Conference Program

New Orleans Regional NMC Conference at Tulane

NMC Regional Conferences are a one-of-a-kind event, each very much a reflection of the host institution. In fall 2007, the NMC will be in New Orleans for a very special regional event to be held on the campus of Tulane University and hosted by Technology Services.

Conference Theme

The theme of the NMC’s series of regional conferences has traditionally been “New Challenges … New Ideas” and in past years that has always been interpreted as the challenges we face with new media — its applications and uses, helping campuses stay innovative — and the regional conferences have always showcased best practices in response to these challenges.

This year, the challenges still faced by the citizens of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina provide a backdrop to the regional conference that redefines every aspect of that theme. In a city known for its art and culture, the myriad stories of New Orleans’s courage and rebirth in the face of crisis have drawn deeply from the well of new media. These stories will be woven through the conference like threads in a tapestry, as we examine the role of new media in community.

Instead of looking at how to meet the challenges we face with new media, we will look to how new media has become a tool that not only has helped communities meet unprecedented challenges, but indeed one that allows those compelling stories to be broadly told, in ways that serve to inform, enrich, and strengthen those communities. Our colelctive exploration will focus around these three areas:

• Art, Music, and New Media: New technologies offer us not only new ways to work and to learn, but also new ways to create. This track will explore some of the unique modes of expression made possible by new media, the methods and tools of their creation, and the cultural implications of these intersections between art, music and technology. The impact of these developments on scholarship and discussions around new creative works in these areas are especially encouraged in this track.
• New Media and the Community Voice: As just one example, the impact of bloggers reporting from New Orleans in the days following Katrina has arguably changed the face of news coverage forever. This track will showcase what's new and different about today's digital technologies and how individuals and communities around the world are using them to address social issues and to build community.
• Digital Stories - The Power of One: Digital storytelling has never been more accessible, and the explosion of videos on YouTube and similar venues illustrates how important the idea of digital storytelling has become in today’s culture. This track will not only encourage sessions that cover the art and mechanics of digital storytelling, but will also provide a showcase for the ways in which digital storytelling is impacting teaching and learning.

Preliminary Conference Schedule

See below the attached PDF for the conference program.