One such course, “iMedia–Interactive Media Design” was established in 2006 to expose students to strategies and tools designed for creating content for emerging platforms, such as smartphones and tablets.
The course is always interdisciplinary and involves students from broadcast news, photojournalism, journalism graphics, advertising and computer science. Each iteration of the course takes a project-oriented approach to interaction design for new technologies. During the course, we have explored everything from interactive television design to mobile apps development.
In the fall of 2010, shortly after the first Apple iPad was released, the iMedia class collaborated with Sports Link–the university’s immersive learning project for producing sports programming– to develop a digital magazine app for the tablet.
Although students had little experience with designing for tablets, the team took on the challenge, quickly exploring how interactive, multimedia sports content can be presented in a tablet app. Students developed numerous prototypes, engaged in research-informed design strategies and explored novel advertising models for the app.
Unfortunately, by the time all that work was done, we hit the immovable wall – the end of the semester. Although students immersed in a very realistic design and development process, the odds of finishing the product by the end of the semester were slim. At the time, we faced months of custom programming and app development that we simply didn’t have time for.
Honestly, this wasn’t the first time we were faced with this dilemma. In fact, for several years, the iMedia project–whatever its focus–generally ended with a really well designed, partially functioning prototype. Something needed to change.
- Here’s what happens when colleges make the SAT optional - October 19, 2026
- What small models teach - October 16, 2026
- Graduates and employers differ on career preparedness - October 14, 2026