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Interview Questions for DL Support Spotlight
Interview with: Garth Gerstein
Garth Gerstein is a Multimedia Specialist with the Instructional Media Resources, Media Production Services at CNM’s Main Campus. He has been a member of IMR since September of 2006.
1) Can you tell us about your background in education and multimedia?
I have worked in higher education since 1998. I received a Masters degree in Fine Art through the University of Wisconsin and started teaching graphic design and Art History courses at Western New Mexico University in 1998. At that same time I started a graphic design business in Silver City. I was doing a lot of design work for the University and was eventually offered a position as the Media Services Manager where I supported distance learning technologies. We provided video and audio production services and we handled the support for all our mediated classroom technologies including circulation of what we call COWS or computers on wheels. I was also part of a professional development team that provided training to faculty for distance learning technologies.
My experience with multimedia initially came from doing design work for private clients. I did a good deal of desktop publishing and web development. Those skills served me very well when I was hired as the Media Services Manager because I was able to work directly with faculty to produce multimedia based curriculum materials. That was the part of my job that I enjoyed the most and was the thing that attracted me to my current position at CNM.
2) What are your duties at IMR’s Media Production Services?
My primary function is to assist CNM faculty and staff with the creation multimedia content either for instructional or informational purposes and to help them distribute the content in any form they need it. I was hired under the Title V grant so I have the additional responsibility of supporting the goals of the Title V grant, but in truth the materials we create for Title V benefit the college as a whole.
3) How did you get involved with the Distance Learning Department? What were the circumstances?
I started working with the DL office to create student tutorials for the new Version of Blackboard CE 6. With the adoption of any new technology comes the need for some training so creating support materials to help our students adjust to the new online learning system seemed like a great idea.
4) Can you tell us more about the Blackboard Tutorials that were developed by Media Production Services?
The Blackboard tutorials were created using an application called Adobe Captivate which is a great tool for creating software simulations or other online training materials. The content was basically determined by the DL Office and that is pretty typical of the service we provide. We don’t normally dictate the content of a project. Our job is to help the client bring an idea to fruition. We provided feedback on the script and try to assist the client to clarify parts that may be confusing, but our job is really to get the content into a form that is clear, aesthetically pleasing, and that is deliverable in any format the client needs. That could include online distribution, video streaming, DVDs, or even application CDs.
One thing we have done with the tutorials is provide both an English and Spanish Version. I don’t know of another institution out there that has both so I am proud of that.
5) How do you see the Distance Learning multimedia materials being an effective instructional tool?
Research indicates that students have different learning styles. One of the less talked about barriers of distance education is that students often get information only by reading. This is a great way of learning and can overcome barriers to access that result from location or time constraints, but it may not address the learning style for a given student. I think that one thing multimedia materials can do for distance education is to reduce barriers presented by learning styles by allowing them to receive information in a multi-sensory way.
I think that multimedia content can also help make a given learning material more engaging and relevant to the student. It is the difference between reading the steps of doing a physical examination, and seeing someone perform a physical examination. It doesn’t mean that we should throw out the written materials. They need to know the steps, but seeing the examination will help most students retain that information better. It gives them a visual example what it really looks like. That makes the material more real and relevant for the student.
I also think we are dealing with an increasingly media literate society. I don’t mean computer literate. I mean that the way we receive information today is much more media rich than even 20 years ago. A student entering college today is coming to expect information delivered to them in a variety of formats.
[Click on the graphic
below to see this question being answered using streaming video]
6) What other kinds of projects you have had a chance to work on since you started in Media Production Services?
We have done a large number of Mediasite recordings. Mediasite is one of our media streaming applications. It is great technology for streaming educational content because you can simultaneously view a video feed of the instructor and see their PowerPoint presentation on the same screen. There are also email and polling features so instructors can answer student questions about a presentation, or use polling to gauge the degree of student comprehension.
I am also currently piloting a flash card application like the old math flash cards except that it is online. The idea there is to create a type of learning object that could be re-used for a variety of curriculum areas. The fun part is that since it is an online based application you can do a lot more than you would with a paper index card. The student will be able to choose how they want to review a set of cards. They can for example view a term and flip the card to see the definition, or view the definition first and flip the card to view the correct term. We can include images, or allow the user to enter their own definition to compare it with the correct definition.
[Click on the link
below for a Mediasite demonstration]
7) What other services are provided for DL faculty by Media Production Services?
I help support video production and streaming services for IMR. We provide a full range video production services. We produce video for both instructional and informational purposes and are lucky to have a really skilled staff.
One of the things that really impressed my when I came to interview here was how efficient the process was for producing and streaming video lectures. We have a studio set up where an instructor basically comes in with their presentation, usually in the form of a power point, and we tape them with professional lighting and sound. Within a few minutes after they leave we can send them a link to the presentation that they can post in their Blackboard course or in an email. That is incredibly efficient compared to most of the institutions that I have visited and it makes it easy to integrate the services with other learning systems.
We can also utilize a wide range of multimedia technologies to create customized learning objects. We frequently utilize Flash because it is a great tool for creating learning objects that can be distributed online. For example we created a virtual three beam scale where the student can weigh an item, drag the weights on the scale, and check their answer to within a quarter of a gram. This was a core skill that students needed for the Chemistry department. That demonstrates one of the potential that learning objects hold. They can serve a number of courses or further the goal of an entire department by addressing core skills.
Once an application or presentation is developed we can distribute that in a variety of formats including online distribution, DVD, and CD authoring.
The technologies that we utilize can also be combined. For example, we created the CNM orientation, and the Virtual Tour which combined streamed video, text, images, and even an assessment module.
[Click below to see the scale in action]
Learning Object Example: Flash based Chemistry Lab/Virtual Scale
8) What do you like to do when you’re not at the work? (Hobbies)
Some of my “off” time is actually spent learning new technologies. It seems like I am always trying to learn something new which is just part of being a technology field. I don’t mind that because I love to learn. I am also a serious student of animation. I have been learning Lightwave this last year which is a lot of fun. I still draw, and I write a lot of music. I am a bit of a punk rocker and have been known to scream out loud in the privacy of my own home, but on rare occasions I actually sing.