@nformer

Do you believe in MAGIC?

Capilano C vege
New Media Cent

[ is aterm that everyone on campus will
soon be familiar with, especially since
Capilano College has just been accepted
into a select group called the “New Media
Centres” consortium.

New media is arevolutionary new form
of communication which came about
through the use of digital technology. It is
interactive media using, for example, CD-
ROMs and multimedia
networks, such as the Internet.
Students and faculty can
publish without a printing
press and produce
professional quality videos
without entering a studio.
They can express ideas
visually, enhance them with
sound and text, and share them
in real time with colleagues
thousands of miles away.
Educators have the power to revolutionize
their research, and create fully interactive
learning tools which will educate
generations to come.

Through an annual request for
proposals, the consortium (formed in 1993
by seven technology and publishing
companies) selects institutions of higher
education best suited to serve as beacons
of innovation on their campus, in their
community, and for educators around the
world. Capilano College was pleased to be
informed that its recent proposal to join
the consortium was accepted, making it the
first Canadian college to join a diverse
network of academic institutions and
corporations who are using technology to
pioneer solutions for educational
innovation.

Today, more than 60 institutions around
the world, and at least 14 technology
providers, publishers, and service
providers, are members of the New Media
Centres consortium. They include: Brown
University, Cornell, Princeton, and
Stanford, plus Adobe Systems, Apple
Computer, Eastman Kodak, Macromedia
and Times-Mirror Professional Publishing.

The goal of Capilano College is to form
partnerships, alliances and working
relationships with like-minded colleagues
in both education and the private sector. The
New Media Centres consortium is an ideal
vehicle for this goal.

“The media technology division’s new
media centre at Capilano College offers a
chance for potential partners to keep in
touch with the latest developments in a
rapidly expanding and evolving field,” says
Jim Bizzocchi, education technology
liaison at Capilano College and chair of the
multimedia task force. “We could give
business partners opportunities for training,
demonstration sites, access to information,
assistance in product development, and
advice on how to apply the new media in
their own strategies.

Joins Elite
es Consortium

“Greg Lee created the MAGIC
division (Media Resources, Animation,
Graphic Design and IIlustration, Infotec,
and Communications) for the express
purpose of building our expertise and
taking it to the next step,” Jim explains.
“The direction is represented in the
planning and reorganization of the
College.

“Capilano College is a vital
institution that is on the
forefront of technology-based
developments in media and
art, as is shown through our
programming,” he continues.
“Our five programs will
ensure that our students and
graduates will have the latest
techniques and facilities to
stay at the cutting edge of their
respective disciplines.”

Along with CD-ROM and Internet,
there will be other delivery formats in
new media. This is part of the province’s
economic strategy to get away from a
resource-based economy and build on
human resources.

“The media industry is one of the key
components of the economy of British
Columbia,” Jim says. “For instance, our
province is second only to Hollywood
in feature film production in North
America.

“Taking any of our programs at
Capilano College is a cost-effective way
to acquire an education in new
technology,” Jim adds. “We’re
reallocating our existing resources to
expand our range of services.”

@ @ Capilano
@em College

Vol. XVIII No. 4
April 26/96