Kaitlin Barbier
In Motion Staff Writer
The Interactive Media Program at Daytona State hasn’t been around long, but it’s still improving the educational experience for students. After being launched several years ago, faculty spent the past year revising and defining the program.
They’ve added classes for mobile media on the go and have gotten rid of some classes to give the program more focus on skills such as storytelling, video editing, photography, broadcasting, audio, graphic and web design. That is a lot of information to cover in a two-year degree, but the idea is to be more flexible after graduation.
“The field is really starting to change, people want a jack of all trades,” says Senior Professor Daniel Biferie, chair of the School of Photography, which oversees the program.
Professor Steven Benson, who coordinates the program, says “One of the things that’s really interesting about the Interactive Media Program is that things change so quickly in the professional world. So, it’s constantly paying attention to what’s going on in the industry and adjusting. We are trying to imagine what a student, who is coming in the fall, is going to need two years after that.”
The program has a lot of directions that students can go in based on their interest and what the industry will be demanding, whether they are interested in a future career as a MOJO (mobile journalist) or want to try their hand at being a Social Media “influencer.” As an Associate of Science degree, the object, however, is to make sure graduates are ready to hit the ground running in this growing employment field.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do and seeing that it had a little bit of everything I was interested,” exaplains Daniel Bennett, an interactive media student. “I felt like I might be able to find something specific that I wanted to do.”
Since the revisions to the program, students will be able to learn on-the-go media practices such as the new classes “Mobile Devices and Applications of Social Media” and “Sound for Media,” that focus on cutting-edge use of mobile devices and creating crisp sound for video creation. The program now has an Interactive Media Capstone class as well, that will put the students’ new skills to the test.
One change students have frequently requested is a bachelor’s program for Interactive Media, which they say would be a huge benefit for those either unwilling or unable to relocate to pursue higher education goals. Statistics show that the unemployment rate for 2017 was 4.8 percent for those who have less than a bachelor’s degree. For those who do earn a BA, it was 2.5 percent. Although a bachelor’s in Interactive Media could help them attain the ultimate career they are seeking, it is going to take longer than anticipated.
“There are certain kinds of problems in being able to put together a new four-year program because of state regulations. It’s not that we don’t want to, it’s that it’s more difficult than most imagine,” says Benson.
Even so, one big step in that direction is the recent hiring of a new faculty member, who takes over the reins of the program in spring 2019. Brad Moody is currently an Associate Professor and Digital Media Coordinator at American University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
He brings to the college a wealth of experience in all sorts of interactive and experimental media. He also has taught mass communication courses and has been a broadcast producer. He was hired after a global search for just the right person to fill the spot created when longtime professor Gary Monroe retired over the summer. In addition to other honors, Moody was named by the Apple corporation as a Distinguished Educator Middle East and U.S.A.