On May 7th, 2014, I visited and reviewed the Digital Art and Design Program at Queensborough Community College. ~Jillian McDonald Associate Professor, Art and Art History, Pace University May 23rd, 2014 Summary of Program or Area Reviewed
The creative fields are expanding, particularly in the digital art and design. Everything including websites, packaging, television, video games, advertising, fashion, mobile device apps, augmented reality ­ is designed. The Russian Winter Olympic Games opening was a tour de force of digital design technologies. Careers are numerous and increasing and the school has a strong foundational program which I know it can position more strongly. The self­study was comprehensive and detailed, suggesting the department considers its present environment and future goals. It identified excellent observations and suggestions for improvements in curricular design and student success, such as converting 2 credit to 3 credit classes, and having students handle well made objects. The faculty are eager to make changes and develop. Students are hard working and career­focussed. In my visit to Anissa Mack’s design class, I saw evidence of engaged student learning, both through the semester’s clear arc of project progression and the students’ comfort with software and communicating their concepts. Program/Area Strengths The program’s strengths are the students and faculty. The 2D digital design courses are strong, well­considered, and focussed. Art History is linked to and building a great foundation for the students’ studio learning. Students are ambitious and hard working, the projects I observed were technically and conceptually good. The existing computer labs are of sufficient size and receive natural light, which is important. Program/Area Weaknesses Students and faculty have identified a need for better advisement. Students and faculty see the need for additional computer lab hours ­ this is crucial not only in offering students more time to complete homework and succeed, but also in fostering community. QCC professors and students are challenged in getting students to experience artwork outside the institution’s walls and use the tremendous resources of New York City’s artworlds, however this is an extremely effective way to connect pedagogy to the real world and should be addressed. There are some gaps in the curriculum such as contemporary new media production and history, and design­focused web design. Some courses could be redesigned, and some added. Web Design course could be taught in the Art Department.Motion graphics courses seem weak, in terms of curriculum, although I did not have the opportunity to see the student work in this area, nor talk to the students. QCC has a diverse student body, but that diversity is not reflected in the faculty. Suggestions (See Recommendations, below, for Recommendations) ADVISEMENT ­ Students need more advisement ­ they and their professors mentioned this during my campus visits. In my experience they will not get program specific advisement from a general college advisor, neither about the courses which will fulfill their requirements, nor about future opportunities after graduation or transfer. One way to solve this is to assign each faculty member a number of students, and require that faculty meet their advisees each semester to ensure they are on track. This is an additional faculty task but can help ease the burden of misguided students and aid in retention. COMPUTER LAB HOURS ­ Federal Work Study Program students can be paid to monitor the labs (keep labs open on weekend and evenings, enforce lab rules), this is a very different position than more skilled computer lab positions already in place. FACULTY/ STAFF DEVELOPMENT and RESOURCES Faculty are teaching design and art with software that changes continually to accommodate new features and technologies. They must be kept abreast of technology and software in order to keep their courses fresh and relevant. Software changes are only part of the ever expanding information culture which they need to follow, and therefore they need access to the software on their own computers and training to keep them current. FACULTY: Web Design should be taught in the department. The Video and Motion Graphics courses should be updated and held to a higher standard. I suggest these changes would be best accomplished with additional full­time faculty hires. VISITING ARTISTS SPEAKER SERIES ­ guests could be brought to QCC in a distinguished speaker series, and paid an honorarium. The series can features one digital artist or designer per semester, to enhance the curriculum, inspire students, and bring visibility to the department and school. This is also another way to bring diverse role models to the classroom. It is a very different experience looking at artwork online than seeing the work live and hearing the artist speak. Artists travel all over the country and internationally to present lectures about their work. Such events might be listed on Rhizome, an online resource for digital arts professionals, and posters distributed on campus and locally. The department could film and archive these lectures for internal use as a pedagogical tool. Students can design the posters, and the lecture series can be given a name. Events could be timed with the student show and speakers invited to judge the student work (either beforehand for entry or afterwards for prizes). Another suggestion is a yearly Art and Design Career Panel. FACILITIES “Messy” processes such as ceramics and painting must be separated from “clean” processes such as computer art, photography, video. Ceramic dust and excessive heat, for example, can destroy electronics. The ventilation in the 3D rooms is not adequate and is a potential health hazard. Many schools in fact keep these facilities in separate buildings, which I suggest. Create a gallery space, this can be small or informal, linked to and programmed by the department. Students, classes, or faculty can curate shows and host events. Students need a lounge or gathering space, so they don’t have to sit in the halls between classes and so they can create a sense of community ­ this could be combined with the aforementioned “gallery”. RESOURCES Students in video and moving image classes need access to cameras. I suggest a 48 hour period. Equipment should be signed out and tracked by the technical lab people only. Not necessary to have enough camera for everyone in the class but cameras should be current technology and in good working order. CURRICULUM and FACULTY HIRES The Current curriculum needs some development to stay current. I suggest adding some courses and re­designing others to round out your program, and hiring 1 ­ 2 new faculty members, as outlined below. ~ Art History ­ History of Graphic Design is an excellent class, but should cover contemporary design rather than ending at graphic design print posters. Graphic design now extends off the page and all over the world wide web; to apps on mobile devices; to video games, worlds and virtual reality; to geo­located augmented reality, and beyond. ~Web Design course should be taught within the department. In my experience when these courses are left to Computer Science or other departments the design part is often left out of the equation, it is also confusing and counterintuitive to outsource this course. Web Design should cover CSS and Html5 (these may change as technology changes) programming, with a strong foundation in design. The Microsoft html editor currently in use, or another WYSIWYG html editor should not be taught, as it does not teach the students to code. Text Wrangler is one recommended software for code writing. This will require experienced faculty, and a new hire in new media. ~ Web Animation ­ this class has already seen an overhaul because Flash, the industry leader application for many years, has become nearly obsolete in recent times. I suggest skipping Adobe Edge, currently taught, in favour of teaching html and css code, the industry standard, in a separate course. Game design is an extremely complex subject which would be better covered in a separate track/ program than in part of a web animation class. I have reviewed GameSalad, currently taught in one of the courses. It’s claim to “create games with no need for code” is misleading. A better option for this class might be something like Processing, an open source and excellent tool developed by artists for teaching principles of basic programming from a visual perspective. It has been taking the new media art world by storm for years, and can in the advanced stages interface with all manner of hardware including interactive sensors and electronics, with commercial and fine art applications. This will require experienced faculty, and a new hire in new media. http://processing.org ~Motion Graphics course could serve as an introduction to time­based media including stop motion animation, Photoshop animation, and industry standard software such as Adobe After Effects, Apple Motion, and Soundtrack Pro. ~ Video course should be added. This requires experienced faculty and may require a new hire in the future, a joint hire with new media, or training for current faculty. Final Cut Pro is the industry standard software at this time for video production. ~Intro 3D Animation course could be taught using Blender (for example) ­ an open source and quite good application. In a 2 year program, a more sophisticated application such as Maya could not be covered. However, a more introductory application such as Blender would give students a taste of 3D design, needed for careers in game design, 3D animation, and film. I don’t think this is a priority for the program, but could be in the near future. Many of the students said they were interested in game design. This may need a new hire in film and video, or training for current faculty. ~ Special Topic Courses could be added in the future. These would tap into contemporary specialties of internal or external faculty. Example ­ mobile media and augmented reality. PEDAGOGY: ~Quality of technical work on assignments ­ in addition to providing more lab time for students to work, faculty can require students to create a first and final draft of major assignments, or feature multi­part assignments that build on previous skills. ~Extra curricular field trips ­ could be built into classes, despite faculty statements that students will not go off campus. The American Museum of the Moving Image or Queens Museum might be excellent resources and more accessible than other parts of the city, for a student population not accustomed to traveling far. ~Math ­ Another way to position MATH as essential to learning is to know that math is needed for computer programming or “coding”, which in some fields goes hand in hand with design. Math will be helpful if new media curriculum recommendations are put into effect. Recommendations (see Suggestions, above, for details) ADVISEMENT Provide advisement to all Digital Art and Design students, either from a department staff member, or divide students among the full time faculty. COMPUTER LAB HOURS Expand the open lab hours, with student workers monitoring labs on weekends and occasional weeknights. Many students cannot afford the expensive software on which they are learning, and some do not have computers at home. They need access to labs that are open outside of class time. This will help students succeed, and also foster community, both of which aid in retention. FACULTY/ STAFF DEVELOPMENT and RESOURCES Provide faculty with software they are teaching in the classroom, and with software training. The software is a major pedagogical tool and a skill set and part of the information that is being passed on to the students. Faculty should be provided with licences for software taught in their classes. They should also be eligible for funding to train in software they use for their courses. FACULTY Hire two full­time faculty over the next two years, in New Media and Web Technology, and Video and Motion Graphics. Extensive outreach to attract diverse candidates can be accomplished through the HR Department. Year 1, as a priority, is hiring a new media faculty member to teach Web Design and Web Animation (with Processing or other software). Training for current faculty may help with the Motion Graphics / Video course updates, however another faculty hire in year 2 of a Video and Film artist is my recommendation. VISITING ARTISTS SPEAKER SERIES Convene a public programming committee, work as a team. Invite one contemporary digital artist and one designer per year to QCC. Schedule events at a “common hour” during the day or during several scheduled classes, and offer extra credit to encourage maximum participation. FACILITIES Physically separate Digital Art and Design classrooms from those such as ceramics whose media can damage equipment. Move them to another building or keep them on separate floors. Create a new room ­ an open studio for shooting and demonstrating video and photography, and for documenting artwork for portfolios. Create a gallery space and/or a student lounge in the art department. This can be small and informal, and should be linked to and programmed by the department. This will help build confidence for the students, give them a chance to get more feedback on their artwork, and foster community. RESOURCES Video and photo cameras that can be signed out for 48 hours and taken off campus. Either signed out through a library system or tracked and signed out by the computer lab staff member. CURRICULUM Convene a curriculum committee, if one does not exist. Update History of Graphic Design. Teach web design in the Digital Art and Design department, possibly with a new hire ­ see below. Update Motion Graphics Course. Update web animation course ­ may need some research and/or new hire. Add Video Course, may need a new hire. Add an introductory 3D animation class.