ECT and DMDL regards internships as essential to professional development. Students are placed in excellent settings in New York City that match their interests and goals in the diverse field of educational communication and technology. Students receive 3 credits for semester-long internships, spending 180 hours in the field, while enrolled in E19.2197 Media Practicum: Field Internships. The Internship Coordinator is Professor Francine Shuchat Shaw.
Student Interns, Spring 2011
Hunter College Campus Schools
Desiree Bayonet
Hunter College Elementary School is a laboratory school chartered by the City University of New York (CUNY) and administered by Hunter College. The school's principle aim is to develop children that display "superior cognitive ability". As an educational technology student teacher, my main responsibilities included working with teachers in finding how to effectively incorporate more technology into their lessons, as well as the creation of lesson plans and instructional materials to support students as they took on multimedia assignments embedded in their curriculum. It provided the right combination of interpersonal communication and collaboration I was searching for; not only was I working in the administrative level in designing technology-based learning environments, I also got to lead lessons as well as provide students with direct one-on-one support in the mastering of digital literacy skills. Thus, I was able to establish a connection with the students, teachers, and administrators of HCES making me feel like a valuable part of the Hunter community.
Kognito Interactive
Karishma Gurtu
I worked in the position of Jr. Instructional Designer as part of my internship at Kognito Interactive, where I helped build a virtual role-play simulation that will help Emergency Department staff identify patients who are at risk for suicide ideation. What interests me the most about what I did at Kognito is that I was able to blend learning with storytelling, both of which I am extremely passionate about. I fulfilled several responsibilities while working on this project, including research, user testing, QA, sound editing, project coordination, gathering feedback from subject matter experts and brainstorming script ideas. This internship continues to be a valuable and challenging learning experience. I am in my second semester as an intern and am constantly improving as a budding professional in my field.
Student Intern, Fall 2010
ESI Design
Lauri Galbreath
In the Fall of 2010 I had the great privilege of interning at ESI Design, an internationally recognized leader in experience design and interactive environments. I worked as part of the creative team on the JFK50.org website. The site celebrates the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's inauguration by offering young people an invitation to participate in his legacy through seven core themes: public service, science and innovation, civil rights, domestic affairs, arts, foreign policy and diplomacy and the environment. Tasks included script editing, research and content development, asset management, licensing, and quality assurance testing. I continued my work with the company after the internship through the launch of the site. JFK50.org went on to win the 2011 AAM's Gold Muse Award in Education and Outreach.
Student Interns, Summer 2010
International Education and Resource Network USA (iEARN-USA)
Adrienne Michetti
As an intern at International Education and Resource Network USA (iEARN-USA), I was responsible for two main projects. The first was to re-design a "Getting Started" guide for teachers new to iEARN projects. In creating this guide, I surveyed teachers, asked for their feedback, drew on current iEARN multimedia resources, and developed new iEARN content to be used in their website guide. I created the page in HTML and soon it was up and running. The second project, and the bigger one, was to create a resource page for the US Department of Education website, under the title "The Teacher's Guide to International Collaboration using Technology." This project involved collecting educational resources from around the world, talking to educators worldwide, and vetting tools for their use in internationally collaborative projects. It involved research on project-based learning and global education initiatives, and working with educators to choose digital tools for uses such as video conferencing, video production, publishing, and other collaborative learning endeavors. The highlight of my internship was all the contacts and connections I made through my research. Educators are generally very open and willing to share, and collaborating with them renewed my optimism for global education initiatives that work to dispel stereotypes and foster peace and responsible citizenship. I'm pleased also to report that iEARN asked me to stay on past the duration of my internship to continue working on the US Department of Education project to see the it through to its completion and launch.
E-line Media
Katya Hott
My internship experience at E-line Media was rewarding, inspiring, and fun. I spent much of my internship working on a video game called Gamestar Mechanic that teaches kids systems thinking through game design. I ran numerous focus groups with kids, worked on promotional material intended for teachers, and wrote a short curriculum to be used in conjunction with the game in classrooms, after school programs, and camps. The theories I have been studying in my courses applied directly to my work at E-line, especially those regarding cognitive science. I am thrilled to be staying on at E-line as a part-time employee under the title of Educational Media Specialist.
Student Interns, Spring 2010
Sesame Workshop, Education and Research
Meagan Bromley
During my time at Sesame Workshop, I was involved throughout the development and production process of Sesame Street shows, interactive digital games and activities, and various outreach projects. While working with the Education and Research team, I saw how Sesame content is informed by research, from preliminary development to curriculum design, to the iterative process of production, with multiple phases of testing and evaluation. I contributed to a new extension of the "Healthy Habits for Life" nutritional outreach initiative, usability testing with preschoolers for a new online platform featuring Abby’s Flying Fairy School, and a PBS research study, in cooperation with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, "Children's Perceptions of Mobile Technologies". I'm very excited to be staying on with Sesame Workshop as a freelance researcher.
Oxford University Press
Giah Choi
My intern experience in the English Learning and Teaching Department of Oxford University Press has been exciting and rewarding. I’ve had the great opportunity to participate in several projects, recommending digital game templates for their new primary series, evaluating their current digital tool, and analyzing teacher feedback from Korea on how technology is used in the classroom for primary students. What I liked most is that I am able to apply what I’ve learned in the program firsthand and that learning from this internship definitely helped me transition into my career as an English learning content designer.
E-Line Media
Melissa DiFranco
E-Line Media publishes digital entertainment that "engages, educates and empowers" with a core focus on computer/video games and webcomics/graphic novels. I discovered my interest in designing and developing educational games through the program, and I was excited to be able to apply what I learned in school to the industry so quickly. The company is currently developing a game platform called Gamestar Mechanic, which intends to teach systems thinking through game design. In my internship at E-Line, I primarily wrote and edited the learning materials for this game platform.
UN Global Action on Aging
Emad Karim
I interned at GAA, “Global Action on Aging,” one of the United Nations' non-profit, affiliated organizations. I initiated and led a project to develop an online social network, which will be implemented in the coming year. The goal of the network is to promote an international convention on aging and to educate people all over the world about aging issues. Also, I had the chance to attend many international events and General Assembly sessions and to meet highly experienced personnel at the UN. It was a great opportunity and honor to model the UN and be part of its daily routine during the whole period of my internship.
American Museum of Natural History
Antigoni Papadopoulou
My internship was in the Exhibition Department of the American Museum of Natural History. I helped develop three upcoming exhibits: “The Race”, “The Brain” and “The Dinosaur”. I worked with different software programs and applications, including iMovie, Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop, in order to create and develop videos or images that will be displayed in the exhibits. Also, I designed activities that will be included in the exhibit stations, including technology-based interactive models and hands-on interactive models.
Art 21
Poukhan Philavanh
During my internship in social media and web design at Art 21, I assisted in the launch of three new Web sites: art21.org, pbs.org/art21, and blog.art21.org. The website content was targeted to educators and students. Focus on education sections, I authored and managed content prepared content for effective presentation on the Web. Additionally, I helped with the administration of Art21's presence on Web platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others. On these platforms, I established and maintained groups and lists of relevant peers, colleagues, and organizations, while interacting and communicating with their communities and audiences.
American Museum of Natural History
Wan-Ling Annie Tsai
I did my internship in the Exhibition Department at the American Museum of Natural History. My main job was to help design the interactive visitor experiences for special/temporary exhibitions this and next year, such as “The Race,” ”The Brain,” and “Titans”. I learned how interactive design can enhance visitors’ learning in a real museum setting and how to make exhibitions more impressive, effective and interesting. Exhibits must attempt one or a combination of three goals: to inform, to entertain, to motivate. Moving from conceptual to schematic phase and finally to the production phase, we focused on user-centered design, ergonomic design, and visitor surveys. This work related to my academic experiences in ECT, specifically how multimedia learning and user/visitor engagement are paramount for a successful exhibition.