This document is intended a starting point for your partnership: Community Based Capstone: Getting Started

Partnerships are described below:

Community Engaged Capstone 1: Adirondack Lake Association Media Toolkit

Community Partner: Blake Neuman, Adirondack Council

Overview of Proposed Activities: While there are many resources available from NYS for lake ecology and management, there is little interest from the public. In the Adirondack Park, seasonal landowners tend to make the entirety of Lake Associations members with little involvement from non-landowners, youth and year-round residents. The goal of this partnership is to create a strong relationship between the health of the ecological community, and the community of people who both enjoy the region and live there year-round.  Lake Associations will benefit from renewed interest and more diverse membership.

In the fall semester, a group of capstone students will be working with Blake Neuman and our test case, the Raquette Lake Association to design a Lake Association Media Toolkit.  Lake Associations must create and share media content (like images, videos, written content, and podcasts) with its audience. Publishing new media is how you boost brand awareness, engagements, conversions, and revive membership and discussions. In the fall, our capstone group will design and plan a Lake Association Media Toolkit for implementation in the Spring.

Learning Objectives:

The main objective of a capstone course is to enable the students to integrate the knowledge they have gained because of pursuing a digital media studies degree. This capstone enables students to integrate the skills and concepts learned in coursework and apply it to a real-world scenario. The Lake Association Media Toolkit capstone is designed for students who have combined DMS, business, design and the environmental humanities.

Community Engaged Capstone 2: RCDS Middle School Media Center

Community Partner: Deb Ortenzi, Northwest Middle School Librarian

Overview of Proposed Activities:  This Digital Media Studies capstone group will design a digital media center for middle school kids at the Northwest Middle School in the RCSD. Working with mentor Deb Ortenzi, Northwest Middle School Librarian, this group of students will design a media center with her team of students and faculty. This capstone groups will use the human centered design process, conduct interviews, and do user testing to design and implement a media center at an RCSD middle school. This media center will be designed to offer personalized learning opportunities, provide technical support, offer flexibility, provide hands on learning, and increase resources to RCSD to help bridge the digital divide. The media center will also be designed to support social and emotional learning, decompression, and stress relief. This capstone group will focus on the design and prototype of the space in the Fall.

Learning Objectives:

The main objective of a capstone course is to enable the students to integrate the knowledge they have gained because of pursuing a digital media studies degree. This capstone enables students to integrate the skills and concepts learned in coursework and apply it to a real-world scenario. The Middle School Media Center Design and Development is aimed at students who are interested in the intersection of DMS and education or DMS and design.

Community Engaged Capstone 3: UR Health Lab

Community Partner: UR Health Lab, Meghan Plate

Overview of Proposed Activities: The UR Health Lab, located in the University of Rochester Medical Center, is a multidisciplinary collective that aims to transform healthcare and drive change via technology and strategy. Often reaching across traditional disciplines, the UR Health Lab brings together the teams, expertise, and resources needed to develop precision medicine that improves the lives of all involved. Within the Lab, clinicians and researchers work alongside data analysts, computer scientists, engineers, business professionals, and YOU!

Throughout the capstone experience, the group will utilize different platforms and technologies to showcase current projects and relationships. The team will also develop a strategy for dissemination, both within UR/URMC and beyond, to support partner and learner recruitment for future collaborations.

Learning Objectives: The main objective of a capstone course is to enable the students to integrate the knowledge they have gained because of pursuing a digital media studies degree. This capstone requires students to enter this year long project with an open mind and the knowledge that they will be part of an even bigger collaborative team. The UR Health Lab Visibility and Recruitment capstone is a great fit for students who want to explore the intersection of healthcare, technology, business, and innovation.