Book review published: Empedocles

Hot off the press! A book review that I wrote for Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication is now out in Volume 8, Number 2, 1 November 2017. ISSN 1757-1952 (Print); ISSN 1757-1960 (Online).

Book Review:
Philosophy for Multisensory Communication and Media, Keith Kenney (2016) New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, 250 pp., ISBN: 9781433122057, p/bk, 35

Excerpt (introduction)
The continued development of new communication technologies such as mixed reality (MR), wearables and smart devices has ushered in a new wave of sensory-based platforms. With these developments in mind, the author Keith Kenney attempts to initiate the discussion around building a theoretical foundation for their use in communications. Kenney draws upon the works of multiple philosophers to outline and explore multisensory media by exam- ining haptic, olfactory, gustatory, auditory and visual media. Throughout the book Kenney provides examples and suggestions for practical applications as he attempts to lay a theoretical foundation around multisensory media. (p. 240).

I had a great time reading and reviewing this book. As with any review, there are notable strengths and weaknesses but this review afforded me the opportunity to engage in the futurology of media communications.

EDULEARN 2017 Publicaiton - Foundations of Video Production

New publicaiton for the 9th annual International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies EDULEARN17 (Barcelona, July 3-5, 2017):

FOUNDATIONS OF VIDEO PRODUCTION: AN INTENSIVE COURSE MODULE ON BEST PRACTICES TO ENHANCE EXPERIENCES OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY EDUCATORS AND PROFESSIONALS

Link to paper abstract: EDULEARN2017 Proceedings

This paper and virtual presentation was created around my work developing intensive short-courses in media and technology for the Masters Program in Educational Technology (MAET) at Michigan State University. More specifically, this paper focuses on a recent development of video production foundations for non-video/media professionals. In a way this type of intense module can be thought of as "film school in a day" where the focus is on learning the fundamentals in a very approachable way to get students up and running with solid pre-production, production, and post-production experiences to enhance their video projects.

Abstract
The purpose of this virtual presentation is to share the structure and experiences of an intensive learning module on video production best practices developed as part of a capstone summer experience for a master of arts educational technology program. This learning module was conducted as part of a four-week international master’s program located in Galway Ireland. The students that participated were enrolled in the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) from Michigan State University. The learning module on the foundations of video production was developed as a key component to the capstone curriculum of the three-year degree program. Learning how to effectively use video, and teach video production in educational settings is a key component of educational technology. Video has been shown to enhance training in distance based learning (Bayram, 2013), increase the online social presence of an instructor (Borup, West, & Graham, 2012), and through various production methods affect student engagement (Guo, Kim, & Rubin, 2014). While there are many production oriented guides for filmmakers and video professionals, often there is little overlap into formal educational training. This learning module entitled “Foundations of Video Production” was developed to abstract the core essence of traditional film, or video production coursework and provide a practical program to get any level of educational professional “up to speed” with contemporary video production equipment, techniques, and best practices that can be adopted and implemented immediately in their own work, or in their respective classrooms. This learning module was delivered over the course of one week to the capstone cohort of educational technology graduate students. The aim of this learning module was to break down the video production process into its core elements; pre-production, production, and post production. Within each section students were presented with contemporary practical guides on the technology (both hardware and software), aesthetic components, and hands on active learning exercises. Attendees of this presentation will benefit from best practices on how to integrate video production learning modules into educational technology programs or coursework, and a review of the challenges and opportunities that were identified from the successful integration of this learning module.

References:
[1] Bayram, L. (2013). Enhancing an Online Distance Education Course with Video. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 83, 463–467.
[2] Borup, J., West, R. E., & Graham, C. R. (2012). Improving online social presence through asynchronous video. The Internet and Higher Education, 15(3), 195–203.
[3] Guo, P. J., Kim, J., & Rubin, R. (2014). How video production affects student engagement: an empirical study of MOOC videos (pp. 41–50). ACM Press.

GIFTS: Teaching Media Technology and Convergence through Podcasting

Media Technology Podcast Project

In an attempt to increase student engagement in learning about media technology and media convergence this project toolkit has been developed.  The intention of this toolkit is to provide educators with the scaffolding of an existing podcast project that can be used as is, or modified and adapted to fit the various individual course / learning needs. 

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Project Overview

The concept of the Media Technology Podcast Project is to provide an active learning project in which students explore the convergence of media technology through a hands-on exercise to develop a tightly edited informational audio program in the form of a podcast (which is an example of converged media itself).  This activity is suited to be incorporated into a theoretically focused course as an alternative to a traditional paper or presentation assessment, and can also be used in a competency based course that specifically aims to teach students production skills in media communication technology.

Description of Project

Students are given a choice to select media technology for their podcast project to which they will have to research, develop a script, and produce their recorded Podcast in mp3 format. The recorded Podcast is not to exceed five (5:00) minutes in length. At the conclusion of the project all student podcasts will be collected electronically by the instructor and reviewed.  The completed podcasts that students opt to allow to be shared publicly, can then be published to an online SoundCloud podcast feed or similar publication outlet.  The publication of the podcasts is of course optional, based on the rules, regulations, and privacy considerations of the institution or organization from which this project is run.  An alternative to public publication would be to post the completed podcast to the learning management system (LMS).

Intended Courses

This project activity can be adopted to a range of courses that cover media and or technology.  Some examples of courses well suited to this project are:

• Mass Communications (intro level)
• Media Literacy
• Media Studies
• Media Production (intro level)
• Emerging Technology

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate critical research analyses on media technologies and media convergence.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the potential for media convergence to impact the traditional media through discussion and research findings.
• Demonstrate the technical competencies required to produce high quality audio programs from a a variety of recording sources (field and studio) and mixing of vocal tracks with music and additional sound loops.
• Strengthen students' critical thinking through analysis, creation, and evaluation of research on their chosen topic.
• Provide experience developing original and creative content, and if applicable publishing through new media channels for podcast delivery.

Technology Requirements

The minimum technology requirements for this assignment are access to a computer with audio recording software, and a microphone.  The aim of this project is not to teach a specific platform for podcast creation, but to focus on developing the content and producing the best sounding audio quality given the available equipment. 

For some courses, students may already have experience with audio recording and or production, for others this may be the first such assignment.  Instructors should adapt the assignment to complement the existing proficiency level of their students and or other course requirements. Suggested software platforms are Apple GarageBand (MacOS and iOS) and Audacity (MacOS and Windows).

Evaluation of Project

Students are supplied with a detailed rubric for this activity that clearly outlines and defines the levels for assessment across five criteria: planning, introduction, content, delivery, and technical production.  Each criterion is segmented into four levels of achievement in which a detailed summary of each level is provided. The rubric is intended to serve as self-learning assessment tool for students as well, so at any time during their project they can use the rubric to self evaluate their level of completion on the project.

Student reflection
Upon the completion of the project it is suggested that the instructor send an anonymous survey to the participants to gather responses on the students’ perceptions of the assignment in regard to how well they learned through the use of this project compared to a traditional paper or presentation. The survey may also gather information on the perceived self-efficacy of podcasting as a medium to develop and share content. If this project is used to replace a previous activity, a comparison of the results of this activity will help the instructor analyze if there are measurable performance differences or perceptions of learning. 

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Media Technology Project Guidelines

Using the common definition of media convergence as the integration of mass media, computers, and telecommunications.  Chose a media technology to focus your research on that represents media convergence, but be careful not to choose something too broad like the Internet.  Possible choices might include: hardware examples (tablets and smartphones, virtual reality /augmented reality sets, e-book readers, etc.) or software platforms such as (Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Blogs, Tumblr, Apple Music, Spotify, GarageBand, etc.). 

Research your chosen technology and develop a script for your podcast that addressed the following questions:

• Succinctly describe the media technology you chose and how it works, who the intended users are, and provide a brief overview of the people (or organization) responsible for creating the technology.

• Discuss the historical aspects of the technology (when was it created, how it evolved, and or spread in usage) Did this new media technology replace an existing analog version, or is it a completely new?

• Describe how the technology will change (or has changed) traditional processes or practices. Did the technology you chose disrupt any existing media or industry, if so discuss how?

• Discuss how the technology relates to the concept that we are in a “digital revolution” and that new and emerging digital media will replace “old media” model of print and physical media distribution.

• Discuss your views on the future directions of the technology, do you believe it will continue to grow, or decline, or become obsolete? Provide rationale for your position.

Deliverables

You are to create an audio podcast based on your chosen media technology topic and address the prompts listed above.  Your finished podcast is not to exceed five (5:00) minutes in length and must be in Mp3 format.  In addition to containing the content derived from your research on the provided prompts, your podcast will also need to include the following elements:

• Catchy opening introduction where you succinctly introduce yourself, any guests, and the topic you are covering.
• Creative and original content, that is well rehearsed and provides a smooth delivery in conversational style with highly effective expression and rhythm to keep the listener engaged.
• Transitions are smooth and spaced appropriately, volume of voice is strong and clear and mixed well with any music or sound loops.

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Resources

These resources were created to provide examples of assessment rubrics and a general podcasting guide that covers some basic instruction on podcast formats, and recording tips for those less familiar with audio recording.

Media Technology Podcast Project Rubric (PDF)

Media Technology Podcast Recording Basics (PDF)

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Examples

In this section you can access a few examples of student work that has been shared publicly.  These podcasts were created for a special topics course on podcasting and emerging technology. Some of the examples were focused on a broader range of media and culture, but the same constraints where placed on the podcast produciton.

NASA Space Apps Challenge 2017

I recently (April 29 & 30th) had the opportunity to participate in the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2017 in Noordwijk at the European Space Agency's Space Business Incubation Center (ESA SBIC).  This was the second year in which I was able to participate as one of the jury members for the International Space Apps Challenge.  

Each year the participants present their project (solutions) to their respective challenges in an exciting, passionate, and creative way.  This year was no exception, and the level of competition made for a difficult task for the jury to only select two teams to move onto the next round of the competition.  For more information on the events of this years challenge, checkout the official website: NASA Space Apps Challenge 2017.

“Students, professionals, engineers, artists, coders, storytellers makers, builders, technologist, beginners and veterans from all corners of the globe are welcome to join.

Tackle a challenge using robotics, data visualization, hardware, design and many other specialties! Inspire each other while you learn and create using stories, code, design and, most of all, YOUR ideas. Show us your problem-solving skills and share your talents with the world!”

— NASA Space Apps Challenge 2017

This year the participants were greeted on Saturday morning by members of the 501st Dutch Garrison for some interstellar inspiration.  Later in the day there was lots of food, music, entertainment, and even some relaxation time. 

After all the hard work and presentations there were three winners, two selected by the jury, and one people's choice award selected by the participants themselves.

And the winners are...

• First place winner: UberWasser
• Runner up: Inferno
• People's choice: SlideSolutions

I wan to wish the winners of this years competion the best of luck in the next round, and I am already looking forward to next years set of challenges!

3D Printing Workshop

On Friday March 3rd, 2017 I co-hosted a workshop for 3D Printing.  This particular workshop was focused on the introduction to 3D printing, learning the origins, and the current economic and educational implications.  We also discussed the best practices for learning to model 3D objects for print, slicing, and of course the fun part, printing.

Below are a few images from a couple of the prints.  One print (the skeleton figure) was printed, cleaned, and then painted.

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Workshop Resources

The workshop was split into 3 sections [3D modeling in software, preparing prints, and physical printing].  We have been working with the Ultimaker 3D printers and have found their online resources to be incredibly helpful for the entire process of 3D printing.  https://ultimaker.com/en/resources.  

3D Modeling
To kick things off from a beginners perspective we focused on the use of free open browser-based 3D modeling suit TinkerCAD. TinkerCAD is a great online source for learning the fundamentals of 3D modeling and best of all, its browser based, so no expensive software is needed.  After just a few minutes of their tutorials you will be creating 3D objects (simple ones anyway) with ease.

Preparing prints
Since we are using an Ultimaker Extended+ 2 we introduced a 3D slicing application that is specific to our hardware called Cura.  Cura is an open source 3D slicing application that allows you to import 3D Model files that are in the form of (*.stl, *.3mf, or *.obj) files. Once imported the Cura software allows you to further optimize your object for print by controlling the density (fill), resolution (fine detail), and other aspects like brim.

Physical printing
In this final section we walked through the startup, calibration procedures, and print surface preparation.  We also discussed the filament selection (type of plastic to be used).  We worked with the standard PLA material for its generalization of application and ease of use in the machine itself. Once we worked through the procedures we printed a small set of earnings as a live demonstration.

After we completed the formal portion of the workshop, attendee were encouraged to get their hands on the printer, material, examples, and to ask questions and print small objects if they desired.  Overall, it was a great workshop with lots of excited and enthusiastic participants and we look forward to running more workshops that cover the next steps and getting deeper into the science and art of 3D printing.

INTED 2017 Conference Presentation

It was with great pleasure that I was able to present our paper on the use of podcasting to enhance and enrich international education along with some wonderful colleagues at the 11th International Technology, Education and Development Conference in Valencia Spain.  

We had a wonderful round of discussions and questions from the conference session attendees, and it was so inspiring to hear how many other educators are looking to integrate a project of this type to enrich the student learning experiences.  I can speak for the group when I say that we are looking forward to continuing the development of the project and will be sharing our "toolkit" soon under a Creative Commons License to ensure that it stays open and accessible to anyone who would like to adapt an integrate this type of project.

The International Podcast Project Team
Dr. Sean Leahy (Webster University Leiden Campus)
Prof Kit Jenkins (Webster University St. Louis Campus)
Julie Smith (Webster University St. Louis Campus)
Dr. Brad Wiggins (Webster University Vienna Campus)
Francesco Arese Visconti (Webster University Geneva)

“INTED is one of the largest international education conferences for lecturers, researchers, technologists and professionals from the educational sector. After 10 years, it has become a reference event where more than 700 experts from 80 countries will get together to present their projects and share their knowledge on teaching and learning methodologies, educational innovations and experiences in technology and development. ”

— https://iated.org/inted/

Our paper was entitled: INTERNATIONAL PODCAST PROJECT: USING PODCASTS TO ENRICH AND ENHANCE EXPERIENCES IN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION.

Abstract
The purpose of this oral presentation is to share information on the outcomes of an international collaboration involving student-produced podcasts as a course requirement. This project took place across multiple campuses in the global network of Webster University. Students and instructors participated from the following campuses: St. Louis, Missouri (the university’s home campus), Leiden, The Netherlands, Geneva, Switzerland, and Cha-Am, Thailand, and Vienna, Austria. Podcasting has increasingly become a useful tool in nearly all aspects of learning, but perhaps even more so when students produce the podcasts as part of a course assignment (Ashraf, Noroozi, & Salami, 2011; Çölkesen & Bedir, 2016; Forbes, 2011). The concept of the International Podcast Project was to provide an active learning experience in which students participate in a global media project by choosing a topic related to media and society, research their topic, develop a short audio program in the form of a podcast and publish their work along with their fellow classmates from the participating international campus locations. A main goal of this project was to provide a common cross-site academic activity that all Webster University campus locations could participate in. This project is intended to be an independent modular assignment / activity that can be adopted by any media (related) course, and therefore is not limited to a specific course offering, but can be adopted by faculty in which this assignment meets a curricular goal or active learning experience. Finally, the presentation offers best practices when designing a project that involves differences in terms of location, culture, resource, technological proficiency, and time zones. Attendees will benefit from hearing about challenges and opportunities that were encountered and the solutions that emerged from group discussion and collegial collaboration. While the project itself was developed by instructors who teach courses in media, many of the students involved in the project were not media majors or had little to no prior knowledge of how to produce a podcast. This presentation will also address how to mitigate such possibilities.

References:
[1] Ashraf, H., Noroozi, S., & Salami, M. (2011). E-listening: The Promotion of EFL Listening Skill via Educational Podcasts. 6th International Conference on e-Learning (p. 10-16). Canada: University of British Columbia Okanagan.
[2] Çölkesen, D., & Bedir, G. (2016). The use of student-produced educational podcasts in foreign language vocabulary teaching. International Journal of Research in Education and Social Science 1, (3), 2415-2528
[3] Forbes, D. (2011). Beyond Lecture Capture: Student-generated Podcasts in Teacher Education. Waikato Journal of Education, 51-63.

Keywords: International collaboration, podcasts in education, student-oriented learning.

Presenting the Podacast Toolkit at the 2017 Teaching Festival

It was a privilege to present to the highly engaged faculty and staff colleagues in attendance on Friday morning for our talk on Promoting Agency and Inclusion through an International Podcast Project. We received lots of great questions and enjoyed the conversation on how this project can be adapted to many different disciplines and courses.  It was also a good opportunity to discuss how the use of short-form audio recordings can be a valuable instructional tool that has high impact with low cost to produce.  I enjoyed the opportunity to play a sample form our pilot episode of the International Podcast Project as well.

For details on the presentation and other talks featured at the 2017 Teaching Festival see the entire Teaching Festival Lineup.

Pilot Episode: International Podcast Project

Following the successful inaugural International Podcast Project, my fellow colleagues and I have compiled the top-voted student podcasts from the project into the pilot episode (ep.0) .  This pilot podcast contains the peer-voted top two podcasts for each course that participated in the project.  There were a total of six courses participating including two from the main campus in St. Louis, and one course from the Leiden campus. Geneva campus, Vienna campus, and Thailand campus. 

Project Background

I will share much more in the near future on the entire project details including an resources kit for anyone who would like to take this project and adapt it.  In short this was an international cross-campus project in which the international campuses of Webster University Media Communications departments collaborated on a student podcast project. 

• Project Themes: Media Technology, Media Convergence, Food & Culture in the Media, Interpersonal Communication
• Deliverable: Original audio recording containing the background, research and information on the chosen subject and theme
• Length: 3:00 minutes

Once all podcasts were created, they were uploaded to SoundCloud accounts and shared with a paired class from a different international campus.  Students then voted and provided peer feedback on the other classes podcasts.  Once the final voted list was completed, I compiled the podcasts into a single finished podcast episode for the International Podcast Project. 

Summer Photography Workshop 2016

PHOTOGRAPHY SUMMER WORKSHOP
Travel & Street Photography

This summer I am teaching a fun and exciting photography workshop focused on the contemporary methods and techniques for shooting and post-processing travel and street photography. 

During the course students will be putting their knowledge of photography into action through a series of small photographic assignments in cityscapes and street photography to prepare them for a final production assignment to capture a "City Portrait" of a city/town of their choosing. 

Creating a City Portrait

To accomplish the goal of the final project, students will be asked to create a final image series that encompasses several aspects of the city to help create a complete "portrait" of that location.  In addition to the visual elements of this assignment, students will also write short exposes on each of the main segments of their series to provide a rich context to the images. 

The City Portrait includes:

1. A cityscape that captures the essence of the city through its architecture, or city planning, and or the the atmosphere of the city.
2. The people that make that city.  Who are they? What do they think of their city? Is there any interesting characteristics of the people that stand out from other cities near or far?
3. Food and culture: Looking even closer at our city, what is behind the people, what do they do, where and what do they eat?  Where do they shop or go for entertainment? The final segment will focus on the culture of the city.  Get close, observe and capture the food, the coffee, the shopping etc. that fuels the city.  Are there specific places that "everyone" goes to enjoy a meal, what about the shopping, do people shop in large department stores or small locally owned shops.  Is there a "must eat" or "must try" local delicacy or traditional drink? Find out, and photograph it, capture the "essence" of what makes it unique.

Interactive Leiden Photohunt

Another feature of the class designed to give students a task that would get them out and about in the city, as well as give them locations to practice the photographic techniques discussed and learned in class was a city-wide photohunt.  Similar to a scavenger hunt, there are several (10) locations marked throughout the old city that students need to "capture" with their camera.

If you would like to use the Photohunt please feel free, this map was created using Google Maps custom map feature and has been made publicly available.  Whether you want to join in the fun of photographing the city of Leiden, or just want a map to share with visitors of "must see" please feel free to share the map. Alternatively you can make your own for your city, or one you will (or have) traveled and photographed.

I'll end this with a few words I often say in closing of my photo classes. Good luck on your photo walks, don't forget to look up, and if you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong.