lecture structure that was foundational to the first universities. An additional advantage is that this option requires virtually no professional development or support–faculty simply pass on this long standing tradition. The disadvantages are that while this method represents the primary form of instruction in higher education there is a growing body of research and evidence to show that it is not very effective. The research shows that at best the lecture method allows for information transfer but the lack of engagement and significance prevent any aspect of deeper learning.

The second option, a specialized or dedicated Media/Visual Arts program is the second most popular option in higher education and will usually be part of either a Fine Arts, Graphic Arts or Communications program that will include but not be limited to: digital art & design, film studies, computer animation, game art and development and web design and development. The following video highlights Full Sail University which offers arguably one of North America’s best programs:

http://youtu.be/HNLgbqDxBWU

The advantages of programs like Full Sail or the more generic programs like Fine Arts or Graphic Design programs you will find at many colleges, universities or even trade schools is that students receive very specialized instruction and training. The Fine Arts programs at universities will offer more of the theoretical or foundational aspects of the discipline while the polytechnics offer the pragmatic instruction that deals with instruction in the software and related tools required in the discipline. Students are able to go from these programs to work in very specialized fields. The disadvantages of these programs is that they are generally very small and only prepare limited numbers of student to create media. These programs are very costly to run because they required very specialized software, hardware and support. Perhaps one of the most limiting aspects of this option is that so few people are actually empowered to create media.

The third options is to embed media creation into all programs. The is by far the least popular options and perhaps the most challenging option to realize. The biggest challenge in realizing this option is the challenge of changing a culture. Up until the emergence of Youtube and the popularity of media on the Internet the notion of embedding media into all programs within a university or college curriculum would be fool-hardy. In the pre-Youtube days one would need to employ a highly trained and skilled videographer or media specialist to shoot the video who would then rely on extremely expensive equipment to provide the necessary post production to create an acceptable product–and we haven’t even discussed the challenges in distributing this type of content.

With multiple pixel cameras on most cell phones today and HD video capability on smartphones and Digital SLRs, the ability to shoot extremely high quality images and video is within the grasp of most people. When you combine this with software tools like Garageband, iMovie, Final Cut Pro/Express and the whole compliment of Adobe products the post production side of creating rich media is also within reach of most people. Youtube, Vimeo and many other sites provide the distribution channel for media which means the creation and distribution of rich media is within the grasp of anyone with a smartphone, iPad, computer and the internet. One could argue this combination of pre and post production technology and the ubiquitous nature of the internet will have a similar impact on communication as Guttenburg’s printing press had upon the world centuries ago.

This takes us back to the challenge of culture. As was the case in Guttenburg’s time, change is difficult. It took almost 75 years for the printing press to begin have an impact the world. Fortunately, in this day and age technological change happens much more rapidly but most people are still relatively slow to react and the academy is the slowest of all institutions to embrace this type of change. Youtube was founded in the spring of 2005 and it wasn’t until the fall of 2006 when Google purchased it that the video sharing site started to have a significant impact. By 2008 Google had fully established itself as a media phenomena and the youth of the world started to see youtube as the first source of information and as an outlet for their creativity. While most youth embrace the creative options that their smart phones, iPads, digital SLRs and the internet provide most faculty still see youtube and the internet for the most part from the perspective of consumption rather then creation.

Communication in higher education is still viewed primarily as the written and spoken word. Video, audio and all other forms of communication are still viewed as being beyond the reach of the average individual. But this isn’t he case. The following video was created using iMovie; the sound track was recorded using a USB microphone plugged into a laptop and some of the picture were taken using a smart phone.

This two minute clip conveys a message that would take more than a thousand words to describe. Media can be used to engage students, to provide a context for new information, and to to make our learning environment more significant. More importantly we are at a point in the development of technology and the internet where the creation of media by all students must become part of all of our programs. We live in a media rich world and if we are truly preparing our students for the world of tomorrow then we have the responsibility to learn how to create media ourselves so that we can help our students to fully utilize media as a communication tool. We would be wise to head John Dewey’s warning:

If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.

Concordia University has an opportunity through the Learning Portfolio initiative to provide a way for our students to demonstrate their ability to communicate through written and spoken word and through all aspects of media. Concordia faculty will also have an opportunity develop their media skills through digital story telling and Pecha-Kucha workshops as well as working with their colleagues on the institutional website and other media projects. Concordia has an opportunity to take a leadership role in incorporating media into everything that we do, and when we do this, we can proudly state and demonstrate that our graduates will be recognized nationally and internationally for their knowledge, skill, integrity, and wisdom.