XtremeLabs is excited to feature Christine Marsh – who wears many hats as a university instructor, media producer, director, editor, XR & virtual production consultant, and marketing consultant –  as a panelist in our upcoming webinar – Technology Learning for the Academic Community.

Panelist Spotlight

As an educator for over 20 years, Christine Marsh has taught a wide range of classes and custom training sessions for colleges, professional development centers, and private clients on graphic design, web design & development, 508 compliance, marketing, interactive media, video editing, animation, motion graphics, 3D modeling & animation, virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), pre-production skills, and video production techniques. She will be publishing her first textbook on video editing with Adobe Premiere Pro later this year.

As a producer, director, editor, animator, and studio owner at Via Reach, Ms. Marsh has created a variety of media projects for TV, short and feature-length films and documentaries, promotional videos, and educational content. Ms. Marsh has also developed immersive and interactive media projects for both government and private sector clients, including exhibits for the Arizona Historical Society Museum, a visitors’ guide for the Mesa, Arizona Convention & Visitors Bureau, and an “Internet of Things” (IoT) project for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Panelist Interview

1. Where do you teach, and what do you teach? How did you land in this field?

I currently teach at Bowie State University and Anne Arundel Community College and have recently taught at Howard Community College and Maryland Institute College of Art. I also teach professional development courses through my own company and other training companies. like XtremeLabs. I teach mostly media production, design, and immersive technologies, though I am often called on to teach business productivity programs like Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Project.

2. What inspired you to become a professor? Can you tell us about your career path?

I enjoy the design and media production work that I do and enthusiastically share these skills with others so that they can have a career doing work that they love as well. Even with the business productivity courses that I teach, I enjoy the time that these tools save in the running of my studio and the connection with other tools that I use in my work, so I’m happy to share those time-saving techniques, too.

3. Why is it important to have technology subjects in college and universities?

It’s very important for the next generation to be competitive with the new skills and techniques that the market requires and can help give them an edge to access jobs that might normally be closed to them as new college graduates.

4. Can you tell us about the background of the students that you teach?

At the HBCU that I teach for, most of the students are college-aged, 18-24 year-olds, and are just starting to find their career path, while others in my professional development courses are mid-career creative professionals that are changing their focus to film, animation, XR and game design.

5. How are your students like professionals already at work? How are they different? How does your teaching method accommodate younger or less experienced learners?

My mid-career students are working professionals and generally know where they want to go on their new path. My college students are looking for more guidance as to which path is right for them and are looking to sample a bit from many potential industries.

6. What kind of tools and technologies do you use in the classroom? What do your colleagues use? (For example, labs from XtremeLabs, or specific LMS platforms.)

I’m using Zoom for my professional development courses and my college classes, but the university also uses Blackboard as an LMS and the community colleges use Canvas as their LMS.

Thank you, Christine! Register for our webinar next week to hear more from Christine and other panelists!