It's been a while since the initial individual conversations were recorded for this podcast and so I brought the crew together for a round table discussion exploring where we were now in relation to digital literacy, hybrid learning, and other creativey things.

Welcome back to part 2 of Judy Wood’s conversation. We left off discussing how to create a safe space for the students during a time where it’s so easy to turn your camera and disconnect. We’ll pick up with what we’ve done to make our students feel included and present and continue our conversation from there.

The only way to continue learning during the pandemic was to move online. Judy Wood actually didn’t struggle in designing her online courses due to her background as an instructional designer. She was quick with it. But not everyone had an easy time. People must be digitally illiterate. Was it really true that some Gen Z students didn’t know how to use digital programs and didn’t know how to copy and paste? Was transitioning to online a blessing instead rather than an unfortunate cause due to getting to know how to exceed with online communications and new developing technologies? Did everyone become somewhat antisocial and still stuck on their digital phones after the pandemic or will people communicate to each other and be the same going back to in person?

Judy Wood is a digital arts designer and educator with a Masters in Learning and Technology and a passion for all things creative. She teaches at Humber College in Toronto, Canada and is an Adobe Education Leader.

Welcome back to part 2 of RJ Thompson’s discussion. We continue to talk about digital literacy within students, but also within faculty and staff within RJ’s and John’s universities, and how they have been affected by the shift the pandemic had caused.  

People lost motivation and became monotoned on zoom? Low self esteem? Students had trouble using programs to adapt online classes? Did we have to change what we’re used to before? You can get a degree online and is it valid in today’s society? How useful is design actually in life? The pandemic was a nightmare to most people, but to RJ Thompson, it wasn’t actually so bad. He’s been successful throughout that time. He was also super into art and design when he was just 11 years old.

In this podcast, he tells us how he turned his passion into his job, how he survived the pandemic, and tips on how to help students adapt to being online.

RJ Thompson, MFA is an award-winning marketing and graphic design professional. Currently, RJ is the Director of Digital Marketing in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh.

Outside of marketing, design, and teaching, RJ is also the Co-Principal and Creative Strategist for +Public, a Pennsylvania-based social enterprise that focuses on cultivating community and economic development impact through the creation of branded communication platforms, creative place-making, and storytelling initiatives for communities-in-revival.

In this episode we talk about comic books, digital literacy inside and outside the educational space.

Welcome back to part 2 of Abby Guido’s conversation. We ended talking about how lucky we were to have the technology as advanced as it is when the pandemic started because as Abby said, “if it was 5 years before, we probably would not have been able to do what we were able to do.” Keep listening to find out where the conversation takes us from there.

2 weeks off from school turns into 2 years. What have we learned? How did we adapt? We can never get rid of education so zoom saved us around these tough times. But did students use it as an advantage? Students had to learn how to learn. The pandemic forced us to learn quickly.

Were students struggling with how to use technologies? How did students cope through learning online? Were friends and family caught doing weird things while in a zoom class? Was zoom really that bad and were there any benefits to it? Was it possible for people all over the globe to work together on the same project?

Listen to Abby Guido's A Leap in the Dark with John Delacruz to find out!

Abby Guido is a communication designer, educator, and podcast host, whose research examines the process of implementing graphic design principles through a human-centered design approach. Design collaboration and leadership are also of particular interest, explored through Guido’s podcast, Design Together. Additionally, her research probes how both advances in technology and deeper empathy for others can disrupt the industry and change the landscape of teaching graphic design.

When not teaching, Guido spends time creating work for Abby Ryan Design, a design studio she founded that focuses on research, branding, publishing, user experience and user interface designs. Notable clients include Nancy Silverton, American Translators Association, University of Pennsylvania, and Research for Action.

Guido is one of the founders of PhillyRow, a research collaboration studying the unique aspects of the Philadelphia rowhouse. This creative endeavor has produced various rowhouse themed collateral including a series of screen printed infographic posters featuring distinctive styles of rowhomes. Currently, PhillyRow is working on producing a mobile app to help Philadelphia rowhome owners maintain and manage their homes.

Guido was also appointed an Adobe Education Leader, connecting her with over 350 educators across the globe.

Abby Guido is a communication designer, educator, and podcast host, whose research examines the process of implementing graphic design principles through a human-centered design approach. Design collaboration and leadership are also of particular interest, explored through Guido’s podcast, Design Together.

Additionally, her research probes how both advances in technology and deeper empathy for others can disrupt the industry and change the landscape of teaching graphic design. When not teaching, Guido spends time creating work for Abby Ryan Design, a design studio she founded that focuses on research, branding, publishing, user experience and user interface designs.

This is not an episode as such, not really. It's an introduction to the idea behind the podcast. It kinda explains what this is all about.