A Leap In The Dark: Season 1

Rounding Things Off With The Crew

It's been a while since the initial individual conversations were recorded for this podcast and so I brought the crew together for a round table discussion exploring where we were now in relation to digital literacy, hybrid learning, and other creativey things.

Judy Wood: The Conversation Continues pt.2

Welcome back to part 2 of Judy Wood’s conversation. We left off discussing how to create a safe space for the students during a time where it’s so easy to turn your camera and disconnect. We’ll pick up with what we’ve done to make our students feel included and present and continue our conversation from there.

Judy Wood: Leaping In From Canada pt. 1

The only way to continue learning during the pandemic was to move online. Judy Wood actually didn’t struggle in designing her online courses due to her background as an instructional designer. She was quick with it. But not everyone had an easy time. People must be digitally illiterate. Was it really true that some Gen Z students didn’t know how to use digital programs and didn’t know how to copy and paste? Was transitioning to online a blessing instead rather than an unfortunate cause due to getting to know how to exceed with online communications and new developing technologies? Did everyone become somewhat antisocial and still stuck on their digital phones after the pandemic or will people communicate to each other and be the same going back to in person? Judy Wood is a digital arts designer and educator with a Masters in Learning and Technology and a passion for all things creative. She teaches at Humber College in Toronto, Canada and is an Adobe Education Leader.

RJ Thompson: Some More Riffing Around Digital Literacies pt. 2

Welcome back to part 2 of RJ Thompson’s discussion. We continue to talk about digital literacy within students, but also within faculty and staff within RJ’s and John’s universities, and how they have been affected by the shift the pandemic had caused.

RJ Thompson: From Comic Books To Digital Literacy pt. 1

People lost motivation and became monotoned on zoom? Low self esteem? Students had trouble using programs to adapt online classes? Did we have to change what we’re used to before? You can get a degree online and is it valid in today’s society? How useful is design actually in life? The pandemic was a nightmare to most people, but to RJ Thompson, it wasn’t actually so bad. He’s been successful throughout that time. He was also super into art and design when he was just 11 years old. In this podcast, he tells us how he turned his passion into his job, how he survived the pandemic, and tips on how to help students adapt to being online. RJ Thompson, MFA is an award-winning marketing and graphic design professional. Currently, RJ is the Director of Digital Marketing in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh. Outside of marketing, design, and teaching, RJ is also the Co-Principal and Creative Strategist for +Public, a Pennsylvania-based social enterprise that focuses on cultivating community and economic development impact through the creation of branded communication platforms, creative place-making, and storytelling initiatives for communities-in-revival. In this episode we talk about comic books, digital literacy inside and outside the educational space.