Interactive Media Design Program

Moraine Park Technical College

Investigators

Abstract

In partnership with industry and K-12 leaders, the college is developing and implementing an Interactive Media Design Associate Degree program for 60 students; creating a career pathway which allows at least 180 high school students to receive college credit in Interactive Media Design courses; and creating articulation agreements with four-year colleges in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields. Project activities include creating new courses; providing staff professional development in content and instructional delivery techniques; purchasing the necessary equipment and software for the program; and implementing a plan to recruit and retain underrepresented groups such as minorities, women, and disabled. Primary audiences to be affected by these activities include K-12 and college students, faculty members, and industry partners. The project goals are to: a. Develop and implement an Interactive Media Design Associate Degree program. b. Create a career pathway which allows high school students to receive college credit. c. Create articulation agreements with four-year colleges in STEM fields. There are three objectives tied to the success of this project: a. By June 2012, new courses are being completed in the Worldwide Instructional Design System (WIDS) format for the Interactive Media Design Associate Degree, posted to Curriculum Bank and accessible to other colleges. b. A minimum of five high school students per year enter the college with transcripted credit from Interactive Media Design related courses. c. Three program-to-program articulation agreements are being established with four-year colleges and universities. Intellectual Merit: This project addresses the growing need in the district for interactive media design technicians who possess a range of skills and can undertake a variety of job duties in the workplace. Graduates are from the college program are capable of working with animation production, website production, virtual worlds, and video production. This project is being combined with the existing NSF S-STEM scholarship program allowing Interactive Media Design students to receive scholarships through that program. High school staff are serving on the project steering committee alongside industry representatives. Broader Impacts: In consultation with industry experts, advisory committees, and high school faculty, the new program is providing a foundation for the interactive media technician. Regional and national workforce indicates a 26% growth for the interactive media technicians between 2006 and 2016. Graduates are qualified to obtain a variety of interactive media design positions such as animator, digital artist, digital media designer, interactive media designer, Flash developer, graphic designer, motion graphics artist, multimedia production assistant, video production assistant, video editor, and freelance digital media producer in companies ranging from advertising agencies to manufacturing plants. The partnership with the local high schools is creating a career pathway/educational continuum to ensure that students are learning current industry competencies.