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Web and Multimedia Design "Edutainment Tonight!" Student Presentations

As a leading presence in New York City’s world of technology education, Touro College's Graduate School of Technology offers new programs and innovative teaching methods to excite, educate and inspire students. On May 22, 2012, the final Spring semester meeting of WMM 604, Entertainment and Education Design, was transformed into "Edutainment Tonight!"

The "Edutainment Tonight!" format served as an educational and entertaining alternative to a more traditional final exam. The instructor, Mira Scharf, presented students with the opportunity to be tested by showcasing inventions that would improve the educational experience. As a part of the exam, apps and tutorials, eBooks, films and websites were featured that had been specifically designed to reflect the study of technology at Touro.

Leia Calandria’s contribution was the "BAM IQ" quiz, an app designed as a quiz to educate and entertain its users about the rich history of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Narayan Malla created a new free app called Urja, now available for download on iTunes_®*. By using this app, purchasers can learn the Nepali alphabet from the comfort of their own iPad_®*; or iPhone_®*. And Dmitry Vishnevskiy created downloadable SWF colorful Adobe Photoshop_® tutorials specifically aimed at the high school market.

Also unveiled was Tobi Glazer's project entitled "The Three Little Pigs." An interactive enhanced eBook designed with additional advisement from a speech therapist, the book is designed as a tool for speech therapists and parents alike to enhance their children's speaking and cognition skills. Chava Drummond, meanwhile, had created an enhanced ebook entirely about guinea pigs.

Maury Lefkowitz’s film "A Day in the Life of Type" aimed to raise viewer awareness of the impact that type and font styles have on their daily lives, and to remind young artists of the powerful impact that they can have with the skillful use of type. Phil Washington and Mike Zavrazhin presented a wonderful educational animated short children's film about bullying.

Sam Samaroo showcased a website that had been created to help prepare novice runners, with a design and general approach to content that was light, clear, and inspiring. A website created by Gurban Haydarov called "Kids Only Page" was also featured. The site offered a collection of educational games, animation and other resources, including an educationally-based multiple-choice quiz just for kids.

As an event-based alternative to the usual final exam, all participants seemed to agree that "Edutainment Tonight!" was not only a rousing success, but a prime example of the innovative approach taken by Touro College's Graduate School of Technology!

* registered trademark of Apple, Inc. This product has no direct connection to Touro College.