Multimedia Arts & Technologies, MAT __Santa Barbara City College

Course Duration. Fall 26: 8/24/26 to 12/13/26
Online Section #44232
Hybrid Section #43927

The class will work on Canvas.
You can access Canvas by first logging into https://my.sbcc.edu/
with your pipeline user name and password.
Then look for the Canvas link on the vertical colun on your left, under the pipeline email link.
Once you get to Canvas you should see the name and section number of your class (among all other classes that you might be taking, each one as a little square block).
You should be able to click on our class and get to the homepage, where you will see the list of Modules with dates and activities, organized by weeks.

The course is organized my weekly-modules. Every week has a Content page on Canvas assigned to it.
If there is a reading that week, the content page will tell you about it, it will also show resources, links and explanations.
At the bottom of each content page, I have added the link to the lecture for that week on YouTube, recorded during class during the last 2 semesters. Please check it out.
The recorded Zoom meeting will act as a lecture. I will have some live-zoom meetings to help you guys with upcoming assignments. It will probably take place on week 1, 3, 6 and 8.

Class Description: Introduction to multimedia, including production processes, tools, techniques, trends and opportunities. Includes industry overview, societal issues, cultural implications, visual literacy and career opportunities.
(TR: CSU/UC)
*SKILLS ADVISORY: Eligibility for English 100, 103.

To take this class you should be able to read articles and essays and be able to construct your own thoughts around them, after we have talked about them in class.
DSPS students will work with accommodations for those readings.
Instead of writing papers, we will develop basic multimedia presentations, that use images and short pieces of text to present concepts and ideas.
There are no exams (there are some very simple Quizzes, just for you to remain active on the content).
The grade is based on Discussions, Assignments and Presentations.

This is not a hands-on class working with specific software. It is more of a "theory class", since we will work with ideas and information.
For different assignments, we will use diverse software (of your choice, since we are not specifically teaching software here).

We will use a graphic editor to crop/resize and compress images for a couple of assignments. Adobe Photoshop preferred. We will arrange access to the department's license so you can work with Photoshop at home. Remember that Adobe software does not run on Chomebooks.
The DAC_LAB is also available to work on those computers. It is generally open 10 to 5pm.

There is a page on Canvas (Top of the home page) that helps you go through the process of creating a free account with Adobe using your school email as a user name and download the software (as a trial version) to your computer.

If you wanted a more permanent solution, independent of classes, CollegeBuys has a cheaper subscription to the Adobe Cloud, that paying Adobe directly ($192 for a year as a student with Adobe directly). It is sponsored by the Foundation of California Community colleges.
https://store.collegebuys.org/product-category/adobe/

We will use a text editor to preview the text in your posts and write text content of your presentations. You can write directly on Canvas, (Copy your post before you submit, so you can save the text in case there is a problem after you click to submit in Canvas). You could work with Google docs or pages.

We will use a presentation software to put together our Midterm and Final presentations. Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint, a document saved as a PDF file or a Prezi file (free Cloud software that you work with over the Internet) will work as a software for presentations. All presentations have an important image component. You can find images over the web, or edit/ create them if you have some Photoshop skills.

There will be online tutoring available. The announcement and link will show up in the Announcements section of your class on Canvas. You will also get an email in Pipeline with the announcement-content. If you are new to canvas or to computer graphics, please show up for tutoring.

You CAN use AI to research and find more information about topics in this class. Remember that AI answers are not always right.

Using Gemini is actually better than using chat-GPT, because Gemini has an agreements with colleges and it does not share that information (Chat-GPT does).
You should NOT copy/paste text from an AI bot to a discussion ir assignment/project.

If I suspect that you are using AI directly in your post, I will deduce half or all the points (case by case). The one participating is AI, not you.
If I suspect that a report/assignment has been created with AI, I will do an oral test, either in class or over Zoom for you, beause I have to assume that you only used your brain for copy/pasting the first time around, and that does not show that you have learned anything new or that you will be able to use this material, later, in your professional life.

Lately, some students are doing image-mock ups and presentations using AI. When in doubt about using AI for graphics, please consult with me first.

Upon Successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Define multimedia and be able to use multimedia terminology.

2. Identify occupations/career paths in multimedia.

3. Identify hardware and software technologies used to create multimedia products.

4. Identify and describe steps involved in designing and producing a multimedia project,
---from story-boarding to formative evaluation.

5. Articulate the aesthetics and principles of multimedia, related to its functionality.

6. Use a functional file-management system in your projects.

Course
SLOs

SLO 1 - MEDIA PRESENTAT - Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to Make short media-presentations combining visuals and text that shows a basic understanding of the theme, basic graphic composition and visual display, referred to a chosen topic in Electronic Media theory.

SLO 2 - MEDIA TERMINOLOGY. Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to use media terminology, basic technical, visual and project-development concepts to comment and dialog on current media production and its social implications.

This course has a theory component. We will complete seven readings covering different aspects of multimedia.

There is a Reader containing those chapters, available in the bookstore for purchase. The text has been underlined and notated by your instructor.

I will also offer links to those texts at Ebookcentral, so you can access the text material online. I am not very happy with how those pages look (small pages with large text) but it can work if you prefer to follow online text or you don't have the reader. You can underline and annotate the Ecopy.

In most cases I have also created a PDF and a Photoshop (.psd) version, so you can follow the text with my undrelining and highlighting.

http://soma.sbcc.edu/users/ajarabo/intro_Multimedia/Multimedia_bibliography.htm

http://soma.sbcc.edu/users/ajarabo/intro_Multimedia/Chapters_reader.htm

http://soma.sbcc.edu/users/ajarabo/intro_Multimedia/Class_schedule.htm

You may find these texts challenging. This is normal. You will need to read them several times and highlight them with at least three different colors.
An example of successful highlighting could be: terminology in yellow, concepts that you don't understand in blue, words that you need to look up in the dictionary in orange (then write down the definition on the side of the page).

The purpose of highlighting is that you differentiate different types of content in the text and make marks that will allow you to quickly come back to these points.
I highly recommend that you make clear side comment/diagrams on the page borders.

In the discussion groups in Canvas you will be asked about different points covered that week. They could e related to the assigned text, to technical concepts in Computer Graphics explained in class or about media examples presented that week. Discussions are very important in this class: they measure participation, are done in Canvas, and they are only open for the current week (plus Monday of the next week to help for unforseen circumstances).   

I will provide you with content pages that will help break down the content of each week. At the bottom of each content page you will find the recorded lecture session from past semesters. When there are several, I unclude a comment or stamp of when certain topics are covered. Consult this material towards Discussions and Projects.

I will arrange Zoom meetings, specially before an important project is due. I am sending an email to see when could be the best time on Mondays.

We will work around the readings to assimilate fundamental concepts in multimedia.
Discussion groups and Quizzes will help you reflect on the text's content and give you points towards your final grade.

You will also put together several assignments throughout the course. These will prepare you with the necessary skills to put together your 2 research/presentation projects: a Mid-Term and a Final project.

Your research projects will be delivered as multimedia presentations, combining images and text.
A multimedia presentation is very different from a paper with pictures.

Your text in the presentation should be clear, short and specific; something that you can quickly read on a screen.
As for the images, you can create your own images in Photoshop, or appropriate images from the internet if you don't know how to process or compress digital images.
Your images should be around 800x600 pixels to 1920X1080 pixels for an image that covers the whole screen.
They should always be compressed as .jpg or .gif so your file size doesn't get out of hand. We will practice image compression in class (week 3).

You can see links to examples of successful previous research projects on the help website for this class.
http://soma.sbcc.edu/users/ajarabo/intro_Multimedia/introMultimedia_links.htm

Make sure that you keep a copy of all your work in your local computer. You can use the GOOGLE DRIVE associated to your school Gmail account (somebody@pipeline.sbcc.edu) to organize and store your files.
Files stored in your google-drive can be reached by you from any device where you can run a web browser. They can also be shared wuth me, by adding my email through the Share button in the file. aijarabo@pipeline.sbcc.edu
You can also use a USB thumb drive to store a safe copy of your files. Please make sure you have copies of your work. Save different versions of a project if necessary

You need to keep track of your work, organizing files within folders of similar media types, inside project folders.
You need to use clear, short names.
_Always begin your assignment file-name with your name, or assignment number and then your name.
_Get used to use underscores instead of spaces in your file-names (ex. alejandra_picture1.jpg, alenjandra_picture2.jpg). File extensions (.jpg in the previoius case) are very important when you have to upload files to a server.

File Management (file-names and formats) will be graded and it is a requisite to pass this class.
Please ask me about those issues if you dont completely understand them.

School Calendar
Last day to add or drop, and receive a refund: September 5 with refund.
Last day to withdraw from classes without a letter grade Class withdrawal) : October 23
Last day to switch to Pass/ No pass (you will not get a letter grade): December 4
Last day of instruction:December 5

ccommodations for Students with Disabilities:
Disability Services and Programs for Students (DSPS) coordinates all academic accommodations for students with documented disabilities at Santa Barbara City College. If you have or think you might have a disability that impacts your educational experience in this class, contact DSPS to determine your eligibility for accommodations. DSPS can be reached by phone or email. The phone number is 805-730-4164 or send email to dsps@sbcc.edu.
If you have already registered with DSPS, please submit your accommodation requests via the ‘DSPS Online Services Student Portal’ as soon as possible. This needs to be done each semester. If you have any questions or concerns about your accommodations, make an appointment with a DSPS Counselor. Complete this process in a timely manner to allow adequate time to provide accommodations.

Health services:
Student Health Services offers Medical, Mental Health, and Wellness Services to for-credit students. “The Clinic” provides Medical and Mental Health Counseling Services which are free and confidential. “The WELL” provides a calming environment and offers a diverse range of health and wellness workshops.
For more information or to make an appointment: Call us at: (805) 730-4098, or Visit us at: The Clinic- Student Services 170 or The WELL- ECC 21, across from the Basic Needs Center.

Student Health Services ofrece servicios médicos, de salud mental y de bienestar a estudiantes que reciben créditos. “La Clínica” brinda servicios de asesoramiento médico y de salud mental que son gratuitos y confidenciales. “The WELL” brinda un ambiente relajante y ofrece una amplia gama de talleres de salud y bienestar.
Para obtener más información o programar una cita: Llámenos al: (805) 730-4098, o visítenos en: “The Clinic”- Servicios Estudiantiles 170 o “The WELL”-ECC 21, frente al Centro de Necesidades Básicas.