Columbia faculty and instructors can learn more about the University's new media teaching and learning projects and online learning ventures during a March 9th new media conference entitled "Moving Education Into the 21st Century with New Media.".

"This conference provides an opportunity for the Columbia community to celebrate its own accomplishments in new media," said Frank Moretti, executive director of the Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, the conference's organizer. "Also, it is a chance to demonstrate to an international audience Columbia's pre-eminence in the field."

As the digital age has transformed business, education and everyday life, digital technologies have expanded both teaching and learning experiences within and beyond the walls of higher education institutions. Columbia, with one of the fastest Internet connections and networks among peer institutions, is the perfect testing site for new media applications that require large bandwidth and speed. New media projects available online are being used by Columbia professors to expand academic discourse beyond the classroom, altering traditional models of teaching and learning.

"We hope to reach faculty who have some interest but have not yet thought about how to use digital technologies to enhance their teaching," said Daniel Beeby, associate director for services at CCNMTL. "The demonstrations will provide plenty of inspiration and motivation."

Columbia is also exploring the potential for knowledge to reach beyond institutional walls through digital learning initiatives such as Fathom and Digital Knowledge Ventures. The conference is a two-part look at Columbia's involvement in digital technologies developed for both internal and external audiences.

Moretti and Provost Jonathan Cole will provide the opening and introductory statements.

From 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Columbia faculty will present four digital projects developed with CCNMTL that are currently used in humanities, social and environmental science courses and discuss their pedagogical value:

• The Souls of Black Folk, a multi-media digital study environment that uses the seminal W.E.B. Du Bois work "The Souls of Black Folk" as a source. Developed with Professors Manning Marable, Alan Brinkley, Casey Blake and Robert O'Meally, the site uses archival footage, interviews, sound clips, period images and texts to create a media-rich collection of materials that students can use to develop their thoughts on this major American publication, a work studied in all Columbia humanities core classes. Marable will discuss and demonstrate how he makes use of this Multimedia Template (MMT) study environment in his courses.
• Brownfield Action. This CD-ROM and network-based multi-media application is used to augment an environmental science course by creating a virtual world where students can simulate the investigation of a contaminated "brownfield" site. Through maps, historical accounts, newspaper reports, interviews and simulated environmental tests, students create a site profile which is then used as part of their report to the fictional mall owner, played by Professor Peter Bower, who plans to develop the land.
• Delivering Music Humanities Content. This session will show how faculty teaching Music Humanities course are using various digital projects to create more informative and accessible courses. The Sonic Glossary, an online music resource developed by Professor Ian Bent and used in music humanities core courses that defines musical terms by combining visual text, spoken voice, pictures, graphic images and high quality audio, delivering them in high-quality audio for private study, will be demonstrated. In addition, the Virtual Tape project and the Major/Minor project will be showcased.
• Third Space is a digital video communication tool used by the School of Social Work. Through case studies and role playing, students learn interviewing techniques, review role-playing taped in class and discover how professionals handle difficult interview scenarios through video clips viewed over the Internet. Students are able to comment on and learn how to handle difficult interview scenarios through the third space.

From 1:15 to 2:45 p.m., the conference shifts focus to Columbia's external initiatives, which have established the University as an innovator and leader in developing online educational products. Todd Hardy, CEO of Digital Knowledge Ventures, the organization that interfaces between the market place and the University, and Ann Kirschner, CEO and president of Fathom, a premier site for "authenticated" online knowledge and education, will be presenting a session entitled "Quality on the Web." Both initiatives seek to increase the availability of quality online knowledge sites via the World Wide Web.

Samplings of DKV projects that have been identified as having commercial potential will be presented.

Attendees will have an opportunity to visit kiosks for a hands-on view of selected projects after presentations.