News & Updates | In The News

CCNMTL Faculty Partner Joan Ferrante Receives Grant to Enhance Epistolae

November 9, 2009. Joan Ferrante, Columbia professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, has received a $40,000 grant to build on Epistolae, the online database created by Ferrante and CCNMTL that showcases a collection of letters to and from women during the 4th to 13th centuries. Ferrante was recently featured in The Record for receiving an Emeritus Fellowship from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the enhancement of Epistolae and continue her research on understanding the roles of women in medieval times, which she started over 20 years ago.

First released in 2000, Epistolae is a public website that offers scholars and students a repository of texts, translations, and background information about women engaged in correspondence in the Middle Ages. The letters, originally written in Latin, are translated to English and linked to biographical sketches of the women who wrote or received them.

According to the article, "Retirement for These Professors Means More Work," Ferrante will use the Emeritus Fellowship to hire translators for 2,000 letters waiting to be added to the online database.

Project Rebirth Gets Local Attention in Roslyn News

September 11, 2009. Project Rebirth, the documentary film produced by film director Jim Whitaker that chronicles the re-development of the World Trade Center site and the recovery of 10 people coping with the aftermath of 9/11, was recently featured in an article by Andrew Malekoff, executive director of the North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, in the Roslyn News. The documentary is a core component of the Project Rebirth non-profit organization, which has partnered with CCNMTL and Georgetown University to incorporate footage from the documentary in university classrooms. Students in social work, psychology, film, architecture, and English courses at Columbia and Georgetown are using the CCNMTL-developed video analysis tool, VITAL (Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning), to view and analyze hundreds of hours of footage from the Project Rebirth film library.

In the article, Malekoff explains the premise of the documentary: a diverse group of individuals impacted by 9/11 are interviewed over the course of several years as they grieve and cope with the aftermath of the attacks. "They generously offer us, and future generations, no doubt, the intimate gift of their unfolding grief and resiliency in the face of disaster," writes Malekoff. He also notes the film's additional objectives--to record the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site using 12 time-lapse cameras and to educate students about the disaster and help support victims of and first responders to major disasters with a Project Rebirth Center.

Columbia and Georgetown will work with Project Rebirth as they prepare to open the Project Rebirth Center, which will serve as a center for therapeutic, education, and training resources that focus on grief and trauma suffered by victims and first responders to major disasters. The Center is scheduled to open in 2010, the same year as the release of the Project Rebirth documentary.

Malekoff's North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is using VITAL to view footage from Project Rebirth and explore grief therapy training. Read his article on the Rosyln News website or learn more about Project Rebirth at Columbia.

BizEd Magazine Highlights CCNMTL Educational Technologist and the Global Classroom Project

July 29, 2009. CCNMTL educational technologist Tucker Harding represented the Center in a recent article on emerging online collaboration tools used in education. In "Virtual Solutions," published in the May/June issue of BizEd, author Tricia Bisoux features Harding and Tracey Wilen-Daugenti, director of the Higher Education Practice in the International Business Services Group at Cisco Systems, and shares their perspectives on how collaboration tools are transforming education.

Both Harding and Wilen-Daugenti note in the article that technologies, like web-conferencing and wikis, allow for richer learning experiences and enable students to connect across classroom boundaries. The author points to CCNMTL's Global Classroom as one example. This project, created with faculty partner and Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs, organizes and delivers online lectures and readings for a master's level, sustainable development course simultaneously taught at a dozen universities around the world. Harding describes that the project allows students from diverse backgrounds to work together on common problems: "Using these tools is about more than just convenience. We want students to feel as if they are part of a single classroom. With something like the Global Classroom, someone working in Latin America is in the same course as someone working in Africa's Millennium Village. They don't just talk to each other about obstacles they faced in the past; they can talk about the obstacles they faced that very day." Read more about Harding's take on collaboration tools by downloading Virtual Solutions (PDF).

CCNMTL Project "Rohde to Srebrenica" Highlighted by Professor Anne Nelson

July 2, 2009. In an article recently published on the Livingston Awards website, Columbia University Professor and 1988 Livingston Award Recipient Anne Nelson talks about her connection to David Rohde’s commitment to war reporting; a connection that leads to their work on a project created with CCNMTL entitled Rohde to Srebrenica. The Rohde to Srebrenica website chronicles Rohde's journey through war-torn Bosnia with video interviews, evidentiary documents, and an outline of best-practices for human rights reporting.

VITAL Featured in Journal of Teacher Education

June 30, 2009. Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning (VITAL), the web-based video analysis and communication system created by CCNMTL and Professor Herb Ginsburg of Teachers College, was featured in an article published in the latest edition of the Journal of Teacher Education. In "Video Annotation Tools: Technologies to Scaffold, Structure, and Transform Teacher Reflection," authors Peter Rich of Brigham Young University and Michael Hannafin of University of Georgia provide a comparative analysis of four emerging video annotation tools, including VITAL, and discuss each tools' ability to support and impact teacher reflection. The authors conclude, "Video annotation tools offer teachers the ability to see, as well as to analyze and refine, practice prior to, during, and following formative field experience."

Read the abstract and full article at the Journal of Teacher Education.

CCNMTL Project Analyzing Vietnam War Documentary Footage Highlighted in Teachers College Article

May 13, 2009. Teachers College (TC) press recently posted an article about a summer course that will be taught by TC faculty Margaret Crocco and Bill Gaudelli. The course, "Vietnam Now," will use a CCNMTL-created video analysis tool called VITAL to clip and annotate segments of documentary footage of the Vietnam War. Students will learn about the Vietnam War and explore how multimedia can be used to enhance the teaching of the War in middle and high school classrooms.

The documentary footage comes from Project Vietnam, a partnership between CCNMTL, WGBH, and the University of Massachusetts-Boston to digitize, preserve, and disseminate primary source materials created for the 1983 documentary, Vietnam: A Television History, which examines in depth the causes and consequences of the Vietnam War. Project Vietnam offers an online library comprising hundreds of hours of original interview materials and images from the documentary.

CCNMTL is also working with faculty from the Columbia School of Journalism, the Department of History, and the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures to integrate the Project Vietnam into their educational activities.

Jazz Studies Online is Featured in The Record

March 13, 2009. Jazz Studies Online, an important website for jazz scholarship on the internet, was featured in the March 12th edition of the Columbia University Record. The website is a collaboration between the Columbia University Center for Jazz Studies, the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS), and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL), and is funded by the Ford Foundation.

The Record's article highlights the extensive collection of resources available on the website, including journal articles, book chapters, magazines, teaching materials, talks, internet links, and performances, and mentions future initiatives to engage musicians and scholars with the website's resources and the broader jazz community. To learn more about Jazz Studies Online visit www.jazzstudiesonline.org.

CCNMTL Ghana Health Project in the News

March 6, 2009. A story posted today on the Columbia University Global Impact news website features a project collaboration between CCNMTL and Dr. James Phillips of Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. The project will develop, test, and disseminate a health information management system in Ghana that relies on low-cost cellular phone technology. This system, developed in partnership with the Grameen Foundation, will be used to improve the timeliness, accuracy, and utility of information required by front-line health workers in remote communities of Ghana.

Columbia College Student Council and CCNMTL Promote iTunes U

March 6, 2009. In an article published today by the Columbia Spectator, the Columbia College Student Council encouraged faculty, instructors, and event planners to work closely with CCNMTL to upload more content to Columbia on iTunes U. "Columbia on iTunes U presents an excellent opportunity to further the spirit of learning both on Columbia’s campus and in the greater Columbia community," stated the article. CCNMTL launched Columbia University's site on iTunes U in September 2008. To learn more about Columbia on iTunes U visit http://itunes.columbia.edu/.

Columbia University Record Article on Professor Samuel Roberts Highlights Collaboration with CCNMTL

February, 24, 2009. The Columbia University Record recently published an article about faculty member Samuel K. Roberts. In the article, Roberts, who is an associate professor of history at Columbia University, highlights his partnership with CCNMTL to develop the Harlem Health History Project. The project is a repository of primary source materials from Harlem, including articles, photos, interviews, and former student term papers on health and public policy issues that students can browse, view, tag, and embed in multimedia essays.

Related links:
web link View the full article

Columbia Spectator Highlights Brownfield Action Simulation

January 23, 2009. The Columbia Spectator published an article today about one of Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning's longest-standing education technology project, Brownfield Action. The article, "Brownfield Action Teaches Through Video Game," delves into the unique features of the simulation, which is now entering its 10th year of use, and explains how students use this Web-based tool to think and act like an environmental scientist solving problems in the real world.

Related links:
web link View the full article
Brownfield Action Website

Black Rock Forest Newsletter Highlights Virtual Forest Initiative

March 6, 2009. The winter 2009 newsletter, Black Rock Forest News, highlights CCNMTL's work with three Columbia and Barnard faculty members to develop the Virtual Forest Initiative.

Columbia on iTunes U Featured in Columbia Spectator

September 18, 2008. The Columbia Spectator featured CCNMTL and the University's newest podcasting platform, Columbia on iTunes U, in a recent article titled "New Media Center Begins iTunes U Podcasts." The article discusses CCNMTL's launch of Columbia on iTunes U and the Center's efforts to work with faculty to expand educational uses of podcasting.

University of Buenos Aires Seeks CCNMTL's Guidance in Development of Innovation in Technology and Teaching Center

August 12, 2008. CCNMTL's co-founders Frank Moretti and Maurice Matiz were invited by the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) to help guide the creation of their new Center of Innovation in Technology and Teaching by sharing the knowledge they have gained leading the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning over the last nine years. Moretti and Matiz met with numerous administrators and gave two large presentations detailing experiences and projects at Columbia University. In the week prior, Moretti conducted a week-long seminar for 40 UBA graduate students.

As an extension of their trip to Argentina, Moretti and Matiz also traveled to the University of Uruguay ORT in Montevideo, where they met administrators from ORT. Moretti ended the Uruguay visit with a lecture on technology and education to a full auditorium, which included the United States ambassador to Uruguay. The talk was also shown via close-circuit video to an another room that was also filled to capacity.

The visit was covered by a number of media outlets and university web sites.

Frank Moretti Featured in Crain's Article

July 28, 2008. CCNMTL's executive director, Frank Moretti, was quoted in Crain's Education Report published on July 21, 2008. The article, "Schools Plug Into Digital Lifestyle of Students," discusses how universities are adapting to digital-savvy students through new educational approaches rooted in technology. In reference to CCNMTL's work, Moretti commented, "We assume the students are naturally more engaged in the digital world." Moretti explained that CCNMTL is interested in using students' digital skills and comfort with technology to enhance teaching and learning methods at Columbia University.

Barnard Announces New and Improved Brownfield Action 3.0

April 10, 2008. The Barnard College News Center released an article on its website featuring the CCNMTL-developed environmental simulation, Brownfield Action 3.0. The article, "New and Improved Environmental Teaching Tool Launches," introduces Brownfield Action 3.0 and discusses a two-day seminar where CCNMTL partner and senior lecturer of environmental science at Barnard College, Peter Bower, and CCNMTL's Ryan Kelsy and Alice Cox presented Brownfield Action 3.0 to educators, scientists, government officials, and environmental consultants.

NYPL.org Lists MAAP as City Resource

April 2, 2008. The New York City Public Library included a link to CCNMTL's Mapping the African American Past (MAAP) project on the New York City Digital Collections page of its website. MAAP is a public website created to enhance the appreciation and study of significant sites and moments in the history of African Americans in New York from the early 17th century through the recent past.

Columbia Spectator Checks in with MAAP

March 31, 2008. The Columbia Daily Spectator described the breadth of historical information available though CCNMTL's multimedia learning environment, Mapping the African American Past (MAAP). The article, "Web Site Highlights Local Black History," takes a look at MAAP's features, including online maps, video, and images, and discusses Columbia professors' role in defining the educational website.

The Record Features CCNMTL's Millennium Village and VITAL Projects

March 31, 2008. The Columbia University Record explored CCNMTL's mission through the lens of such projects as the Millennium Village and Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning (VITAL). "It Takes a (Simulated) Village: New Media Center Reshapes Teaching for the 21st Century," discusses CCNMTL's role as a partner in advancing classroom learning though the implementation of digital teaching tools, like web-based video and simulations.

Related links:
pdf link View the full article (PDF)

Global Classroom Project Highlighted by Columbia Record

March 7, 2008. The Columbia University Record recently published an article about the Global Classroom, a partnership project between CCNMTL and the Earth Institute that connects leading problem solvers in sustainable development with hundreds of graduate students through new web technology. The article, "Global Classroom Links Experts and Students" describes the semester-long course in which students and professors share a common syllabus and pre-taped lectures, while holding a real-time worldwide discussion on sustainable development issues.

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