Hesburgh Libraries and the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Notre Dame have launched two new service platforms, Remix and Media Corps, to help students, faculty and staff build multimedia skills and promote teaching and learning with digital media.

Remix is a website that features step-by-step guides for multimedia projects and a showcase of student works. Media Corps, created in partnership with the Office of Information Technologies, is a team of undergrad coaches who consult on Remix projects and help the campus community learn how to capture, edit and produce digital media. Together, these services are designed to address the increasing demand for developing advanced multimedia skills in today’s digital world.

“The definition of literacy has expanded beyond the ability to read and write text. In order to be truly literate, students must be able to read and write the language of multimedia. This means that faculty need to create assignments that integrate elements such as images, audio, video and data,” said Chris Clark, assistant director of the Kaneb Center.

“As students graduate and enter their respective fields, employers expect them to be not only critical consumers of multimedia content but creators of it, as well. The Remix projects are designed to help our students build these essential multimedia skills needed to succeed both academically and in the world beyond Notre Dame,” said Randy Harrison, emerging technologies librarian with the Hesburgh Libraries.

Remix Overview

Remix.nd.edu is an online teaching and learning platform that features student projects in four essential media literacy categories: images, audio, video and data.

The Remix website has a two-tiered approach designed to meet the growing demands of faculty and students. It is a teaching tool to help faculty better understand, adopt and evaluate specific multimedia project assignments. It is also a guide for students to help them plan and complete multimedia projects as well as build core digital literacy skills.

The dynamic, open-access platform is organized into four sections:

Showcase: Get inspired by this portfolio of completed Remix projects using images, audio, video and data. The Showcase section grows regularly through the nomination of projects by both students and faculty.

Media 101: Faculty and students can review the building blocks of multimedia literacy to expand their knowledge base and accelerate new knowledge creation.

Projects: Get step-by-step instructions for a growing list of multimedia assignments. See exemplary projects, learn advanced techniques and explore related resources.

Help: Instructors wishing to integrate multimedia assignments, students working on class projects, or staff wanting to grow media skills will find additional related resources in the Help section.

One of the best ways to develop multimodal literacies is to work through the growing list of Remix projects. To suggest new project ideas or nominate finished work for the Showcase, use the forms provided on the site or contact Randy Harrison.

The Remix project is a collaborative effort between the Hesburgh Libraries and Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning.

Media Corps

Media Corps is a student coaching team that provides support to Notre Dame community members who are creating projects with video, sound, images or data.

Students are specially trained to support the design and development of multimedia works for academic classes, like the ones featured on the Remix website, as well as individual creative endeavors.

Core competencies that have become essential to overall student success in a media-rich world include the ability to capture, edit, and produce digital content. Areas of focus for skill development are expected to grow over time. Current consultation examples include:

How to capture digital media: Learn to operate camera, recording, and video equipment; use a smartphone; and plan visual design, composition and lighting.

How to edit digital media: Learn software creation and editing programs; explore online digital storytelling tools; and find shareable sources for images, music and video.

How to produce digital media: Learn to plan all phases of your project and the various ways to publish online. Find related campus resources such as multimedia studios, equipment loans, 3D printing and large-format printing.

Media Corps coaches are available to answer questions or offer guidance in-person Sunday through Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Technology Commons Help Desk on the 2nd Floor of the Hesburgh Library. Students, faculty and staff can walk-in or book a consultation.

To suggest new services and areas of skill development, contact Randy Harrison (rharriso@nd.edu) or ND Learning (kaneb@nd.edu). This service is a partnership among the Hesburgh Libraries, the Kaneb Center, and the Office of Information Technologies.