James Richardson | LaGuardia Community College - CUNY (original) (raw)

Papers by James Richardson

The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, May 2013

"The challenges facing tenure-track faculty in the areas of digital technology are unique. The re... more "The challenges facing tenure-track faculty in the areas of digital technology are unique. The relative infancy of web and multimedia technology has created an unexpected quandary for digital scholars teaching within academia. In many cases, these teachers are the vanguard for the movement to educate students and faculty across disciplines in how to best utilize new technology in the academic, artistic, and economic sectors of society. Until now, professors teaching in the area of digital technology have been traditionally judged by the liberal arts definition of scholarship. However, in the case of new and evolving fields of study, there are alternative criteria that would be better suited for the digital disciplines, and would serve as a more accurate assessment on the quality of faculty scholarship as they march towards tenure, promotion and reappointment. Under the current system there are numerous institutional biases and obstructions that unnecessarily complicate the pathway to tenure and promotion for faculty working with technology. If digital scholars are going to advance within the academy, the existing tenure and promotion system must be redefined and expanded to include a more
modern definition of intellectual excellence."

The rising number of African Americans and Hispanics turning away from higher education is creati... more The rising number of African Americans and Hispanics turning away from higher education is creating a problem that threatens many aspects of American society. Educators can help reverse this destructive trend by creating New Media based curricula that addresses the motivational factors impeding the academic success of these students. The recent advances in personal computing, as well as the rise of the Internet and global networks offer educators an unprecedented opportunity to reengage and motivate many of these students by teaching them to develop digital content that is technically advanced, economically viable, and which stays true to their core values. This new approach, which makes use of interactive technology, can bridge the gap and make it possible for many disenfranchised African American and Hispanic students to view academia in a more positive light.

Talks by James Richardson

Online learning has been identified as one of the strategic high priorities for CUNY by both the ... more Online learning has been identified as one of the strategic high priorities for CUNY by both the Chancellor and the University Provost. A team has been formed to explore the high-impact opportunities online learning poses for CUNY, presenting some ideas and soliciting others. After brief presentations from the roundtable panelists, this will be an open discussion.

Speakers:
Annamarie Bianco, University Registrar
Judith Cahn, Director, John Jay Online
Angela Francis, Assistant Director of General Education, CUNY School of Professional Studies
Carlos Guevara, Director of Educational Technology & CTL, Hostos Community College
Susan Ko, Director, Office of Faculty Development and Instructional Technology, CUNY School of Professional Studies
George Otte, University Director of Academic Technology
James Richardson, Associate Professor, LaGuardia Community College; Academic Director, Communication & Media, CUNY School of Professional Studies
Jennifer Sparrow, Director of General Education, CUNY School of Professional Studies
Ekaterina Sukhanova, University Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Luke Waltzer, Director, Teaching and Learning Center, CUNY Graduate Center

Attracting users to build a sustainable social media presence for yourself or your organization r... more Attracting users to build a sustainable social media presence for yourself or your organization requires the development of exciting media content. Whether the media is written, video based, or audio focused there is one constant factor. The content must be engaging enough to make users come back time and time again.

The purpose of this webinar will be to help you figure out how to approach creating content for your web and social media presence.

Recent developments in technology have created a convergence that is forcing educators to take gr... more Recent developments in technology have created a convergence that is forcing educators to take greater inter-disciplinary approach towards program development. With this in mind, how can faculty effectively merge multiple educational perspectives into a single discipline? This session will feature a roundtable discussion between educators within CUNY digital media programs on how to prepare our respective degrees for this inevitable progression.

Presenters:
Richard Dragan, Director of New Media, LaGuardia Community College

Michael Branson Smith, Director of Communications Technology, York College

Christopher Stein, Chairperson of Media Arts& Technology, Borough of Manhattan Community College

Jeremy Couillard, Assistant Professor, New Media Technology, LaGuardia Community College

Janet Esquirol, Assistant Professor, Media Arts & Technology, Borough of Manhattan Community College

James Richardson, Academic Director, Communication and Media, CUNY School of Professional Studies

Leveraging Social Media Effectively utilizing the power of social media is a challenge that bo... more Leveraging Social Media

Effectively utilizing the power of social media is a challenge that both individuals and organizations are struggling with today. If you are you looking to create a personal or professional branding campaign but don’t know where to start, this webinar will help lay the groundwork for putting the power of social media to work for you.

The webinar will cover:
• Understanding the different social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
• How to determine which social media platforms are best for meeting your goals
• Developing a Social Media Strategy and finding your online voice
• Managing your online reputation: dealing with criticism and comments
• Measuring Success

Professor James Richardson was invited to be part of a panel discussion on the Virtual Classroom ... more Professor James Richardson was invited to be part of a panel discussion on the Virtual Classroom and assessing online instruction. The discussion was held at the CUNY - University Faculty Senate (UFS) Conference on Online Education.

Video presentation at the York College Technology Symposium on how students can be motivated to l... more Video presentation at the York College Technology Symposium on how students can be motivated to learn valuable academic skills if faculty are encouraged to infuse digital content into their curricula using free open source software. The rising number of under-performing students in higher education is creating a problem that threatens many aspects of society. As more and more of our world is dominated by technology, disengaged students will need access to resources to compete. However access to technology is expensive and can be an additional barrier to academic engagement. Attendees to the presentation hopefully learned how students can be motivated to learn valuable academic skills if faculty are encouraged to infuse digital content into their curricula that is technically advanced, economically viable, and which stays true to the core value systems of these students.

The following breakout session at the 2013 CUNY Information Technology Conference features a live... more The following breakout session at the 2013 CUNY Information Technology Conference features a lively discussion on the use of social media in the classroom. The video captures a diverse group of digital media educators discussing the nature of social media and the role that it can play as an academic tool. The presentation format combines short topical introductions and demonstrations, followed by a roundtable discussion, in which the educators examine which social media practices they had employed over the years succeeded and failed.

The educators included:
Janet Esquirol, Assistant Professor, Media Arts & Technology, Borough of Manhattan Community College

Morry Galonoy, Faculty in Design Technology at the School of Art, Media and Technology, Parsons

Genevieve Hitchings, Assistant Professor, Advertising Design & Graphic Arts, NYC College of Technology

Anwar Montasir, Senior Lead Instructor, Web Design & Interactive Media Department, Art Institute NYC

Libby Clarke, Assistant Professor, Advertising Design & Graphic Arts, NYC College of Technology

Christopher Stein, Associate Professor, Media Arts & Technology, Borough of Manhattan Community College

C. J. Yeh, Associate Professor, Communication Design, SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology

James Richardson, Academic Director, Communication & Media Program, CUNY School of Professional Studies (SPS)
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In Behind the Seams, the editors and authors reflect on the oft-hidden path from initial submissi... more In Behind the Seams, the editors and authors reflect on the oft-hidden path from initial submission to published piece. This feature centers on a recorded audio conversation—not an interview, but an open-ended discussion—built around observations and recollections of what stands out in the process of developing, editing, and publishing an article with JITP.

The emerging nature of digital media has challenged universities to adapt to a rapidly changing l... more The emerging nature of digital media has challenged universities to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape. Due to the evolution of these new disciplines, and the speed in which cross-disciplinary technical innovations are implemented in programs with a digital media focus, very few universal standards are in place for instruction and assessment. This panel group will discuss specific strategies and standards that CUNY could implement to prepare our digital media programs for the future.

Multimedia is new and constantly evolving discipline. The challenges facing tenure track faculty ... more Multimedia is new and constantly evolving discipline. The challenges facing tenure track faculty in this arena are unique. Due to the speed in which cross-disciplinary technical innovations are implemented in these programs, should multimedia instructors be judged by the traditional liberal arts standards, or should a new paradigm be created?

Digital Arts and Technology educators are teaching many of the cutting edge web innovations that are impacting the global economy. With software and hardware advances in personal computing, as well as the rise of social networks and ecommerce sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Ebay, our ability to communicate and conduct business has been radically enhanced. If America intends to maintain a technical advantage over our neighbors in the future it will be necessary that our institutions of higher education attract and retain competent faculty to instruct the next generation of digital professionals.

The relative newness of web and multimedia technology has created an unexpected quandary for Digital Arts professionals teaching in academia. In many cases these digital arts instructors are the vanguard for the movement to educate students, and faculty in other disciplines, in how to best utilize new technology in the academic, artistic, and economic sectors of society. However many of the people that have the direct responsibility for setting and enforcing the standards under which tenure track digital educators are judged remain predominantly unaware of the distinctive skills and tasks required to effectively teach in this new field of study. More to the point, how can those tasked with setting these standards create fair and impartial rubrics to assess faculty quality if they do not adequately understand the technology and the industry from which these professionals have originated?

This presentation will make a case for specific strategies and standards which universities could implement to accurately and fairly access the academic quality of faculty instructing in the areas of multimedia and digital arts.

A panel discussion featuring faculty members from Baruch College and LaGuardia Community College ... more A panel discussion featuring faculty members from Baruch College and LaGuardia Community College who have participated in a year long to colloquium to investigate how Writing in the Disciplines (WID) can impact students and faculty in transformative ways.

This was a well-attended roundtable session that joined LaGuardia faculty with internationally re... more This was a well-attended roundtable session that joined LaGuardia faculty with internationally recognized ePortfolio leaders to discuss the issues facing the ePortfolio movement.

Presenters: Natalie Linton, Education and Language Acquisition James Richardson, Computer Infor... more Presenters:
Natalie Linton, Education and Language Acquisition
James Richardson, Computer Information Systems
Iona Thomas Connor, Natural and Applied Sciences

Access to technology is expensive. As more and more of our world is dominated by technology, thos... more Access to technology is expensive. As more and more of our world is dominated by technology, those that have been economically and culturally shut out will need access to these resources to compete. Attendees of this presentation will learn how recent advances in computer technology, specifically audio and video applications have impacted the music industry and transformed our ideas on entertainment and intellectual property. With the recent software/hardware advances in personal computers, as well as the rise of social and P2P networks like MySpace.com, Youtube.com, and Bit-torrent, it is quite possible for an unsigned artist to develop their demo, shoot their video, and promote their music all from a standard desktop computer or laptop. The presentation will delve into specific computer software and websites that unsigned artists can use to economically create and promote their music.

As more of our world is dominated by technology, those with limited financial resources will need... more As more of our world is dominated by technology, those with limited financial resources will need access to digital tools in order to compete. Open source software is one of the methods in which the playing field can be leveled. Attendees will learn how recent advances in technology have transformed our ideas on entertainment, commerce, and publishing. This presentation will delve into specific software and web sites that individuals can use to economically create and promote their ideas.