Teaching Responsibilities

XCOR 3020: Design and Technology in Global Culture, Undergraduate (R) focuses on the social and cultural impacts of technology innovations taking place across the globe.

XCOR 1012: New Orleans Innovation Bootcamp, Undergraduate (R) is a seminar course in which incoming students will be introduced to current tech innovations

Learn More

ART 3020: Web Design & Development, Undergraduate (E) introduces students to the processes and language(s) used in designing functional websites.

ART 2020: Introduction to Graphic Design and Advertising Undergrad (R) and ART 4010: Advanced Graphic Design and Advertising, Undergraduate (E) are studio courses that examine visual communication utilized for brand/identity, advertising, and marketing.

In the studio. Karlton Sitemap & Wireframe, 2018

In the studio. Karlton Sitemap & Wireframe, 2018

Teaching Philosophy

As an academic specializing in an interdisciplinary subject, I teach both studio and seminar courses. Subjects I teach include the history and theory of visual communication, cross-cultural branding and advertising, experiential marketing, typography, design thinking, user experience, product design, and programming. Having acquired opportunities working within diverse environments, my teaching methods intend to engage students to think globally through cross-cultural exploration of design and technology.

Since March 2020, I have been teaching my courses fully remote and have discovered that I favor this method of teaching as it relates to my pedagogical objective at Xavier.

Read More

IMG_3879.JPG

Methods & Strategies

In my seminar and studio courses, students participate in real-world collaborative projects to solve problems and develop solutions using creative design thinking processes.

  • Flipping the Classroom

  • Forming Community

  • Digital Literacy

  • Cross-Cultural Diversity

Read More

Reviews

Student Reviews

“Keeps class interesting and engaging.”

“Got me interested in a new field of design.”

“Never a dull moment.”

“Passionate about what she teaches.”

Peer Reviews

“Very clear and well-paced speech; never seems rushed. Her tone is calming.”

“Directly responds to student chat updates and questions with multiple examples and suggestions.”

“Takes the time to really relate with how students are feeling at the beginning of the class.”

Teaching Responsibilities

2014 - 2020

  • XCOR 3020: Design and Technology in Global Culture Undergraduate, 25, Required

    The Design and Technology in Global Culture XCORE 3020 seminar course focuses on the social and cultural impacts of technology innovations taking place across the globe. In the course, students develop an understanding of current advancements and form perspectives on the cultural impacts resulting from the design. Subjects in which the course addresses: AI systems, Human-Computer interaction, UX concepts, interactive communication, cyber, and design research. Students focus on the use of innovation in various fields such as: education, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, transportation, health, entertainment

  • XCOR 1012: New Orleans Innovation Bootcamp Undergraduate, 27, Required

    The XCOR 1012 New Orleans Technology and Innovation Bootcamp, is a seminar course in which incoming students will be introduced to current tech innovations; Public Health, Pharmacy, Environmental, Education, and Creative Media. Students will examine growth in New Orleans through the city’s history, location, demographics, and socio-economic structure.

  • ART 3020: Web Design & Development, Undergraduate, 10, Elective

    The Web Design and Development course will introduce students to the processes and language(s) used in designing functional websites. Students will gain knowledge in trends and techniques used for ideal user experience by studying new technologies and ways of accessing the web. In the course, students will learn the UX/UI design process, HTML5, and CSS3. Students will create websites and applications through site mapping / navigation, information architecture, wireframing / page layout, image, typography, accessibility. 

  • ART 2020: Introduction to Graphic Design and Advertising Undergrad, 15, Required and ART 4010: Advanced Graphic Design and Advertising, Undergraduate, 3, Elective

    The Graphic Design and Advertising course is a studio course that examines visual communication utilized for brand/identity, advertising, and marketing. Students are introduced to graphic design concepts and aesthetics, producing projects using digital software. Students learn design strategies and develop projects using the design thinking process; research, brainstorm, sketch, digitalize, test, feedback, revise.  

2010 - 2014

  • ART 1210 / CPSC 1210 / MSCM 1210: Engaging Digital Media Undergraduate, 25, Elective

  • VCLD 3301: History and Theory of Visual Communication II Undergraduate, 25, Required

  • GRDS 3301: Graphic Design Studio I: Print and Production

    Undergraduate, 18, Required

  • VCLD 3304, Web Design & Development. Undergraduate, 18, Required

  • IMD 122: Design and Typography, Certificate, 18, Required

  • ART 4503 / ENGL 3003: Social Justice and the Graphic Novel Undergraduate, 10, Elective

  • GRDS 4401: Capstone II: Graphic Design Thesis Undergraduate, 25, Required

  • AR 172/17: Computer Graphics I, Undergraduate, 18, Required

  • GD 269: Graphic Design I, Undergraduate, 18, Required

  • AR 243: History of Graphic Design, Undergraduate, 27, Required

  • COM 112: Multimedia Development I, Certificate, 8, Elective

  • COM 212: Multimedia Development II, Certificate, 8, Elective

Teaching Philosophy

As an educator, I began teaching in high school as a Hebrew school tutor and camp art instructor. During college I taught snowboarding, training competitive youth in the sport. Knowledgeable about the board sport industry and the digital design aesthetics emerging in the sport, after college, I facilitated street art and snowboard design workshops for teens and young adults. In graduate school, I taught visual art in an afterschool program, tutored graduate and undergraduate students in course subjects and writing, and was a teaching assistant in design and technology courses.

My first position in academia was in 2010 as an Adjunct Professor of Graphic Design at Briarcliffe College, a for-profit college in Long Island, NY. While at Briarcliffe, I also taught as an Adjunct Professor of Visual Communication at Monmouth University and Union County Community College - both located in New Jersey. In addition, I taught remote courses in Web Design and Typography as an Adjunct Professor of Interactive Design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In 2012, I accepted a position as Lecturer of Visual communication at Dar Al Hekma University, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where I taught until 2014 when I began my position as Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Xavier University of Louisiana. 

As an academic specializing in an interdisciplinary subject, I teach both studio and seminar courses. Subjects I teach include the history and theory of visual communication, cross-cultural branding and advertising, experiential marketing, typography, design thinking, user experience, product design, and programming. Having acquired opportunities working within diverse environments, my teaching methods intend to engage students to think globally through cross-cultural exploration of design and technology. Lectures discuss aesthetic symbolism and multilingual typography while exploring design innovations across the globe. Students are introduced to geographic locations and population needs to design products and marketing strategies within the specified region.

My first four years teaching design and technology were spent working with students majoring in Bachelor of Fine Art; Visual Communication programs where the curriculum required students, to take a proficient number of studio and lecture courses focusing on design for visual communication and new technology. Students’ extensive knowledge of design theory and their developed software and technical skills allowed for studio courses to emphasize independent practice, group critique, and portfolio development. At Xavier, most students in the design and technology courses major in Mass Communication, Business, Computer Science or Natural Science, requiring an alternative approach to teaching design, one that encourages students to relate the principles and skills addressed in the course to their field of study. I’ve discovered that my teaching philosophy for Xavier students centers on one key principle; teaching students the cross-cultural and digital skills to prepare them as professionals in different fields working within a rapidly shifting and technology-centered global workforce.

Since March 2020, I have been teaching my courses fully remote and have discovered that I favor this method of teaching as it relates to my pedagogical objective at Xavier. Several factors contribute to my positive position on remote learning, which includes being challenged as an educator, and creative in converting teaching methods into a digital environment. Remote learning is accessible to all learners with the internet and a computer device and encourages students to develop digital literacy skills that help to prepare them to be professionals working within a technology-centered climate. By using a learning management system and software integrations, students can communicate with peers and access lessons at any time. The content and discussions are interactive and take place through atypical academic methods. Remote learning (synchronous and asynchronous) teaches students to work between different devices, software, and platforms with ease; attending class via video conferencing with Zoom, accessing content using a learning management system, communicating through chat, and collaborating on projects using cloud sharing platforms and software.

         

 Methods & Strategies

  • For ten years, I have been living and traveling overseas and my experiences within different cultures have fully influenced my method and objectives for teaching design. Artifacts and information I’ve gathered during this time have been used for course design, course revisions, content, and assignments to teach students about design and innovation being created internationally.

  • In my seminar and studio courses, students participate in real-world collaborative projects to solve problems and develop solutions using creative design thinking processes. They form their ideas following the 5W method; repeatedly ask questions and brainstorming ideas.

  • A large part of being digitally literate is knowing the history and progression of technology in addition to being aware of current advancements. In my courses, students are introduced to various projects and products, and their effects on society and culture. Students are assigned research and writing projects to investigate and analyze the pros and cons of different inventions discussed in class. Other assignments include virtual conferences, reflective summaries to course materials, informal presentations, and design projects which follow the design thinking processes; research, brainstorm, sketch digitalize, feedback, revisions, submission.

  • Students from studio and seminar courses create e-portfolios to document their assignments over the course of the semester. The e-portfolio is 20% of the final grade in which students are being graded upon their collection of deliverables as well as design aesthetics and principles. 

  • Since February 2020, I have been teaching remotely; synchronous/asynchronous, using the BrightSpace learning management system. The shift from the face-to-face to the remote classroom required adjustments to my teaching methods and content. 

  • Flipping the classroom. Whereas, my face-to-face method of teaching focused on lectures using interactive slide presentations, software demonstrations, class discussions, and studio practice. For me, the remote space provided a great opportunity for flipping the classroom in which students are provided with course materials and assignments prior to the meeting. Since it limits the need to lecture during classtime, students are prepared to discuss and engage in class activities.

  • Community. Within the face-to-face classroom, students met regularly and formed relations among peers. The remote classroom provides a different experience for community and relationship building. One of the additions to my courses is the use of Slack messaging. Each course is set up with a channel where students have a platform to connect. Using Slack, students ask questions, share content, help each other, support, and encourage one another.

  • My goal as a professor is to introduce students to various software and applications when creating activities and assignments so that students become capable and comfortable with integrations. Below is a list of open-source software and applications that have been included in Design & Technology courses

  • Zoom

  • Google Meets

  • Slack

  • Zoom

  • Miro

  • Figma (WD, GD)

  • Venngage (GD)

  • Canva

  • Adobe CS

  • GroupMe

  • Google Drive

  • Google Sites

  • Tableau

  • Adobe Spark

  • Brightspace

Student Achievements

Lauren Nguyen and Briana Pace presented Koala Tea, a product design developed in the Advanced Graphic Design and Advertising ART 4010 course, at the Festival of Scholars 2019.

Lauren Nguyen presented, Solving the Flood Problem in New Orleans, at the Festival of Scholars 2019. The project was assigned in the Introduction to Graphic Design ART 2020 course during the 2018 fall semester. Students had been asked to design a product system as a solution to the city’s flood problem.

Lauren Nguyen graduated in spring 2019 and began an MFA program at LSU in fall 2019.

Briana Pace graduated in the spring of 2019 and has been working at Google.

Through the Center of Undergraduate Research, I worked with undergraduate, Adam Albrecht, Art ’17 who assisted me in a research project exploring Israeli design and Hebrew Typography. The grant provided Albrecht with the opportunity to travel to Israel where we interviewed several designers and had direct access to museum collections and historical archives. The research resulted in four articles reviewing the history of Hebrew script and modern Hebrew typography. Typography and The Evolution of Hebrew Alphabetic Script: Writing Method of the Sofer, Hebrew Typography: A Modern Progression of Language Forms and the Religious Texts of Eliyahu Koren, Visual Communication & Typography: Study in the History of Hebrew Letterforms and the Work of Israeli Designer, Yaakov Stark, Design Research: Typography Within the Israeli Linguistic Landscape. All four articles were submitted for publication and are available to the public on XULA creative commons and Academia.edu. In addition to the articles, the Hebrew typography research resulted in a series of drawings and digital compositions in which by using pencil, ruler, compass, and graph paper, hand-drawn patterns were formed through the repetition of Hebrew letterforms, and manipulated via digital processes.

Adam Albrecht is now located in London and works as a visual artist and designer.

Evaluations

Since 2015, I’ve received on average 4.75 out of 5 from students on the course and instructor evaluations.

Students

“Her collaborative assignments helped teach us how to work in groups. It also gave us insight into how companies use design.”

“She encourages us to use our own ideas, but helps to make them better.”

“Never a dull moment.”

“Her course allowed me to learn various marketing strategies and editing software which can help me towards reaching my goals.”

“She is always well prepared and has very interesting research topics for us to do projects on.”

“Her strengths were knowing random facts and information about the topics and being very considerate of students.”

“She is very open to new ideas and she is interactive with her students.”

“She likes what she does…. Very passionate.”

“She is very passionate about other cultures.”

“Communicates well with the class. She makes everyone feel welcome.” 

“Enthusiastic about the materials and encourages outside of the box thinking.”

“She is patient and tries to make sure students understand the materials.”

“She keeps class interesting and engaging.”

“She got me interested in a new field of design.”

“Her course allowed us to learn about marketing techniques that will be useful outside of this class. The course allowed us to learn about useful software that can be applied in other fields.”

“She is very reliable and understanding. She really knows the information.”

“Very fun, sweet, and reliable. Her teaching method is very efficient.”

“She helps students to learn how to work in teams and how to solve problems as a team.”

“She is passionate about what she teaches.”

Peer Review

“Very clear with questions and obviously prepared the students well for the update meeting; not a lot of hesitation when it came time for each group to present… Very clear and well-paced speech; never seemed rushed and tone was calming.”

“Gave a lot of relevant examples to help students expand their resources and research methods for the project.”

“Directly responded to student updates and questions with multiple examples and suggestions.”

“Very clear with instructions, whether for assignments or spontaneous advice (ex. How to send an email to a potential interviewee).”

“Took time to really relate with how students are feeling at the beginning of the class.”

Improvements and Professional Development

Working as a design practitioner requires me to stay current with design progress, trends, and software, and I find that I learn most on the job from colleagues, clients, and students. I share my experience as a designer with students and I teach students what I learn from the industry. To further improve as an educator of design, I attend courses and webinars, travel, and read extensively. I’ve also received certificates in design and innovation: User Experience and User Interface Design, American Graphics Institute, Boston, InnovNation: Breakthrough Technologies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, XULA Flex, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Applying the QM Rubric, Quality Matters.

 Service

University Service

  • Serve on the Academic Assembly Planning Committee

  • Chair of the Research Committee

  • Partnered with Dr. Karen Nichols to design the Pursuit of Innovation course for the Digital Humanities and Xavier XCOR. The course was submitted to the Academic Council and was voted upon before the COVID lockdown. The course has been added to the university handbook to be taught in fall 2021.

  • 2016-2017 I served as Head of the Department of Art. In the position, I was responsible for faculty/course scheduling, department strategic planning, faculty and staff evaluations, organizing assessment criteria for graduating Art majors, overseeing department budget, and advising students. In addition, I serve on the Academic Council and College Academic Assembly.

  • Created two courses for the university XCOR. XCOR 3020 Design and Technology in Global Culture was added to the university curriculum in the fall of 2018, and XCOR 1012 New Orleans Innovation Bootcamp in spring 2019.

Department Service

  • Organized student work from the Graphic Design ART 2020 course to present in the Ogden Virtual Exhibition.

  • Designed the Art 3020 Web Design & Development course which was approved by the academic council and added to the design program curriculum in spring 2016.

Community Service

  • Board member for the National Council of Jewish Women New Orleans Chapter. Organized a four-part webinar series on Anti-Semitism and designed marketing materials for the series and community events. 

  • Conduct training workshops for remote teaching to k-8 educators.

Copyright Shayna T. Blum 2019