Introductions – Summer ’10
By Josephine. Filed in Introductions |Tags: bios
Hi, all! Welcome to the blog for the Virtual Learning Environments class in the graduate media studies department at the New School – Summer ’10. We will examine VLEs, ranging from text-based fora to 3D immersive worlds, and will focus on optimizing virtual environments for learning experiences. We’ll be learning about VLEs while being inside them, eventually culminating in the development of an educational project for real-world implementation.
I’m very excited to be teaching this class! Let’s begin by introducing ourselves…
Friday, June 4th 2010 at 11:07 pm |
Hi, all. I’m Josephine, and I’ll be your instructor. I’ll start off the introductions – here’s a bit about me:
The short version: I’m a media artist, educator and social entrepreneur. I like to dance and make noise and pictures and it’s especially cool when I can make them with electricity and numbers, and then send them over the ether. I also like to jump out of planes.
The long version:
Josephine Dorado is a New York-based media artist, producer, social entrepreneur and skydiver. In her work, she explores the extension of the performance environment with technology and the process of cultural exchange through creative interplay in virtual spaces. She initiated the Kidz Connect program, which connects youth internationally via creative collaboration and theatrical performance in virtual worlds, and received a MacArthur Foundation award to co-found Fractor.org, which matches news with opportunities for activism. She was a Fulbright scholarship recipient and an artist-in-residence at the Waag Society in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and continues her involvement with Fulbright as a member of the Board of Directors. Performances include interdisciplinary productions for the ISEA and Romaeuropa Festivals as well as speaking engagements at SIGGRAPH, Queen’s University in Belfast, and London Knowledge Lab. Josephine currently teaches at the New School and is the live events producer for This Spartan Life. Josephine’s experience ranging from theater for at-risk children to technology and design, brings perspectives on theater-inspired collaborative methodologies as well as the issues of working within a virtual and mixed reality context.
Nice to meet everyone!
Monday, June 7th 2010 at 12:48 pm |
Hi!
I’m Erin, and I’m a full time working woman and new Mommy. I schedule all of the promos for CNBC, and I truly enjoy my job and the people I work with. It’s a demanding industry that continues to keep me on my toes after almost 5 years with the company.
I have a son named Aaden who will be 7 months old on June 18th and he’s my world. Life is very hectic now with a full time job and being a Mommy, but I’m loving every second of it.
My great loves besides my son and my husband are music, dance, writing and film. Nothing makes me happier than listening to a great song or curling up to watch an inspiring movie. I want to make photography one of my loves too, but I don’t think it’s fair to say it’s one of mine since I’m not a real photographer or anything. But I love taking pictures, and if anyone were to friend me on Facebook, you would see that. Hello baby pictures!
Anyway, I will sum this up by saying, I’m a fun-loving, positive person who enjoys life and tries not to take time for granted. I’m excited for this class, and I’m very happy to meet you all.
~Erin
Monday, June 7th 2010 at 9:16 pm |
Hello everyone!
My name is Marie-France. I am half French and half American. I have lived in New York for the last 3 years. Prior to the big apple, I spent 4 years in Japan and over 20 years in France…which makes me 26!
I am now working at a French high-school in the Upper East Side as a guidance counselor. I am now looking for a new job directed more towards my field: media.
This is my first class online. I have been at the New School for almost two years now. I will be graduating in December 2010.
I am not going to lie about the fact that I am a little intimidated by taking a class online!!! However, there is a first time for everything and I wanted to give it a try during the summer.
I am happy to meet you guys and I cannot wait to get started.
Marie-France
Tuesday, June 8th 2010 at 8:37 am |
Hi! My name is Carolyn Marin and I just finished my first semester in the Media Studies program. As an undergraduate I studied art history and have always been interested in the creative process behind the creation of various forms of art.
Currently I work for Scholastic Inc. dealing with many different children’s books and media outlets. I have a very strong interest in children’s educational media and want to excel further in the field. So I’m very excited to learn more about virtual learning environments and relating it to my interests.
This too is my first online class, but I’m excited to see what it brings!
-Carolyn
Tuesday, June 8th 2010 at 10:46 am |
Hi everyone, I’m Jenn!
I am an online Media Studies student logging in from Orlando Florida. I am halfway through my studies with the New School and have really been enjoying it.
I grew up in Pittsburgh,PA, (Go Steelers) I’m 25 years old, and I got married this past winter. My background is in Film & Video, but I am hoping to learn more about Photography this year as well. I have been teaching at Full Sail University (a media-arts college) for the past few years and very recently transitioned into writing/ creating/teaching a Digital Video Production 2 year ‘career’ program from scratch for a public school district. Teaching High School students is MUCH different than the college students I was used to, but it has also been a lot of fun and reminded me not to take life so seriously.
I am excited to begin VLEs and find ways that I can utilize what we will learn in my classroom to further engage my students.
Let’s do this!
Jenn
Tuesday, June 8th 2010 at 11:45 pm |
Hi everyone!
My name is Lauren and I am 24 years old (or will be at the end of the month!). I am currently a student at the New School studying digital design and media studies. I went to the University of Michigan for undergrad where I majored in sociology, and now I am back in school to pursue a completely different field. This is not my first online class, nor is it my first online class with Josephine, who I took an online course with in the Fall. Being interested in the digital world and looking to pursue a career in that field, this class will definitely be helpful in teaching me how the education system has implemented the digital world, and where it is moving in the future.
Looking forward to getting started and meeting all of you!
Lauren
Wednesday, June 9th 2010 at 11:47 am |
Hi everyone,
I’m Yesim Sezdirmez. I live in Istanbul, Turkey. This will be my last semester and last course at New School. I will graduate this summer. I work for a national tv channel here in Turkey as an audience researcher. VLE is a new and interesting subject for me. I hope I enjoy it. I wish everyone a great semester. Good luck.
Yeşim
Wednesday, June 9th 2010 at 3:24 pm |
Hello all,
My name is Joey Ben-Hail and I’m currently in my 4th semester in The New School’s MA in Media Studies program and my expected date of graduation is this December. I’m currently going to school full-time and on June 14, 2010 I’ll be starting a summer internship at a company called Video Monitoring Services (VMS), a media company that monitors all types of U.S. media, (i.e. radio, TV, internet, etc.) for advertising and public relations firms. Other than that, I was born and raised in Queens, NY as well as lived in Israel during a few years of my childhood. I hope to learn a great deal from all of our readings, assignments, and posts and look forward to working and learning with all of you.
Sincerely,
Joey Ben-Hail
Friday, June 11th 2010 at 3:52 pm |
Joseph Dellinger has researched and created digital new media art for over 20 years. His first computer was an Amiga 1000. He received his MFA in Computer Art from the School of Visual Arts in 1992 and is currently pursuing a MA/PhD track in Media Studies at The New School University. Research interests include self-commodification in networked social media, complexity theory, biosemiotics, and the philosophy of Charles S. Peirce. His artwork is featured on such websites as PBS Thirteen Reel New York 5 Web Works, Postmasters Gallery War-Artist Bulletin Board, and Histories of Internet Art: Fictions and Factions. International exhibitions include Conexión Remota, Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain 2001, Festival De Creación Audiovisual De Navarra, Pamplona, Spain 2000, VRML-ART, Hamburg, Germany 1999, The Bridge, Chugoku Power Co., Hiroshima, Japan 1992, and the first exhibition of digital art in Thailand Computer Images, Silom Art Space, Bangkok 1992. Artistic collaborations include John F. Simon Jr, Andy Deck, Kenny Scharf, and äda’web. His work has been reproduced and written about in Leonardo, Spiegel Online, VRMLSite Magazine, VRMLaboR, Computer Artist, Resolution Magazine, and Computer Graphics World. Awards include NewMedia Invision Awards 2000 (Silver Award) and the VRML Excellence Awards 1997 (Finalist). As a musician and songwriter, he played guitar in the semi-notorious band George Jefferson Airplane and currently plays guitar in the band The Sedition Act.
Friday, June 11th 2010 at 3:53 pm |
Scratch the PhD track. That doesn’t exist anymore.
Friday, June 11th 2010 at 4:03 pm |
Less formal seems more appropriate after reading the other students posts. This is my last course in MA Media Studies. I’ve been in the dept for 4 years and will finally graduate in Dec. Professionally, I spent almost 10 years working at School of Visual Arts. I’m not there anymore. Now, I’m transitioning into becoming an elementary school teacher. I think this course will be helpful. I prefer teaching to administrating. My 18yr old cat is sitting in my lap. My wife, my nephews, and I are going to see They Might Be Giants tonight at the Stone Pony in NJ. There, less formal.
: )
Friday, June 11th 2010 at 4:16 pm |
Hello everyone,
I am Stephanie Class and I am in my 3rd semester at The New School. I currently reside in New York City. I have a BA in Film and Video from Columbia College Chicago. I’m interested in film theory and analysis, therefore I spend most of my time as a student focusing on those areas of study. I have never taken an online course before, so I am excited to see how this summer goes overall. It is nice to meet you all, and I look forward to getting to know you better throughout the duration of this course!
Stephanie
Friday, June 11th 2010 at 11:12 pm |
Hi everyone,
My name is Sofia Liotta. I am a Nonprofit Management student at Milano. I am taking this class as an elective. I am very interested in online learning in general, and hope to teach art through the internet someday. I have a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design, and I currently work as Assistant Director of Admission at Parsons. I live in Jersey City, NJ, and grew up on the North Shore of Boston MA. I am really looking forward to working with you all!
Sincerely,
Sofia
Tuesday, June 15th 2010 at 11:39 am |
Hello, I am Fran. I was recently reinstated as a student of Media Studies after more than 20 years absent from the program. I had started the masters degree in the 80′s but my career had me traveling. I was a producer for HBO and then landed in Los Angeles to start up the E! network. I ran programming for that channel for 9 years and then ran the company as president before leaving in 2000.
Lately I have been a consultant working with HBO in digital media in Los Angeles and now I am beginning to teach.
I am very excited about this course. I look forward to working with everyone.
Wednesday, June 16th 2010 at 2:03 pm |
Howdy, everyone! I’m Myroslaw, and I will be assisting Josephine in this summer course. I’ve been a student in the Media Studies program for two years, splitting my time between online and on-campus classes, and fall will be my final semester. I’ll be available to help with any technical and troubleshooting issues you might encounter while navigating any of the web applications we’ll be using. I will be posting my email address up on the Google Group for reference. Feel free to reach out with any questions!
Tuesday, June 22nd 2010 at 6:25 pm |
hi there! sorry for the delay in my introduction, things have been crazy here with the rollout of an alpha prototype for a software platform i’m developing, and i’m currently in california to attend Foo Camp this weekend, which is a nerdy tech unconference. here’s a short bio on me:
Venessa Miemis is a futurist, digital ethnographer, and modern day philosopher. Her superpowers include: pattern recognition, intuition, and the ability to distill complexity. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Media Studies at the New School in NYC. The focus of her graduate work is on facilitating trust-building, generative dialogue, and open collaboration in networked environments. Her blog, Emergent by Design (www.emergentbydesign.com), probes the potential impacts of social technologies on human behavior, thought processes, and the evolution of consciousness.
She is building a open source conversation platform called “Junto,” which will bring livestreaming video, a public backchannel, and the intentions of progressive minds into a forum together so that plans of action can be formed to drive humanity forward. She will be teaching the Futuristic Institute program at Duke University this summer, and also serves as a Director of the Foresight Education & Research Network. Connect with her on Twitter @venessamiemis.