The concept of remediation, as outlined by Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, offers a lens through which 21st-century partnerships might be analyzed and reinvented. Accordingly, this chapter argues that looking to the future, community-university partnerships will gain momentum as centralizing educational venues, while emerging technologies will offer mediated spaces where academic, professional, and nonprofit institutions merge to provide learning opportunities that engage both sides. This chapter situates the multiliteracy space—in this case the Noel Studio for Academic Creativity at Eastern Kentucky University—as a model for community-university partnerships that employ emerging technologies to develop communication skills.
TopInnovation, Collaboration, And Community Engagement
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 12:30 p.m.
Space: Discovery Classroom, Noel Studio for Academic Creativity
Campus: Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, USA
The Noel Studio Advisory Committee convenes for a biweekly meeting in the Noel Studio’s new Discovery Classroom, a space designed as a technologically sophisticated, adult-centered learning environment. The committee meeting commences with a brief video and some light discussion of the week’s activities, including an open house, and briefly overviews the upcoming dedication ceremony for this cutting-edge new space. The meeting’s primary focus is a brainstorming session about community partnerships that the Noel Studio might form for summer programming. The ideas generated are rich and varied, and the enthusiasm and commitment displayed for community engagement permeate this new space.
The Noel Studio’s Advisory Committee consists of leadership representing facets of writing, oral communication, research, and technology on campus, including the dean of libraries; dean of university programs, an interdisciplinary set of complementary programs intended to support liberal foundations in education; chair of the English department; chair of the communication department; information technology (IT) director; Quality Enhancement Programs (QEP) director; Noel Studio coordinators for Communication, Research, and Writing; coordinator for library instruction; and the Noel Studio’s director, who serves as chair of the committee. The committee generates idea after idea, thinking innovatively and widely about possibilities for partnerships and engagement. Every committee member in attendance shares a thought, including possibilities for working with local journalists and journalism undergraduates and developing a relationship with the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. Most interesting, perhaps, is the potential for partnerships that span several areas on campus—the library, QEP, IT, department of communication, department of English, and office of service-learning—in addition to potential community collaborators. The energy surrounding this brainstorming session provides momentum for community-university partnerships involving the Noel Studio. Moreover, the technologically sophisticated space provides the ideal dynamic environment to engage the community in developing creative products that integrate multiple modes—written, oral, nonverbal, visual, and electronic communication—believing that literacy is multiple and that multiliteracy skills are key to developing effective communication in the 21st century. The space includes video equipment, monitors, and touch-screen technologies, all of which help its staff members provide support for developing multiliteracy skills while recognizing different learning styles.
Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 5:30 p.m.
Space: Conference Room, Noel Studio for Academic Creativity
Campus: Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, USA
A group of public relations students in the Department of Communication at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) use Skype to interview industry leaders about communication in the workplace. The collaboration includes both video and audio, allowing students and members of the business community in another part of the country to see and communicate with each other in real time. The session engages students through video, which helps create a deeper connection between students and community leaders, giving the sensation of being (virtually) there.
Date: Summer 2015
Space: Invention Space, Noel Studio for Academic Creativity
Campus: Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, USA