As the paradigm continues shifting dramatically in all things media related, Daytona State College is creating its own model via the new Center for Interactive Media or CFIM.
For the past two years, professors from across the curriculum have been consulting with each other and area professionals to turn the college’s independent television station, WDSC-channel 15, into a center for new media studies, as well as a learning laboratory for students interested in mainstream and emerging communication fields.
Advertising, photography, video, journalism, audio, website creation and publication design are evolving and merging at such a rapid pace that a committee tasked to find a new academic direction for the TV station created the College’s first Associate of in Interactive Media Production. It is hoped, based on the worldwide demand for such skills, that this program will soon evolve into another bachelor’s degree at DSC.
In the discipline, students will combine critical thinking, writing, photography, video, audio, social media and web creation/design to produce both traditional and interactive media productions. Focus areas within the curriculum will include electronic media and visual/video production and the new program joins two popular existing AS degrees in photographic and music production technologies.
“The evolution of the Interactive Media Production program was spearheaded by Senior Professor Eric Brietenbach, who worked long and hard hours putting the program into place. The College owes him a debt of gratitude for all his hard work,” says program Chair Steven Benson.
Brietenbach and Daytona State professors in broadcasting and print journalism, music technology and members of the e-learning staff at the college. hammered out the specifics of the curriculum. To that end, they have met with representatives of area newspapers and magazines, including social media editors, mobile reporters and
visual journalists, as well as multimedia professors at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Brietenbach coordinated a consortium of experts from the University of Central Florida, Full Sail University, Walt Disney World’s Imagineering department and even the Golf Channel to ask them what skills they thought the new media would require of future graduates.
“The new program is designed to offer students a balance between content development and content delivery. It will lean in a journalistic direction, so storytelling will be at the heart of the curriculum,” says Benson. “DSC is a uniquely suited environment to study this subject area with resources like our nationally recognized School of Photography where students will study digital photography, video, interactive web and graphic design with the
Southeast Museum of Photography as a resource. Additionally, students will take audio related coursework at the Music School at the News Journal Building, writing classes through the School of Communication and Journalism, and TV production at our on-campus Public Television Station – WDSC.”
WDSC — which operates in a top 20 market nationally, broadcasts across six counties and can reach several million potential viewers — also has three feeds via its local cable affiliate, Brighthouse. It was one of the first stations nationwide, to rise to the federal challenge of going digital and accomplished that task in 2008, more than 18 months before the deadline.
“Brighthouse has been very supportive of our efforts by generously contributing five $1,000 scholarships for our students. This involvement on the part of the business community is an important element as we look forward to the future of the Interactive Media program. It opens doors to internships and employment,” adds Benson.
The methods and platforms for presenting a story will continue to morph. Despite cutting-edge, high technology, the challenge for young people is knowing a story when they see or hear one and then being able to write it in a compelling, factual and fair manner. The TMZ Effect of publish first and sort out facts later makes media law and ethics especially important in the early stages of students’ studies.
Benson notes that, “Something important to me is the flexibility of the curriculum. If a student has a particular area of interest they have the option to substitute courses in that subject as an elective. This gives students the ability to be very involved in designing a curriculum that will best benefit them”.
Daytona State College was authorized by the 1957 Florida Legislature and became the state’s first comprehensive community college. Today, the college has evolved from a small campus into an academically supervised multi-campus institution providing educational and cultural programs for more than 35,000 students annually.
In addition to this new program, Daytona State offers more than 60 certificate programs in a variety of career fields. Certificate programs are taught by working practitioners who are experts in their fields and are designed to prepare students for entry-level employment. Most programs can be completed in one year or less and credits earned can go toward an Associate of Science degree, such as the one in Interactive Media, which significantly enhances career prospects and earning potential.
Other new courses welcomed into the curriculum this semester include a barbering certificate program in the School of Cosmetology that will be offered at the Deltona and New Smyrna Beach campuses, as well as iPhone and iPad programming and Introduction to Craft Beer and Wine.
In addition, a new set of classes aimed at student success — starting with the first semester in school —launches this semester.
“We recognized that students need a fresh look at job skills and career planning to integrate into their academic choices,” explains Charlene Latimer, chair, School of Student Life Skills at Daytona State. To that end, her team created a set of three 1-credit online career-prep classes, updated a 3-credit class in career development and added another 3-credit class on diversity and communication.
Research shows the most successful college students pack career planning classes into their schedule, notes Senior Professor Jim Hyde, who helped prepare the new courses. “Now we’re getting the word out that the courses are up and ready for registration this fall.”
For more information and to sign up for these and other classes, visit career-preparation courses or call Admissions, 386- 506-3059.