The Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) was founded in 1999 as a University-wide initiative with a mission to enhance teaching and learning through the purposeful use of new media. In partnership with faculty, we provide the necessary support for a range of efforts from building basic course Web sites to developing advanced projects. CCNMTL is committed to remaining a leader in the field, engaging with its faculty partners in the reinvention of education for the digital age.

Services

Our service philosophy is to provide the most supportive environment possible for faculty who invest their time and energy in new media technologies for their courses. Our Educational Technologists, who have extensive pedagogical training, are ideally suited to offer advice and direction to faculty who wish to discover and develop best practices in the educational uses of new media.

These efforts often lead to the creation of a course Web site that offers students convenient access to online course information, including custom content, selections from Columbia's Digital Library Collection and communication tools. Additionally, CCNMTL offers a variety of workshops for instructors who wish to explore these topics in greater detail.

Project Development

CCNMTL projects are defined as more extensive efforts in which we attempt to create flexible tools and engaging study environments that faculty can shape to fit their particular classroom context. CCNMTL projects start with a project proposal from faculty.

All CCNMTL projects focus on overlapping areas of innovation to support student inquiry and improve students' understanding. Our projects include visualization and modeling tools; real-time data collection tools; data sharing programs; annotation and study tools; media archives; training environments; simulations and multimedia study environments. Projects emphasize collaboration, interaction and student activity. They promote better communication, personalization and the multiplication of spaces, both real and virtual, in which students are invited to study, research, communicate and learn.

Design Research

CCNMTL is a unique service enterprise that creates new tools for teaching and learning and researches their implementation. Design Research is the methodology behind our efforts, supporting the exploration, development and application of digital technologies to enhance education at the University.

Through an iterative cycle of research, development and assessment, CCNMTL and its faculty partners experiment with innovative uses of technology within university courses and generate advanced knowledge in the field of new media teaching and learning.

Partnerships

Developing partnerships with campus departments, institutes and other centers is a focus for CCNMTL. We look for partnerships that leverage expertise in diverse fields and lead to innovative results. We foster potential partnerships through open forums, conferences, and by sponsoring events like the University Seminar on New Media Teaching and Learning.

CCNMTL is a part of the University's Information Services Division which also includes the University Libraries, Academic Information Systems (AcIS), and the Electronic Publishing Initiative (EPIC).