Featured Courses
We offer a range of core BMPD courses in the elements of non-fiction storytelling and online design.
We also offer optional elective courses you can take with Bachelor of Journalism students over the four years of your program.
Here are some of the highlights.
Please note: your core courses have the designation MPAD (Media Production and Design) and your related design courses have the designation ITEC (Information Technology).
MPAD 1001 and 1002 – Introduction to Storytelling: The Context and the Practice
You will explore the theories and historical origins of stories an dhow they are conceived through words, sound and images to resonate with and influence audiences. Then you move to a workshop where you will learn to develop and tell stories in engaging ways, primarily through interactive digital mediums. Lecture/workshop – three hours a week.
ITEC 1005 – Web Development
Introduction to Web development. Combining graphics, text, audio, and video to create Web sites; developing different, major working Web sites on an individual basis and in groups, using valid HTML5, cascading style sheets (CSS3), JavaScript and XML structures. Precludes additional credit for IMD 1005. Lecture/tutorial – five hours a week.
ITEC 1100 – Introduction to Interactive Media Design
Start with an overview of interactive multimedia design including user-centred design, web design and mark-up languages, then move to general logic design, multimedia project management, design processes for animated film, video game development, visual effects in movies, ethics and current trends in the field. Lectures – three hours a week.
ITEC 1401 – Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving
Introduction to to basic concepts of object-oriented scripting and algorithm design in Python. Topics include: basic variables, functions, operators, program control with iteration and conditionals, I/O operations, text and file processing, arrays, tuples, lists, debugging, algorithms and pseudocode, computer architecture, operating systems, and libraries. Lecture/tutorial – six hours a week.
MPAD 2001 and 2002 – Basics of Visual Communication I and II
In a workshop environment you learn visual storytelling, through an array of print, digital, and/or interactive media. Topics include visual literacy, rules of composition, and iconography. Students will explore how visual storytelling is used within multimedia projects using a wide range of techniques and tools. Lecture/workshop – three hours a week.
MPAD 2003 - Introductory Data Storytelling
Governments use data for tracking. Numbers guide public policy and can become powerful and important stories. Students will gain a theoretical understanding of the promise and pitfalls of data availability alongside the practical skills needed for powerful data-based storytelling. Lecture/workshop – three hours a week.
MPAD 2004 - Writing for Media
Being able to write clearly and effectively is essential for all students in this program. From producing a topnotch digital media project to landing a job interview, knowing how to communicate through the written word is crucial. This course will help you hone your skills. Lecture/workshop – three hours a week.
ITEC 2100 – Data Visualization
Learn the skills you need for good Web-based data visualization techniques and systems. Good design practices for visualization, tools for visualization of data from a variety of fields, and programming of interactive web-based visualizations focusing on JavaScript, CSS, SVG and the D3 library. Lecture/lab – five hours a week.
ITEC 2401 – Intermediate Scripting
Introduction to advanced object-oriented scripting and algorithm design in Python. Topics include class design and encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, object-oriented design, data and code abstraction, program efficiency, user interface objects, event-driven systems, and an introduction to linked-lists, sorting, and searching. Lecture/tutorial – six hours a week.
MPAD 3001 – Storytelling and Social Media
Exploring the different ways social media platforms and be used to tell stories. Through production and/or critiquing of social media content and trends, students will learn about social media’s impact and how they can be responsible digital citizens. Lecture – three hours a week.
MPAD 3002 – Civic Engagement and Public Institutions I and II
Learn how public policy is made, how the public participates in it directly and what the information media does with that information. Then create a multi-media project involving the various development stages that will be employed in the final year capstone project, including research, project management, and/or community engagement. Lecture/workshop – three hours a week.
ITEC 3100 – Immersive Storytelling
A focus on the craft of digital storytelling, creating compelling online and game-engine packages. Using a variety of narrative formats, interactive tools, and digital content, including blogs and RSS feeds, developing an in-depth story using leading edge technologies and techniques. Workshop – three hours a week.
MPAD 3300 – Media Ethics in a Digital World
Consider the theory of ethics as well as practical ethical issues and questions surrounding information media production in all its formats, building on second-year media law, expanding the discussion to consider the specific ethical challenges and pitfalls related to video, audio, still photographs, multimedia and immersive environment projects. Lecture – three hours a week.
MPAD 3501 – Internet and Big Data Law
The law has not quickly adapted to regulate big data, creating a legal landscape that is fraught with both real legal concerns and ongoing policy problems. You will determine how to use data successfully and legally as well as exploring how the law may change in the future. Lecture – three hours a week.
MPAD 4000 – Capstone Project
A year-long project in which you work in groups to bring together all you have learned in the program. In collaboration with a partner organization from the community, students plan, develop, and complete a large digital media project that is shared to a greater audience. Lecture/workshop – three hours a week.
MPAD 4001 – Media Industries Now and Next
Stay ahead of changes taking place in the media and the public’s relationship with the media, how journalists, news organizations and other media players respond and the practical issues and challenges in the professional life of an information producer. Lecture – three hours a week.
MPAD 4200 – Freelance Media Survival Skills
Preparation for freelancing to publications and production houses. Resumes, finding potential buyers, interviews, and establishing and marketing an individual as a business. Pitching stories, ideas and services. Lecture/workshop – three hours a week.