Teaching

Expansive and unpredictable, the artistic practice requires students to understand who they are, what they want to say, and why. Therein lies the challenge: Producing complex and sophisticated work that is a clear reflection of the student’s personal voice requires a combination of technical skill-building, risk-taking, research, and, above all, courage of conviction. In the classroom, I work with students to develop this unique combination of hard and soft skills to hone their personal voices, to critically evaluate the history of various emerging media disciplines, and to create compelling work. Bridging my background in technology and emerging media with my lived experience as a caregiver, I encourage in the classroom an attention to software and softness — to the ways digital media and technology intersect with the vulnerabilities of lived experience.

As an educator, I have given talks and workshops at Columbia University, Bard College, New York University ITP Camp, and LRLX NY. From 2019 to 2022, I was a full-time Faculty member teaching and designing the Emerging Media program at Choate Rosemary Hall. There, I taught and wrote the curricula for Game Design, Filmmaking I & II, Digital Design, and Photography I & II. I also managed and oversaw the expansion of the PMAC Digital Labs with the purchasing of new equipment and materials—including DSLR cameras, light kits, HD projectors, and projection mapping software—and the development of three collaborative media studios.

I currently teach at the Parsons School of Design, The New School.

Smita Sen (standing) offering a 3D modeling class to students at NYU ITP Camp (2018) as an Instigator Fellow.

Filmmaking I students on a location scout, using cinematography to make familiar spaces on campus seem alien and strange (2019).

Labs and project-based learning

Like many other educators, I believe that some of the most transformative learning experiences take place in a classroom that is interdisciplinary, project-based, and grounded in a supportive and safe community. In the Emerging Media courses I teach, projects range from linear storytelling, like filmmaking, to interactive storytelling in game design and interactive installation design. In every subject, interdisciplinary materials pave the way for students to continuously expand their ideas of where connections can be made.

building an inclusive classroom

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral to creating a warm and collaborative classroom community and, in many ways, are foundational to my pedagogical approach. As an educator, I strive to empower students not only by celebrating their distinct identities, but also by building community that reinforces inclusive learning. In the material itself, I strive to develop course curricula that provide a global, decolonized, and circumspect understanding of media history. While developing new work, students learn to contextualize and to critically evaluate the ideologies, socioeconomic forces, and historical movements that have shaped art-making and media industries globally.

Students exploring an interactive installation created as a final project for Digital Media Design I at Choate (2019).

A viewer looks at my students’ Photography work featured in the Paul Mellon Arts Center gallery as part of the Fall exhibition at Choate (2019).

Long-Term Thesis Advising

While at Choate, I co-advised the Arts Concentration program. Within that program, I advised 12 Arts Concentration students with multi-year project development; 3 Special Projects (projects by independent students who propose a short-term thesis work), and 2 Capstone (Senior Thesis) projects. The gift of long-term thesis advising lies in the ongoing dialogue between mentors and mentees. At times, it feels profound — we are supporting students through difficult questions about art, theory, and life, working with them to navigate challenges, and gradually seeing their ideas blossom.

selected courses //

In this list are some of the courses I have taught over the years, many of which I designed. Listed with each course are the class learning objectives; the materials and skills covered; and the institution that supported its development. Click on the thumbnail to read the course description.

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