Dr Megan Heyward, Teaching and Learning in Media Arts and Production at UTS:FASS
Transcript:
What do you like best about teaching at UTS?
There are a lot of things to like, actually. First of all, because I teach digital media and media arts, those areas are changing all the time, in particular digital media and technology. You’re always being kept on your toes, once you get comfortable in one area, a new technology, a new software, a new application comes along to change everything. That means that you’re always regenerating what you do. One of the other things that’s great is that there’s such a practice oriented approach to teaching here at UTS and there’s solid ties with industry. I’m a digital practitioner, a media artist as well, I make work, I make digital work, I distribute digital work in the app store. That kind of approach, where you have practitioners teaching students and being able to bring that kind of very authentic and professional approach to teaching and to the work that students develop, I think is actually really beneficial and great from both a teaching and learning perspective.
How do students benefit from your innovations in teaching and learning?
Students feel much more ready to enter the real world. They feel as if they’ve built something. They feel as if they have something to show, something that they can add to their portfolio. But they’ve also gained those collaboration skills where you’re actually working on a project, you’re working to a tight deadline, and you actually produce something in that timeframe. A lot of students find it very beneficial in terms of professional readiness and many have gone on to work in digital industries. We’ve also had projects winning national awards or being shortlisted for UTS awards.
