COMMUNITY
MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
Bachelor
of Arts Degree
The Curriculum
At the undergraduate level,
CPCS offers a liberal arts baccalaureate degree with a career
focus. The Community Media and Technology degree is designed
to fit this model. The curriculum is developmental and competency-based,
framed in terms of learning outcomes, which encourage collaborative,
project-based education. To complete the baccalaureate degree
a student must earn 120 credits. Of these, 90 credits appear
in the "Core Knowledge and Skills" area, which is
the general education and electives component of the curriculum.
Work in this area culminates in a "Capstone Project,"
designed as an exit level project in which students synthesize
their educational experiences. Work in the "Major"
accounts for the remaining 30 credits. Thumbnail descriptions
of each learning activity are presented below:
Level II
o History of Mass Communication - Students will be able
to discuss the invention and development of the major mass communication
technologies -including print, sound recording, radio, television,
film, and computer-assisted communication-and describe their
corporate structure and ownership patterns with a special emphasis
on how they affect content and cultural development.
o Media and Community Building
- Students will be able to compare and contrast a range of
existing models and best practices in the use of communication
media and information technologies as tools for education
and community organizing, and discuss the application of such
uses to local projects and/or organizations.
o Analyzing Media
- Students will demonstrate a systematic knowledge of the
operations of selected communication media and critically
analyze such variables as close readings of texts, image selection,
framing, lighting, camera angles, newsworthiness, reliance
on experts, and use of statistics, as these affect perceptions
of social issues, public policies, and cultural groups.
o Converging
Technologies - Affordable digital recording equipment,
non-linear editing, photo editing and presentation software,
the Internet, and Broadband are creating a new digital environment
for community-based organizations and activists. Students
will demonstrate an integrated understanding of the converging
digital media environment, using information technology and
computer assisted communication as one interacting system.
Level III
o Writing for Media - Students will demonstrate the ability
to write leaflets, press releases, letters to the editor, news
stories, instruction manuals, story boards, proposals, curriculum
packages, and other technical documents related to public and
community issues and groups.
Students choose two technically
oriented competencies in order to demonstrate technical proficiency
in a particular communications medium or information technology
and apply these skills to public and community service.
o Video Production
o Multimedia Authoring
Students will demonstrate
technical proficiency in multimedia applications and utilize
such skills in a project related to public and community service
o Audio Production (to be developed in year 2)
o Computer Networking (to be developed in year 2)
o Database Management (to be developed in year 2)
o Telecommunication
Policy - Students will analyze and discuss the relevant
legislation, regulatory guidelines, and rules of access regarding
the mass media and communication technologies with a particular
emphasis on community responsibility, public and community
access, and the development of community-based alternatives.
Level IV
o Developing a Media/Technology Strategy - Students will
identify and research a relevant public or community issue,
organizational need, or social goal, describe its fit with larger
organizing goals and strategies, and design an effective media/technology
project to build capacity, mobilize a constituency, and/or influence
key stakeholders in the area selected.
o Implementing a Media/Technology
Strategy - For the particular community issue, organizational
need, or social goal chosen above, students will implement
an effective media/technology project, and reflect on the
effectiveness of the effort.
|
