Weaving a Web of Experience
By the end of May, two regional businesses will have new Web sites up and running. The businesses did not have to seek out and pay a small fortune to a Web design firm for the service. Instead, Rider University students in COM 460: Multimedia Production III: Advanced Interactive Design were given the chance to flaunt their Web-savvy abilities and develop relationships by designing the sites that now drive these businesses. For the class, the opportunity was priceless.
In the capstone course for the multimedia track in the Department of Communication and Journalism, students learn more advanced multimedia skills and project management theories. The final project for the course requires students to apply these skills to develop Web sites for a real business client. This semester, student groups worked with Susan Pilate from New York Hair Co. and Skin Studio in Yardley, Pa., and Teri Gerhartz, co-owner of Caricatures by Jon and Friends in Potomac, Md.
Dr. Yun Xia, who has been using this business simulation model to teach COM 460 classes for six years, said the venture gives students a strong understanding of the multimedia development field, and has allowed numerous students to jump start a career in multimedia production.
“The project brings in the business context to the classroom that makes this experiential learning more interesting,” Xia said. “The students get to apply classroom learning to real-life practice from which the students see the significant value of their work.”
The class was split up into three development teams. Each student on the team had a different role including team manager, graphic designer, animationist, scriptwriter, video producer, audio producer, Web developer and product tester.
The teams were responsible for developing the project, interviewing the client, writing proposals, creating trial templates before creating HTML and Flash versions of the Web sites. As a simulation, the students also calculated the budget for the entire endeavor in their proposals. Jon and Friends Web site was projected for $8,500; New York Hair Co. was $11,000; and the Skin Studio was $13,000.
The students used programs such as Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop and Flash, and Fireworks. Throughout the Web site development, the teams kept in contact with the businesses to make sure they were meeting their clients’ needs.
On April 30, the teams presented their Web sites. Pilate, who attended the presentations, said she was impressed by the students’ work.
“They’re very creative,” said Pilate about the student designers. “They don’t think in a box.”
Teri Gerhartz, who co-owns the caricature company with Jon Enten, said the company and class benefits from the class initiative.
“We are so happy that we were asked to be part of their project and the Web site looks like a professional company created it,” said Teri Gerhartz, whose daughter Jennifer was on the team that worked on the Web site. “We do feel the Web site will give us a presence in our area and be able to compete with the other online Web sites that do caricature work.”
Chris Finazzo of Chatham, N.J., a junior Journalism major, designed the HTML version of the Skin Studio Web site. Finazzo said the team’s direction for the project was largely dictated by the philosophy of the client and how they asked the business to be portrayed. In the process, Finazzo said he learned how to manage a large project and a client-developer relationship.
“Working for a real company definitely brought an additional sense of meaning and purpose to the work we were doing.” he said.
Crystal Leung of Eatontown, N.J., a senior Business Administration and Global Business major, was primary project manager for the Skin Studio Web site and designed the Flash version of the site. The project allowed Leung to hone her skills in Flash, Adobe Photoshop, HTML language and coding, as well as expand her business skills.
“I learned a lot in completing this project, but most of it was learning about myself and what I am capable of doing with the skills I have learned throughout my four years at Rider,” Leung said.
The rest of the class included: Danielle Dimeglio of Princeton, N.J., a senior Journalism major; Laura Franko of Mercerville, N.J., a senior Communication major; Jennifer Gerhartz of Potomac, Md., a junior Journalism major; Senad Haskovic of Long Branch, N.J., a senior Computer Information System major; Victor Mijangos of Lawrenceville, N.J., a junior Liberal Studies major; Keith Raymond of Mechanicsburg, Pa., a senior Communication major.
Businesses interested in participating in the program, should contact Dr. Yun Xia, yxia@rider.edu or 609-895-5489. For more information on the program, visit http://comm.rider.edu/digimedia.
Return to News@RIDER
