From Digital Literacy to Media Fluency

At Ball State University, students must not only consume new media, they must be able to create it.

This story appeared in the August 2012 digital edition of Campus Technology.

Increasingly, institutions are seeing their students not only as consumers but also as creators of digital media--requiring a greater fluency in the use of new media tools. Ball State University (IN) has been on this track for years, under the leadership of Phillip Repp, vice president of IT. In recorded interviews, CT asked Repp and other campus leaders how to move students to "media fluency."

1) How does Ball State University prepare students to work with digital media?


Video courtesy of Ball State University

"It used to be necessary to learn how to type so that you could write your papers and use Microsoft Word…. Now, we teach [students] the technical foundation of the media-creation tools and then build upon that." --Jonathan Huer, director of emerging technologies and media development

2) What types of new media tools and environments do your students experience?


Video courtesy of Ball State University

"We're really looking at the potential for 3D immersive learning. Three-dimensional digital environments are, in our mind, more conducive to remote learning." --John Fillwalk, director, Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts

3) Have your goals for student learning changed?


Video courtesy of Ball State University

"Content is important, but it's critical thinking, it's problem solving, it's adaptability and flexibility. I believe increasingly the higher education world needs to focus more on how we equip our students to handle life and work, not process content." --Jennifer Bos, assistant provost of learning initiatives

4) What are the important lessons for institutions as they approach digital literacy and media fluency?


Video courtesy of Ball State University

"The future is bending toward online and blended education. The future is bending toward students having much more technologically mediated experiences while they are in higher education." --Rich Edwards, lead instructional designer, Integrated Learning Institute

About the Author

Mary Grush is Editor and Conference Program Director, Campus Technology.

Featured

  • two large brackets facing each other with various arrows, circles, and rectangles flowing between them

    1EdTech Partners with DXtera to Support Ed Tech Interoperability

    1EdTech Consortium and DXtera Institute have announced a partnership aimed at improving access to learning data in postsecondary and higher education.

  • Abstract geometric shapes including hexagons, circles, and triangles in blue, silver, and white

    Google Launches Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet

    Google has introduced Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental, a new artificial intelligence model designed to reason through problems before delivering answers, a shift that marks a major leap in AI capability, according to the company.

  •  laptop on a clean desk with digital padlock icon on the screen

    Study: Data Privacy a Top Concern as Orgs Scale Up AI Agents

    As organizations race to integrate AI agents into their cloud operations and business workflows, they face a crucial reality: while enthusiasm is high, major adoption barriers remain, according to a new Cloudera report. Chief among them is the challenge of safeguarding sensitive data.

  • stylized AI code and a neural network symbol, paired with glitching code and a red warning triangle

    New Anthropic AI Models Demonstrate Coding Prowess, Behavior Risks

    Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, its most advanced artificial intelligence models to date, boasting a significant leap in autonomous coding capabilities while simultaneously revealing troubling tendencies toward self-preservation that include attempted blackmail.