New Media Marching Orders -- What Digital Media Programs Have to Do!

Old media may be dying but new media is rocking. All over the country (heck, the world) digital and new media programs are exploding. And at UGA, the New Media Institute is bigger and stronger than ever -- and we will continue to grow in the future. Next year for the first time in its history, the NMI will teach two sections of the New Media Capstone courses -- that will mean over 50 students will be working on crazy, big, innovative new projects. Yeah, we are congratulating ourselves -- a little. But we have a lot left to do. Just as the field of new media has changed since the NMI's inception in 2000, we know that we need to change what we teach and how we teach it. A big part of "Technology for the Turnaround" on Saturday, 4/25, drilled down to figure out what we need to do next.

For quite a while, current and former students have been telling us that they appreciate what we are doing with new media. But they tell us that we need to do more. One thing you need to know about educators is that we are used to students griping. And we often dismiss their opinions because students lack experience and perspective. There is a common saying in faculty meetings that is kind of dismissive and a little demeaning but it makes some sense -- "the monkey's can't run the zoo." Well, we have come to realize that the zookeepers can't run the zoo either. If we do, we make it too easy for ourselves and we forget the people we need to serve. Zoos exist for visitors. The needs and desires of those patrons must be balanced against the pleasure of the animals and the responsibilities of the zookeepers. In new media, we serve industries. As we change and improve our new media programs, those "customers" have to shape our programs. Bottom line, we need industry input and guidance.

At "Tech4Turn" we assembled over 50 individuals from industry and academe to talk about how we build more effective and powerful digital media education programs. We called it a "Digital Media Education Roundtable." It was just the first step in a process that I hope will involve many more of you. For its first task, the Roundtable examined what digital media programs need to do differently. In over two hours of discussion, debate, and often disagreement, we explored a range of ideas and topics. I wish I could tell you there was concensus -- but that never happens, does it? Even though I am still sorting through it all, I want to share a few of the points of agreement. In the end, these kind of look like marching orders for any group undertaking a campaign of digital media education. And I welcome your ideas on what new media at UGA and everywhere needs to become.

Here are the big five dos for digital media education.
New/digital media programs need to ...

... develop external partnerships.

Educational programs need to reach out to both companies and nonprofits. Projects need to address the needs of these groups. Partnerships should be built around people, not brands. Small companies and new nonprofits should have significant roles because they are often the source of some of the most innovative ideas. And these partnerships should provide the resources to aid the sustainability of educational programs.

... experiment.

Digital media programs in colleges and university need to serve as think-tanks exploring creative, cool, and even crazy ideas. Too often companies' commitment to innovation is cramped by profit and loss concerns. Free from business constraints, educational institutions need to point to what might happen in the future.

... change teaching styles.

Although they cover new technologies, too many educational experiences are limited by old ways of providing instruction. Limit lectures and start conversations. Explore online opportunities to expand resources. And help students learn to learn -- that is a skill that will serve them throughout their career.

... expand interdisciplinarity.

Silos kill innovation. And yet, educational programs are still locked into disciplinary approaches. Collaboration needs to involve different types of expertise from different disciplines. Today, boundaries between fields are figments of foolishness. Our educational programs need to embrace the inclusion of the different and the new in all aspects of our programs.

... focus on the application of technology.

Although we differed greatly on how much technology we need to teach, one point on which we all agreed was our need to focus on the uses of technology rather than the technology itself. We need to lose our infatuation with the newest and focus on the best. We need to help our students explore the ways technology can best be used to improve people's lives.

Over the next few weeks, I will provide more detail about the discussion and the decisions it informed. For us university folks, summer is a time to brew. Ideas ferment into a positively intoxicating blend when we reconvene in the fall (it is hard to get away from a tailgate metaphor here). For me, next year is about change. These five "to dos" will guide my efforts around new media. Tell me what you think we need to do next.