Teaching

Teaching Experience

The University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

2017-Present

Adjunct Faculty
Judy Genshaft Honors College, and School of Art and Art History
2018 - Current

  • Created film courses focused on reflecting and exploring how images and sounds construct social memories and actualities, emphasizing communication, critical and analytical thinking, as well as problem-solving skills.
  • Engaged students to understand the importance of the creative and production process in animation, documentary, fictional, and art filmmaking while emphasizing concept development related to diversity, social justice, community engagement, and production stages.
  • Developed courses and syllabi, defined contents, objectives, outcomes, lectures, assignments, projects, lesson plans, handouts, tutorials, and rubrics.

Visiting Instructor (full-time faculty)
School of Art and Art History
2019

  • Created film courses focused on critical thinking exploring how images and sounds build and reflect cultural perceptions.
  • Engaged students in understanding the importance of the creative and production process in animation, documentary, fictional, and art filmmaking while emphasizing concept development and production stages.
  • Developed and adapted syllabus defining contents, objectives, outcomes, lectures, assignments, projects, lesson plans, handouts, tutorials, and rubrics.

Organizer and Curator of VADA 2018 Annual Juried Exhibition
School of Art and Art History
2018

  • Engaged students in an art exhibition experience and explored its importance for their artistic careers.
  • Together with Visitor Instructor Desire Moore, M.F.A. curated VADA (Video, Animation, and Digital Arts) students' work and organized the exhibition.

Facilitator
Undergraduate Research and Art Colloquium, U.S.F., Tampa, FL
2017

  • Gave critical feedback to students' research and presentation skills to inspire them to grow as researchers.
  • Evaluated students' research and presentation skills.

Courses Taught at The University of South Florida

  • Stop Motion Animation (Honors College).
  • Visual Narratives (Honors College).
  • Creator, Images, and Sounds (Honors Collage).
  • Visual Narratives, Tampa Stories, and History (Honors Thesis).
  • Stop Motion Animation (School of Art and Art History).
  • Beginning Video, Animation and Digital Art (School of Art and Art History)
  • Visual Storytelling/Storyboarding (School of Art and Art History)

Art Institute of Tampa, Tampa, FL

2006 - 2011

Full-Time Instructor

  • Engaged students in understanding the importance of the creative and production process in animation and filmmaking, emphasizing concept development and production stages.
  • Developed syllabi based on course descriptions and defined contents, objectives, outcomes, lectures, assignments, projects, lesson plans, handouts, tutorials, and rubrics.

Courses Taught at The Art Institute of Tampa

  • 3D Computer Modeling I.
  • Introduction to 3D Computer Animation.
  • Low Poly and Animation.
  • Animation I – Performance (3D Computer Animation).
  • Animation II – Expressions and Lip Synch (3D Computer Animation).
  • Fundamentals of Animation (Stop-Motion Animation).
  • Image Manipulation (Photoshop).
  • Matte, Masks, and Masks.
  • Advanced Digital Compositing (Green screen).
  • Motion Graphics II.
  • Motion Graphics I.
  • Interactive Motion Graphics.
  • Digital Compositing Motion Graphics with After Effects.
  • Film Production Studio.
  • Film Production.
  • Desktop Video.
  • Cinematic Techniques I – Editing Studio (Film class).
  • Portfolio Design I.
  • Portfolio Design II.
  • DVD Authoring.
  • Advanced Editing (Film class).
  • Survey of Media and Design.
  • Lighting (Film class).
  • Demo Reel Research.
  • Demo Reel Presentation.
  • Performance and Story Development.

Student Testimonials

Visual Narratives Student 4

"Not only talking about the final documentary but the class in general has taught me so many new things that I have found very interesting. I can now go to the movies and better appreciate different aspects that I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't take this class and that can make movies more enjoyable for me. Also, through this class I learned how to use different editing software's and different recording software's which could be useful to me one day. This is because in the world of business if I have to make a video to show something off to a client or potential customer then I will have a better understanding of how to do it. So many different skills in this class can be transferred to the outside world especially within my field. I'm also very glad by the topic that we choose because, it is so easy to not think about what other people around the world go through for school and how difficult it is for them to get through school and make it to where they are today. I always thought that In the US we had it very hard when it came to school and standardized testing, but learning about how other countries have it, I realize how shortsighted I have been. It's just an eye-opening experience and it makes me intrigued to learn more about the rest of the world in a different way. It makes me want to travel and go see how these other students live and see if I could handle the pressure that some of these students are put under. I think that our documentary turned out really well and can bring forth emotion from the viewers in many ways. I'm very thankful that I took this class as I think that the experiences in it will help me later in life." Student

Visual Narratives Student 3

"Reflecting back at the entire documentary making process and the class in general, I believe I have not just learned a lot of new concepts, but also, had a lot of fun doing so. After finishing the film, making it through all the obstacles and with all the hard work we put in, it gave me a great sense of accomplishment to finally see it completed. Getting feedback from our professor at every step was very crucial and helpful and allowed us to continuously improve our film and make it refined till the time of final submission. Furthermore, knowing that the band also absolutely loved the way we got their ideas and feeling across through this film was another recognition for the work we did. Overall, I felt that having a vision right at the start and then doing all the step by step work to make it real was truly an extremely rewarding, challenging and exciting process." Student

Visual Narratives Student 2

"To conclude, I really appreciate the knowledge I have gained from making a documentary. I think this knowledge is super important for storytelling. It is a skill to be able to take many different clips and put them together to form a story that is engaging. It's like a jigsaw puzzle. Storytelling is a powerful method of sharing important information to a large group of people, and a documentary is a popular form of storytelling. Learning in class about how each part of the composition, editing, and overall documentary was an integral part of this successful project was very interesting. One aspect of class I especially appreciate is the group work because I think the collaboration made the final product even better.

This overall documentary experience was rewarding in every way. Through researching the topic of immigration before the interview, I learned a lot about the struggles of this process. I didn't realize how long it all can take. I am close to a few people who are from different countries, but I haven't experienced this issue myself. From making the documentary, I enjoyed hearing the first-hand experiences that I was lacking. This made me feel more knowledgeable on the topic. It also made me feel more of a connection to this issue.

Overall, my views on immigration have changed for the better. I feel more informed overall, which I think is extremely important considering its prevalence worldwide. Initially, I didn't really consider all the struggles that accompany legal immigration. I only thought about illegal immigration in this way. These interviews opened my eyes to some major issues with our country and gave me more compassion for the people who go through this."