PSU’s digital upgrades improve study of film

Next term, Portland State film students taking classes in room 331 of Lincoln Hall will see an upgrade in the way they interact with the study of film.

These upgrades include a Blu-Ray player, whiteboards, an iMac mini and 10 iPads for classroom use. Installations will take place over spring break.

“I can’t wait,” senior film major Max McPike said. “To be able to watch movies in high-definition at school is just awesome.”

For assistant professor of theater and film Amy Borden, the upgrades mean a more holistic approach to learning.

“We’re trying to create the most dynamic viewing experience for students as possible,” she said.

Borden plans to incorporate the iPads into her teaching and lectures. One of her future in-class assignments will require students to break down a scene in a film, shot by shot, and then reconstruct it using iMovie.

“Normally, we would just look at the screen and we would say, ‘What did you see?’ But this is a much more dynamic and attractive experience,” she said.

Borden also wants to use the technological upgrades to get students more involved in the learning process and encourage students be more interactive.

“I think it’s really important that students feel a part of the process in generating knowledge and ideas,” she said. “Classroom space is a great space to have alternative modes of engaging ideas, but I think we also need to incorporate the current technology we all use on a daily basis so we bring the familiar into the nonfamiliar.”

The new whiteboards will be used in Borden’s classes as writing stations for students to brainstorm and discuss topics more thoroughly.

“To write them forces us to confront them,” she said. “It’s important to keep in mind [that] it’s not about bringing in all of these computerized tools, but it’s bringing in a multiplicity of tools to make learning as visible as possible in the classroom.”

This is Borden’s first year teaching at PSU, and since she started, she’s been brainstorming ways to incorporate her teaching style into her classes. After she talked with other faculty members, a decision was made to move forward with technology upgrades.

Karin Magaldi, director of the School of Theatre and Film, helped budget the installations being made to room 331.

“We have to be judicious with how we spend our money,” Magaldi said. “We don’t know what we need until we know how many students we have.”

Aside from upgrades, the next goal for the room is a change to the seating arrangement. Now, the room’s seating arrangement is directed toward the front of the classroom.

“We would like the seats to be more mobile because [then] it’s easier to do group work and to reconfigure that space for a conference space or seminar space,” Borden said. “We’re still trying to figure out how that’s going to happen.”

Associate professor of film Mark Berrettini said making changes to the seating arrangement will be a long-term project because they’re still figuring out budgets and the ideal setup.