New Media teleconferences
Version 1.0
This page offers information on selected teleconferences offered by the University of Maine's New Media program.
Bots, Ballots, and You
Town Hall on AI and the Future of Democracy
10 May 2024
Topics discussed
New Media professor Jon Ippolito leads a workshop for the 2024 Maine Town Meeting with Michael Socolow on the impact AI could have on future elections.
Five ways AI threatens elections
Proposed solutions and their failure points
The problem with AI jargon
Appropriate uses of AI
AI's use of citizen data
How deepfakes are generated
Digital Curation in the Shadow of AI
Public webinar
16 April 2024
Topics discussed
This presentation features digital trailblazer and Whitney Curator of Digital Art Christiane Paul on how artists explore the boundaries and blindspots of artificial intelligence.
Definition and history of AI art
Harold Cohen and the birth of AI art
Other landmarks in history of AI art
Audience questions about AI aesthetics, sustainability, and preservation
AI's Impact on 3d Games and Virtual Environments
Guest presentation
15 November 2023
Topics discussed
Dartmouth XR guru and New Media alumnus John Bell explains how generative AI is revolutionizing immersive media, from animation to games to augmented and virtual reality. This talk includes cutting-edge demos that reveal the technical possibilities and ethical risks of these transformed 3d applications.
The vocabulary of immersive media
XR in teaching and research
Generative AI and related terms
Democratizing character design
Democratizing character animation
Democratizing environment creation
Unprecedented 3d applications possible with AI
Live demo of AI-generated 3d models
Q&A on AI-Generated Media
Guest presentation
1 November 2023
Topics discussed
In this question-and-answer session with AI artist and critic Eryk Salvaggio, New Media students seek up-to-date answers on pressing aesthetic, legal, and technological issues regarding AI-generated media.
Precursors to today's image generators
Diffusion models
Malicious uses of AI
Recent and future AI progress
AI plagiarism and profit
Harnessing AI for Education: When Is It Appropriate?
Public webinar
31 August 2023
Topics discussed
This presentation from UMaine AI features New Media professor Jon Ippolito and Husson professor and IEEE chair Julia Upton.
What are appropriate uses of AI in the classroom?
Can generative AI be creative?
Which tasks are appropriate for large language models?
The trade-off between creativity and trust
Demos of ChatGPT in the classroom
Re-evaluating appropriate uses of AI
Making Images with AI
Public webinar
26 April 2023
Topics discussed
This New Media workshop demos a handful of these tools and entertains a discussion about how they might change art education as well as work prospects for creative professionals.
Presenter Aaron Boothroyd
DALLE
Midjourney
Stable Diffusion
Moving images
New roles for actors, designers, and filmmakers
Effect on existing jobs
The Generative Workplace
Public webinar
20 April 2023
Topics discussed
This New Media workshop offers reports from working professionals on ways that ChatGPT and Midjourney are having an impact today on business, software, and art.
Introduction: how will generative AI change work?
Advantages for business
Problems for business
Learning more
Generative or derivative?
Strengths and limits of large language models
Effect on journalism, healthcare, and trust
Implications for creators
Rights, responsibilities, and future solutions
Advice for current students
AI in the Classroom
Public webinar
4 April 2023
Topics discussed
This New Media workshop from 4 April 2023 showed how generative AI like ChatGPT works and why it raises so many pedagogical and ethical questions. The presenters also introduced UMaine's Learning With AI initiative, including resources and a toolkit to help teachers and learners
transition to this brave new world.
Banishing the technology
Replacing tasks with AI
Collaborating with AI
Broader implications for education
Ethics
New Media Careers in 2022
Public webinar
20 January 2022
Topics discussed
This New Media workshop features alumni working in the tech industry sharing possible career paths for graduates with a new media degree as well as advice for navigating life after graduation.
Building a thriving startup in Maine
Designing user experiences in healthcare
Student questions: preparing for jobs, crafting a portfolio
Building a mobile education app for kids
Starting a company that makes virtual instruments (and getting a Ph.D)
Student questions: depth v. breadth, making connections, and risk
NFTs: Myth and Reality
Public webinar
25 May 2021
Topics discussed
This workshop helps make sense of the craze over Non-Fungible Tokens—crypto-tokens that have helped some digital artists sell their work for thousands and even millions of dollars.
NFT myths and realities
How to make an NFT
Likely outcomes for an NFT artist
Discover New Media Careers (2021)
Public webinar
28 January 2021
Topics discussed
This New Media workshop from 28 January 2021 featured alumni working in the tech industry sharing possible career paths for graduates with a new media degree as well as advice for navigating life after graduation.
User Experience (UX) design
Being good at what you do
Getting into specific job interviews
Interviewing well for a specific job
Doing well at a specific job
Questions about applying for jobs
Web development and design
Questions about today's work environment
Code a Responsive Website
Public webinar
17 April 2020
Topics discussed
This workshop on 6 December 2021 focused on creating a web page that looks good on desktop and mobile devices. Now that 70% of web browsing is mobile, it's critical that websites work on phone-sized screens as well as 4K monitors.
This hands-on webinar walks participants through applying a powerful open standard called CSS grid that makes it easy to build responsive web pages. The beauty of CSS grid is that it allows designers to code visually, arranging descriptive words to build complex layouts that scale gracefully between large and small screens.
Tools for responsive design
A fluid layout with CSS grid
Changing the layout for small screens
Code a Mobile App
Public webinar
8 December 2020
Topics discussed
This New Media workshop from 8 December 2020 walks participants through the creation of a cross-platform app in the form of a scavenger hunt. This app could be used to motivate students to find items of interest in a physical location (a nearby park) or online site (a museum website).
The different ways to make a mobile app
Anatomy of a React Native app
Viewing your mobile app in real time
Understanding React Native components
Styling your app
Learning more
How to network for a job
Private webinar for New Media Majors
April 2019
Topics discussed
New Media alumnus and user experience designer Hong Yi Dong offers simple tips you can apply to network for a job after you graduate.
How hiring works in tech companies.
How to advertise yourself if you don't have professional connections.
How to cold-call/email hiring managers.
Using "2nd-degree" connections on LinkedIn.
Success rates for networked v. cold applications.
Specific things you can before you graduate
How to feel better about networking.
When should you use LinkedIn?
Working with close contacts or their connections.
How to get over shyness.
How much time should you devote to each job application?
How to act in an interview.