The Digital Media Event, May 16, 2012: Shoreline CC

Digital Media Technologies –

DACUM Workshop:

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Report

Participants

Name / Company/Title / Email Address
Michale Robinson / Business Development Executive,
Robert Lang Studios /
Robert Lang / Robert Lang Studios /
John Harrington / JVH Technical LLC /
Lynn Krinsky / President, Stella Color /
Chris Campbell / Big Fish Games /
Brian Thompson / Big Fish Games /
Dane Butcher / Owner/CEO, Symetrix, Inc. /
Brian Schmidt / Executive Director
GameSoundCon /
Mary Olson / Audio Director
Zipper Interactive /
Aisha Bowers / UX Designer
(Independent contractor for Microsoft) /
Frits Habermann / Chief Technical Officer
PopCap Games, Inc. /
Paul Hubert / Freelance Filmmaker/Audio Engineer /
Christopher B Hansch / WCP Solutions
Digital Product Specialist /
Ron Owens / Content Publisher
Microsoft / Office.com /
SCC Employees
Name / Company/Title / Email Address
Dave Cunningham / Dean, Workforce Education /
Norma Goldstein / Dean, Humanities /
Stephen Malott / Faculty, Music Technology /
Christine Shafner / Faculty, Visual Arts /
Mary Bonar / Program Manager, Visual Arts /
Bruce Spitz / Faculty, Music Technology /
Jim Reddin / Faculty, Visual Arts /
Claire Fant / Faculty, Visual Arts /
Mark McVeety / Director, Small Business Accelerator /
Owen Strain / Program Support Supv 1 /

Digital Media Technologies – DACUM Workshop:

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Focus Questions:

  1. “As you review our current picture of the convergence that is taking place around digital media technologies, where are we on track, where are our gaps and where might we have some blind spots?”
  1. “As you ponder current trends in media technologies, the evolution of web and game interfaces, social media tools and other facets of human and device interaction, what does the future hold for us?”

Agenda:

Welcome and introductionsDC

Overview of the dayDC

Contextual overview –

“The Digital Convergence as we view it.”Norma Goldstein

Workshop I

“Review of the contextual presentation. Where are we on track, off track and what are we not considering?” DC

Lunch

Workshop II

“Vision of the Future – in the face of digital media trends”DC

Final Reflection on the dayDC

Send out and Next steps.Norma Goldstein

Some noticeable shifts that aretaking place in these digital times:

The No Longer / / The Not Yet
Most student s once had reasonable expectations of their teachers / Now, students expect their teachers to be available 24 x 7
Institutions like colleges were relied upon for educational services by most people / People more and more are less dependent on the traditional institutions like colleges because the access to information is vastly different now.
Consumers were never part of conversations about product development etc., / Consumers now tend to shape the products
Microsoft Office was a major Business product for Microsoft. / MSOffice will become a service of the company – not a product to sell
Our thinking about time was guided by periodic and/or cyclical events and established patterns of doing business / Time is ‘now,’ and expectations are for immediate responses. Public patience ‘to wait’ – has diminished.
Information was once located in libraries and research was often a time consuming process / The I-Phone allows and suggests all information can be found immediately. Libraries as public repositories of information have a diminished role in that regard.
Teachers were hired because they possessed knowledge of value / Teachers role has shifted to guiding others on ‘how to find info, analyze and interpret information.’
Traditional teaching required buildings and classrooms / Online teaching is anywhere and anytime , 24x7. Buildings (physical institutions) are less important
To enter the world of digital media used to be hard. Access required a high standard of skill / Access to digital information is much easier today
Information was once guarded and controlled for power purposes / Information access has now been democratized – globally. Location of traditional power has shifted.
Colleges were like NORDSTRUMS institutions with great heritage and quality associations / Now we have WALMARTs everywhere. Heritage and history, less important.
Experts were the elite and powerful / Now everyone can be an expert – with an I-phone – at least at some level
There was a time when business transactions focused on the micro-transactions / Now, such transactions must focus on the macro
Time was when highly skilled IT guys were the expensive elite / Now such skills are seen as a commodity to be sold on the open market
Time was when the Generalist and the general degree was valued in Education / Now those degrees and certificates that are unique are valued more – by the market
Work places and colleges were place bound / Now we see more remotely located work places
The Monday to Friday 8–5PM day was the norm / The new norm is 24x7
One educational focus of old was building memory banks of useful information in students / Human memory function is now being off-loaded to computers so this focus of pedagogy in the past is no longer relevant
Product development often seen to be a three year cycle and accepted as the norm for business / The new emphasis on the immediate now require very shortened product development timeif accompany is to compete
Teaching and learning tended to be individual activities / Teaching and learning now seen as collaborative activities
The complexity of a product was once aligned with higher profits / Now such complexity has an opposite impact on business – but the complexity ‘still lurks,’
We used to be challenged by changing the course of a battle ship as fast as possible / Now it’s more like flying an F15 but surviving to live and compete another day

Notes and insights gathered from comments during open discussions: (lettering does not denote a priority, only for ease of reference)

a)Colleges should foster and prepare students to become entrepreneurs or at least manage their own businesses since many may work for part of their time as a private contractor. This is not uncommon.

b)Given the fast pace of change of digital information products and tools – colleges would be misguided to build whole programs of study around the popular tools of the day. Something more fundamental and versatile should be emphasized to allow students the capacity to shift and change their focus as markets change and new technologies come online.

c)Something is happening in gaming product development that education must pay attention to. For example, a music student can ‘play a music game,’ with a world master of a certain instrument and thereby become a student of said master. This is new and important.

d)In film and entertainment the preferred media form for capturing and conveying ‘stories,’ is rapidly changing. Is it a full length feature film, a short documentary, a U-Tube video or what? The ‘what’ will help determine the focus of college instruction in the Performing Arts and colleges must find ways to maintain their flexibility in the face of such constant change.

e)Regards some perceived gaps in college teaching – it appears there is a need for more instruction on creating audio recordings for games.

Some General Notes:

  1. Besides the competencies listed in the off track or missing section – the main competencies around which most courses are built are still very valid and relevant. Similarly most of the labor market opportunities described in the planning sheets are still very relevant. In the missing section are additional employment opportunities that the group believes are out there.
  1. The comments and feedback to the college by this exceptional team of specialists are based on partial information that we provided and by a tight and controlled time frame that the process required. It is expected that these perspectives and viewpoints on where the college is on-track, off track and so forth will be embellished as this very preliminary report is shared with the participants and others who could not attend.
  1. Once these additional edits and additions are captured and a final product arrived at, it seems prudent for the dean and the faculty to sit down with their advisory committees and explore these findings for what they may indicate for possible future program developments.

DRAFT May 18, DC

The Digital Media Event, May 16, 2012: Shoreline CC

A Vision of the New Digital Age
The New Human
The New Age
Personal identity
A / Technology & Manufacturing
B / Virtual Reality
C / On-Line Commerce
D / Privacy
E
All workers wear multiple hats
A1 / Manufacturing will be based on 3-D Printing technology
B1 / Holographic Entertainment will be common
C1 / There will be more independent distribution of resources
D1 / Boundary issues are common
E1
Teaching elementary students about a hammer and nails will be strange
A2 / Non-peripheral gesture, voice-based input will be ubiquitous
B2 / People will lose the ability to interact with other humans
C2 / Content will be crowd-sourced
(kickstarter +)
D2 / Managing information becomes a huge challenge for many
E2
Ongoing education will be mandatory
A3 / Nano-technologies will abound
B3 / Some will have trbl spking w/u2work
C3 / Design will be user and social media centered
D3 / Personal information becomes accessible at all times in all places
E3
A new language will develop for the digital age
A4 / E-Paper is coming
B4 / Digital sex will be the norm – less human to human interaction
C4 / Online gaming platforms will be based on subscriptions
(Spotify for games)
D4 / There will be a renaissance of human to human contact
E4
The education revolution will lead to a major overhaul of education
A5 / 3D Web Navigation will be very common
B5 / The workplace for many will be the home
C5 / The ‘Digital Dollar Store’ will be an expanded market for low priced products
D5
We will see the ‘gamification’ of life
A6 / Brain-computer interaction will be common place
B6 / We will see creative and technical applications that are sustainable and that benefit society
D6
Our vehicles will be self – driving
B7

Aspects of Shoreline’s approach to the Digital Media Phenomena – that isRIGHT ON TRACK:

Internal Structure and Approaches
A / External and Future Focus
B / Realistic Thinking
C
Innovation is being encouraged among faculty, staff and administration
A1 / There is a clear recognition of the future that is approaching
B1 / Technology components are recognized and integrated into curriculum
C1
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math – (STEAM) recognized as the core of any valid curriculum for
the New Age
A2 / The issues surrounding the ‘congruence’ that is occurring seem to be clearly recognized
B2 / Instruction does emphasize the reality of constant change and adaptation as the necessary approach to digital media
and the future
C2
A recognition that Creativity must be fostered and grown in-house
A3 / The faculty and the administration seem to be tuned into the dynamic job market out there
B3 / The reality and opportunity of Online learning seems to be well understood by faculty and administration
C3
An obvious group effort that is peer-to-peer based prevails here
A4 / The very fact the college is earnestly seeking the guidance of industry experts is a good sign
B4 / The importance of teaching the Core Fundamentals (A-Z) squares with the views of many in industry
C4
The integration of the disciplines of Visual Communications, Music and Performing Arts
A5 / Resources are being streamlined
B5 / Especially on Track
The Passion amongst the faculty and administration is essential and is obvious
A6 / The outsourcing to educational partners for specialized training modules reflects an awareness that such skills are now commodities
B6

Aspects of Shoreline’s approach to the Digital Media Phenomena – that seem to beOFF TRACK:

On Technology
A / On General Approaches
B / On Industry Partners
C
There seems to be too much focus on technology and not enough on outcomes
A1 / Students seem to lack project management skills
B1 / The awareness of the trends seems to be on ‘good trends,’ only
B5 / Student / community interaction seems weak
C1
A technology focus builds vertical skill sets that don’t last
A2 / There seems to be a narrow perspective on digital media
B2 / Social media is not being integrated
B6 / There is no formal process to engage the community and access resources
C2
College seems too caught up with ‘future technology.’
A3 / There seems to be a general vagueness about the media
B3 / Students are not being used as resources
B7 / There seems to be few cross-boundary projects
C3
The college bureaucracy seems to misallocate resources
A4 / Too much focus on trying to predict the future instead of finding the trends
B4 / There seems to be too much second-guessing – not enough taking of chances
B8 / Not much use of real world projects to develop creative skills
C4
Most off track observations

Aspects of Shoreline’s approach to the Digital Media Phenomena – that seem to be MISSING:

Curriculum/ Approaches
A / Faculty Team/Structure
B
Assessment based on group not individual projects
A1 / Critical Thinking must be emphasized
A8 / Need a reward mechanism for faculty to focus on ‘convergence’
B1 / College should consider locating a central hub for Digital Media
B4
Game Audio Fundamentals
A2 / Portfolios should be emphasized
A9 / Need incentives to attract faculty who are very relevant and up-to-date
B2 / More emphasis on Peer group learning
B5
More emphasis on concepts and less on software
A3 / More emphasis on collaborative, inter-disciplinary
Peer-to-peer projects
A10 / A framework of incentives is required to encourage faculty to keep pursuing the edge of the technology
B3 / Impatient and hungry students seem to be absent
B6
Fostering entrepreneurship
A4 / Much more focus on software engineering, software and programming
A11 / Especially noticeable
Focus on the Core Competencies
A5 / Collaborate with others to meet deadlines and deliver results
A12
Business Negotiations
A6 / Know the user experience
(Multimedia, visual design and web design)
A13
Know how to deliver a collaborative, phased project
A7 / Rework a deliverable based on criticism
A14

Labor Market Opportunities that may be new:

Design
A / Gaming
B / Software
C / Other
D
Prototype level design
A1 / Multimedia Designer
(Demo and Prototype)
A2 / Game/Audio Integrator
B1 / Script Programmer
C1 / Very special sounds
Creator
D1
Visual Development Artist
A3 / Web Designer
A4 / Game/Audio Editor
B2 / Software engineering
(Flash, EH, Server)
C2 / Composer
D2
Illustrator
A5 / Environmental Application Graphics
A6 / Animator
B3 / Quality Assurance
C3 / Special writing
D3
Story Board Artist
A7 / Self-employed pro-photographer or Fine Artist
A8 / 2D Animator
B4 / Showman
D4
Pre-flight and pre-press
D5
Large format digital printing service bureau
D6
Technical Support Rep
D7

DRAFT May 18, DC