Freedman Center in Action

In 2006-2007, the Freedman Center focused its energy and resources on instruction: both as a means of increasing the utilization of the Freedman Center in course curricula, and as a means of increasing awareness about the center and what it offers the campus community at Case Western Reserve University.

In 2006, the Freedman Center participated in a fundamental redesign of the CaseLearns instruction program and used the redesign as an opportunity to locate the conceptual and practical teaching of Freedman Center software and hardware in this library-sponsored instruction program. Jared Bendis, the Creative Director of New Media for the Freedman Center, went so far as to create “tracks,” or a series of courses that should be taken to ensure a comprehensive understanding of a technology or its use. For instance, one track was “Video Workshop,” and included an introductory and intermediate course set teaching vocabulary, concepts, and approaches to digital video: including digital imaging, digital audio, and editing. Additionally, the times at which courses were taught were greatly expanded, including evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays. Through the CaseLearns program, the Freedman Center reached over 300 faculty, students, and staff in 2006, providing over 1000 hours of multimedia theory, philosophy, and hands-on training.

In addition to working alongside his fellows in teaching CaseLearns courses, Jared Bendis also served as an Adjunct Lecturer in 2006 and will again in 2007, teaching a course in the Art History Department: Introduction to Multimedia Technology. The course not only served as an introduction to multimedia concepts for the students involved, but also as a hand-on introduction to the resources of the Freedman Center.

The Freedman Fellows Program, since the last annual report was released, has provided focused, in-depth assistance to 12 faculty members. In late 2006, there was a fundamental re-design of the program, which focused on a seminar approach. Six awards were issued and eight faculty participated in the re-designed program, which spanned one week after the end of Spring Semester in 2007 and covered fundamental areas in using multimedia in education, including instructional design and instructional design theory, conceptual understanding of all aspects of digital imaging, digital video, and their practical use and creation. More information on what appears to have been a very successful approach to the Freedman Fellows Program can be found on page 6.

The Freedman Center continued its work with both the Case Western Reserve University community and the greater Cleveland community in 2006, and will make as one of its foci for 2007 the active promotion of the Freedman Center and the active engagement of the university community, as well as the surrounding community. Since the last annual report, the Freedman Center has participated in two rounds of University Circle’s Future Connections Program. Through this program, students from Cleveland high schools spend one month with a Cleveland cultural institution and one month with a Cleveland business institution. For more information on this program and its results see the article below. Additionally, the Freedman Center has been approached by institutions in greater Cleveland for assistance and guidance in converting analog assets to their digital equivalents. In 2006, the Freedman Center was approached by the Cleveland City Council to examine the analog copies of its recorded council sessions from the 1950s through the mid-1970s and provide guidance to them in their conversion to digital assets. Furthermore, representatives of the Freedman Center are regular speakers at the Technology Series for the University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE), where ten to twelve faculty members are in attendance.

Already in 2007, the Freedman Center is providing facilities for the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame’s conversion of analog film and photograph collections to digital assets; additionally, during the upcoming school year, the Freedman Center will work with

Andrew Lucker in the Political Science Department to record his regular public affairs programming for inclusion on the University Channel at Princeton University, which is available to a national audience.

A redesign of the Freedman Center facility was undertaken in 2006 including the addition of a sound room and a re-purposing of eleven machines in the center for greater use in video editing and scanning. In addition, new hardware and software purchases enhanced the ability of the Freedman Center to meet end-user requests for expanded capabilities as well as new services; Jared Bendis discusses the enhancements to the Freedman Center on pages 12-13.

With its core facilities and educational programs in place, the Freedman Center greatly expanded its reach and commitment to education in 2006. This has positioned the Freedman Center well for actively promoting and engaging the university community in 2007; steps that ensure the Freedman Center will be an innovative partner with faculty, students, and staff so that they can continue to achieve their research, scholarly, and artistic goals.

To find out more highly detailed information about the Freedman Center, please visit the Who We Are section of our site.