Envisioned and built a school-wide digital literacy initiative at USC Annenberg that has 87% of all students using the Adobe Creative Cloud and 500+/year getting certified in it. Directed marketing strategy, cultivated relationships with key stakeholders and served as chief strategist for digital learning design across the curriculum. Served as founding Director of the Annenberg Digital Lounge makerspace.

1. Digital Literacy Initiative | 2013 - 2017
Courtney Miller, Director of Digital Learning Initiatives

2. Towards the end of the 2000s, ASCJ’s leadership became convinced
that digital media skills are essential for all of our students. The ability
to navigate and decode our current terrain is one of the marks of a well-
educated person. And no matter what field a student is hoping to enter,
knowing how to create digital media, and further posessing the tools to
consume it critically, will help them stand out in the marketplace. This
introspection led Dean Wilson to launch a school-wide Digital Literacy
initiative, that began with a faculty committee, led by Professors Judy
Muller and Alison Trope. The committee was formed to offer a definition
of what it means for Annenberg students to be literate in the 21st
Century, and to help define the Annenberg Advantage.
2

3. The interdisciplinary faculty committee put forth a list of preliminary recommendations for
moving forward with the Digital Literacy initiative. This included a working definition of 21st
century literacy skills based on faculty consensus, and ideas for implementation that
encompassed curricular growth, digital hires and the formation of an advisory board. As the
initiative evolved throughout 2013 - 2017, it took on two major forms: professional development
and curricular growth.
3

4. 4
COURTNEY MILLER holds a B.A. in Cinema-Television and an MFA in
Writing from USC. She spent two years as a Video Journalist for Oprah’s
Oxygen Television Network, where she produced short documentaries
for their primetime news magazine show, including coverage of the
Emmys and Oscars. She has produced hundreds of concerts throughout
Southern California with world-renown artists including Yo Yo Ma and John
Williams, in collaboration with Sony, the Metropolitan Opera, Public Radio
International and the Recording Academy. She has also worked in audio
with THX advent Tomlinson Holman. While a faculty member with Semester
at Sea, she designed and taught courses aboard the MV Explorer, where
she further managed the multimedia department and designed/led service
learning projects around the world. She serves as an Adobe Education
Leader and is also on the Adobe Creative Campus board. She is a regular
contributor to the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Report and is often
invited to present at conferences.
partone:definingscopeandvision
With this new introspection underway, Courtney Miller was tapped to implement the new initiative. She was initially
recruited in the summer of 2011 by the former Director of Web Technologies to add more new media projects into
the curriculum, and to teach and design multimedia workshops for faculty and students.
In early 2013, Courtney transitioned into the new role of Senior Program Manager and took on the responsibililty of
directing the school’s digital literacy mission. She worked with a mutlitude of stakeholders and committes to define
an overall direction and envisioned ways to support those needs, which included the establishment of the Creative
Media Team, the Annenberg Digital Lounge, the AnnenbergDL.org website, and the Adobe Certification program.
After successfully launching and directing those programs, she moved into the role of Director of Digital Learning
Initiatives in 2016 to focus on curriculum redesign strategy and management of the intiative’s flagship course,
ASCJ 200.

5. The term creative media was chosen for two
main reasons, to distinguish this team from the
multimedia department, and to choose a term
that can stand the test of time. In building this
new team, Courtney took the “Swiss Army Knife”
approach, and set out to hire creatives with a wide
range of skillsets, including web, motion graphics
and mobile in addition to audio and video. This
would give the team the ability to produce projects
in-house, and also position the school to weather
any trend changes down the line.
MARTIN STACK was the first hire, from
over 150 applicants for the ‘Creative
Media Specialist’ position. He has a
well-rounded background in motion
graphics, web, video and design, and
holds a degree from the Academy of Art
in San Francisco. He was one of the main
architects behind the AnnenbergDL.org
website.
ERIKA HANG was hired as a workstudy
student in 2011. As a Communication
undergrad with an eye for design, she
stayed on after graduation and was
eventually hired as staff. In addition to her
creativity, she was also instrumental in
helping to bring the student perspective to
the table.
JUSTIN EDWARDS was hired in 2016
to replace Martin. He has previously
held faculty positions and earned
two masters degrees, an MFA in Film
from AFI and an M.Ed in Education
Technology. In addition to audio and
video, he also played a crucial role in
developing tutorials and teaching the
labs for ASCJ 200.
buildinganewteam
5

6. brandingandconceptdesign
As with any new start-up, we spent the first few months
coming up with our brand and concept design. We
wanted a name that would connote the vibe of the new
space in ANN, look good on apparel, translate to an
easy-to-remember URL, and resonate with our faculty
and core stakeholders. After many meetings, including
with faculty and ASCJ leadership, we eventually landed
on the Digital Lounge concept and brand.
6

7. parttwo:programming
We modeled the Paul J. Richardson Helpdesk after an Apple
Genius Bar. To foster peer-to-peer learning, and save on staffing
costs, we came up with a plan to hire student media specialists,
who are are already using the software we support in their
respective fields, and can bring additional experience to the Digital
Lounge. From Cinematic Arts, to Roski and Architecture, we culled
together some of the top talent across USC, and built a diverse
team. In addition to producing tutorials and manning the helpdesk,
the media specialists are also versed in relevant ASCJ curriculum
and able to provide expert troubleshooting.
7

8. curricularsupport
The primary mission of the Digital Lounge was to create a
physical space that could support the initiative and serve
as a creative hub for the entire Annenberg community. First
and foremost, it was our goal to augment and support the
curriculum. Over the first two years, we worked with faculty
to pilot multiple projects and courses. This included a deal
with Bluehost to provide web hosting for graduate capstone
projects, the development of the “Storyspace” website and
tablet app for accredidation, and a partnership with Twixl
Media to support mobile app development.
coursesupporthighlights:
• Mobile App Design: worked with Amara Aguilar to
develop and support her JOUR 499 course. Includes
partnership with Twixl Media and Adobe DPS trainings.
• Qualtrics: advanced trainings/tutorials for PUBD 526 led
by Robert Banks.
• Adobe Muse: trainings and tutorials for graduate
Journalism capstone projects in JOUR 598.
• Adobe InDesign: trainings, tutorials and certification
courses to support Jenn Floto in JOUR 351 and the PR
Department.
• Adobe Photoshop: Advanced tutorials and access to
certification exams to support Victoria Arriola in JOUR
486 and her other advanced courses.
• Adobe Lightroom: Shot raw headshots and provided
photo editing tutorials for Sasha Anawalt in JOUR 592
and the Ampersand desk.
• Tableau: Data visualization to support data journalism
course JOUR 546 designed by Dana Chinn.
• Mapping: Worked with Alison Trope to support projects
in her COMM 450 visual culture course.
• Prezi: Designed presentation tutorials to support Kathi
Inman-Berens in her new media cultures course, COMM
340 and David Craig in CMGT 543.
• WordPress: Desinged tutorials and hosted workshops
for a multitude of JOUR and COMM courses.
8

9. • facultytraining
The Digital Lounge has also hosted private
events for faculty that aim to facilitate more in-
depth conversation around digital literacy. In
addition to gauging what skills faculty are looking
to add to their courses, we have also used this
as an opportunity to provide hands-on training.
We expect this support to grow as faculty are
consistently requesting more training, including
access to the Adobe Certification program.
In an effort to help USC faculty, staff, and students more easily communicate with immediate
impact and broad distribution, Adobe has developed next-generation Web tools to turn your ideas
into engaging visual stories. This hands-on workshop, led by Ben Forta, Adobe Senior Director for
Education Initiatives, and Liz Arias, Adobe Customer Success Manager will familiarize attendees
with how to use the Spark apps to create impactful social graphics, animated videos and web
stories—in minutes.
featuring
Adobe Spark
Mobile Apps
Annenberg Digital Lounge and
Adobe invite faculty to.....
Tuesday, March 21
12:00pm - 2:00pm
Location: ANN 201
9

10. professionaldevelopment:
While the main goal of the Digital Lounge is
to support and champion digital/multimedia
curriculum, we added some professional
development workshops and events to our
portfolio. Courtney made the decision to
add this element for a few different reasons.
First, it was essential that the DL attract
communication students. Though we
made headway with Professor Trope,
ASCJ 200 and a few other projects, baking
more multimedia into the communication
curriculum is going to take some time. By
offering some hands-on workshops and
events that cater to these students, it has
been a way to bring them in.
Second, the professional development we
added naturally builds off of the curriculum,
and augments our digital literacy focus of
giving all of our students tangible skills that
will help them stand out in the marketplace.
We worked with faculty to identify some of
these skills, and also partnered with
Suzanne Alcantara and Career
Development.
MONDAY 4/6
ANNENBERG DIGITAL LOUNGE PRESENTS
TUESDAY 4/7
WEDNESDAY 4/8
THURSDAY 4/9
FRIDAY 4/10
HEADSHOT STUDIO &
PHOTO EDITING
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
PERSONAL BRANDING
WITH YUMI WILSON OF
5:00 PM
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ANNENBERG
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
CREATE YOUR BRAND
& LOGO
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
RESUME & COVER
LETTER BOOTCAMP
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
LEARN DIGITAL TOOLS
AND PRESENTATION
SKILLS 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
START YOUR WORDPRESS
PORTFOLIO SITE
WITH THE ADOBE
CREATIVE CLOUD
FOR MORE DETAILED INFO:
ANNENBERGDL.ORG
professionaldevelopment
While the main goal of the Digital Lounge is
to support and champion digital/multimedia
curriculum, we added some professional
development workshops and events to our
portfolio. We made the decision to add this
element for a few different reasons.
First, it is essential that the Digital Lounge
attracts students from all ASCJ majors,
including Communication and Public
Diplomacy. Through trial and error, we
found that a majority of our students enjoy
hands-on workshops and events that focus
on tangible skills that they can add to their
resumes and portfolios.
Second, the professional development we
added to our program naturally builds off
of our curriculum, and helps our students
stand out in the marketplace after they
graduate. We worked with faculty to
identify common skills and trends, and
also partnered with Suzanne Alcantara and
Annenberg Career Development to host
targeted events. As of 2016, 92% of our
alumni report that they are employed, and
85% of those graduates have landed jobs
in their chosen field.
10

11. • digitalidentity
After working with faculty to identify essential skills, we also developed workshops that focus
on digital identity. One of the main pillars of the digital literacy initiative is to teach students how
to decode the world around them, and to learn how to make intentional choices. In this vein,
we created workshops that allow students to curate their own digital identity, which includes
personal branding and an understanding of the digital breadcrumbs we inevitably leave behind.
These events have ranged from shooting and editing headshots, to designing a personal logo
and brand, social media best practices, and creating a portfolio website.
11

12. guestspeakersandevents
To inspire creativity and engage our community
in discussions around digital literacy, we have
hosted an array of events over the past few years.
From the USC Apple representative who hosted
weekly sessions, to the USC chapter of AIGA,
we have looked to build relationships within the
University. We have also worked with alumni
and industry leaders to showcase how the tools
we offer are being used in the ‘real world.’ From
NPR, to Facebook and LinkedIn, the range of
companies we have partnered with speaks to the
value and ubiquity of the skills we are teaching.
Our On the DL guest speaker series focuses on
industry influencers, and our Lunchbox series
offers an informal, brown bag setting for a range
of topics, including coding and photogrqphy.
As many events have quickly outgrown our
instructional media lab, including a session on
motion graphics that had a line that wrapped
around the 3rd floor of ANN, we decided to
launch a channel of the popular gaming site,
TwitchTV, to allow for live streaming. We also
record events and host them on our website and
YouTube channel.
SESSIONS
LUNCHBOX
CODING
WORKSHOP
SERIES EXPERIENCE
zero
required
the Annenberg Digital Lounge presents
BEGINNERS
learn the
basics!
3 sessions taught by Digital Journalism instructor Jenn de la Fuente
OCT 14 | 12-2pm
WED
html
OCT 21 | 12-2pm
WED
css
OCT 28 |12-2PM
WED bUILD A SIMPLE
PORTFOLIO WEBSITE
1 2
3
ANN 301
DON’T MISS IT!
Note:
FOOD WILL BE
PROVIDED!
FOR MORE DETAILED INFO: WWW.ANNENBERGDL.ORG
FEB 03
WEDNESDAY
ANN 301D
1S E R I
ES
SPE
AKE
R
BASIC WEB
METRICS USING
GOOGLE
ANALYTICS
DANA CHINN
Learn to interpret data
from Google Analytics to
optimize and increase
traffic to your website.
#OnTheDL: a series of lectures by creative
professionals hosted by the Digital Lounge.
12

13. • Adobecertification
One piece of feedback we consistently received from
faculty was an interest in Adobe Certification. We were
initially unsure as to whether or not students would
dedicate 20 hours of their free time to a not-for-credit
course, but the demand has been overwhelming. We
worked with Certiport to establish an on-site license and
launched the program in 2015. We hired local Adobe
evangelists Rick Miller and Chana Messer to teach the
10-week courses that are offered in our instructional
media lab each semester. As of 2016, our exam pass
rate is an 86% average, and we have been delighted to
see that students from every ASCJ program have been
participating.
• growthideas:
1. Expand the program to faculty
2. Potential return on investment by
opening up to students from other
schools and charging fees
3. Corporate sponsorship
4. Offering online, which could
potentially include ASCJ alumni
ALL ASCJ
MAJORS ARE
PARTICIPATING
13

14. • digitaldetox
Taking a nod from Google, Facebook, and all of the cutting-edge tech companies who employ
a Chief Happiness Officer, we thought that it was important to promote balance alongside
digital conectivity. We launched the Digital Detox brand to promote analog, hands-on activities
that foster creativity and well-being. In addition to arts and crafts, we also partnered with
Professor Allen Weiss from the USC Marshall School of Business and the Provost’s Mindful
USC Initiative, to create and offer an 8-week course for Annenberg faculty, staff and students.
This popular course offered expert advice on how to use mindfulness to spark creativity, and
is a supplent to the “media blackout assignment” that ASCJ 200 students jump into at the
beginning of the course. Apple has featured our content on iTunes U, and each semester
students look forward to the arts and crafts we offer during study days.
14

15. partthree:projectsandpilots
The Creative Media team has worked with multiple
departments over the past few years to pilot a variety of
projects. From the digital signage displays in ANN, to
rigging Apple TV and Raspberry Pi devices, to developing
training materials for the Xchange server and managing
class-related web infrastructure, the “Swiss Army Knife”
approach has more than proven its value as we have taken
on a multitude of challenges.
Mobile app design has been on the rise. We worked with Professors
Amara Aguilar and Francois Bar to identify and support app
development and prototyping. With their new cutting-edge courses in
mind, we hosted an Adobe Digital Publishing Suite bootcamp, where
we worked with designers from the Mirum agency to prototype designs
and projects. We were also one of the first schools granted access to
the newly-released Adobe Experience Design (XD) wireframing software.
We further worked with USC Administration and Apple to gain access
to the Apple iTunes app store, where our students’ projects are
now featured, including Journalism student Jessica Olivera’s What is
Masculinity? tablet app.
After vetting multiple web hosting companies, we negotiated
a pilot with Bluehost that we managed from 2014 - 2015.
We worked with the Digital Journalism faculty to determine
student user needs, and managed the experimental rollout
of student and faculty hosting accounts. We also migrated
existing curricular sites into one hosting environment, making
management and future expansion easier to support. We
also introduced WordPress multisites into the curricular
infrastructure. Though we did not move forward with a full
investment at the end of the pilot, this project helped us to
better understand our needs and resource allocations.
15

16. • ASCJ200:navigatingmediaandnewsinthedigitalage
This interdisciplinary course was the brainchild
of Professors Judy Muller and Dr. Alison Trope,
and was created to serve as the face of the
digital literacy initiative. The course is designed
to engage students as discriminating media and
news consumers, contributors, and creators.
We began working on ASCJ 200 in Fall
2014, helping to develop and support the
lab component. We initially worked with
Communication PhD student, Samantha Close,
who served as the Teaching Assistant in Spring
2015. In addition to hosting the lab portion in the
Digital Lounge, we also collaborated with Ms.
Close on technical skill integration and provided
additional support. This included web hosting
accounts for each student, tutorial creation, and
helpdesk support.
As we moved into 2016, what started as a pilot
project soon matured into a major priority for the
Creative Media team. The course is now required
for Journalism undergrads and is expected to
scale exponentially. This necessitates the need
for even more digital support and instuction.
16

17. • Video Trailer/Promo
• Iconic Image Manipulation
• Annotate artifact
• Twitter Storytelling
• Multimedia Final (2 elements)
• Hosted WordPress site
• 19 Students
• 1 Lab Section
• 2 Professors
• 1 Teaching Assistant
• Creative Media Team
• 35 Students
• 2 Lab Sections
• 2 Professors
• 1 Teaching Assistant
• 1 Dedicated Staff
• Creative Media Team
• 90 Students
• 5 Lab Sections
• 2 Professors
• 1 Teaching Assistant
• 2 Dedicated Staff
• 1 Adjunct
• 3 DL Student Assistants
• 90 Students
• 5 Lab Sections
• 3 Professors
• 1 Dedicated Staff
• 4 Adjuncts
• Iconic Image Manipulation
• Infographic
• Instagram/Twitter Storytelling
• Video Trailer/Promo
• Multimedia Final (2 elements)
• WordPress.com site
• Topic Image Manipulation
• Infographic
• Audio Story
• Man-on-street Video
• Multimedia Final (2 elements)
• WordPress.com site
• Topic Image Manipulation
• Infographic
• Audio Vox Pops
• Multimedia Final (1 element)
• WordPress.com site
• Adobe Clip
• WordPress
• Bluehost web hosting set-up
• Infogr.am
• Cinemagraphs
• Photography/Composition
• Remix Videos
• Premiere Pro Intro
• Podcasting
• Audio Recording
• iPhoneography
• Illustrator Charts
• Illustrator Shapes
• Audition Intro
• Intro to Design
• Typography
• Color Theory
• Audition Vox Pops
• Audition FX
• Storytelling
DIYPROJECTS:
DIYPROJECTS:
DIYPROJECTS:
DIYPROJECTS:
SPRING2015
fall2016
SPRING2017
SPRING2016
TUTORIALS+deckscreated
TUTORIALS+deckscreated
TUTORIALS+deckscreated
TUTORIALS+deckscreated
17

18. • ASCJ200:Studentwork
Students use Adobe Photoshop
to manipulate an image, changing
its original meaning to make an
argument about their chosen
resesarch topic.
18

19. 19

20. • ASCJ200:studentwork
Students choose a topic to analyze at the
beginning of the course. In addition to
conducting research and gathering relevant
data, they also learn how to visualize it. Their
infographic must tell a coherent story and
demonstrate intentional design.
KILLER WHALES
T H E C A P T I V I T Y O F
“Killer whales, more properly known as orcas, have been kept in
captivity since 1961, helpless victims of a blatantly commercial
experiment which has seen dozens of wild orcas plucked from their
families and forced to live in artificial social groupings which bear
scant resemblance to their natural order.”
- WDC (Whale and Dolphin Conservation)
127 of the 150 orcas taken into
captivity since 1961 are dead.
85%
DEAD
Orcascanswimupto100milesaday,
buttheirtanksincaptivityare,tothem,
thesizeofabathtub.
YEARS
AVERAGELIFEEXPECTANCY
40 10
WILD CAPTIVITY
DIDYOUKNOW?
Anorcasbrainisnearly4times
thesizeofahumanbrainand
containsfoldsthatindicate
highlevelsofintelligence.
Therearecurrently56
orcasincaptivity. #EmptyTheTanks
Sources:WDC(WhaleandDolphinConservation),
SeaWorldofHurt,OrcaNetworkDesignby:RaphaelKrigel
ORCASDON’TBELONGIN
CAPTIVITY.
20

21. 21

22. • coursetutorialcollections:
In addition to projects and pilots, we also started to work with faculty to create more
curated collections for their courses. In summer 2016, we worked with Amara Aguilar,
Miki Turner, and Rebecca Haggerty to create a collection for the new JOUR 321: Visual
Communication course. Developing class-related tutorials was one of the main concepts
behind designing the AnnenbergDL.org website.
24

23. • phasetwo:• partfour:marketing
With the Digital Lounge now up and running, and the Creative
Media Team hired and trained, Courtney is now onto the second
phase of implementing the digital literacy initiative. This includes
working more closely with faculty to identify courses and projects
that can utilize more multimedia. Continuing to build-out, support
and scale the ASCJ 200 core course, and also continuing to
provide strategic direction for the school on digital curriculum
design and infrastructure.
25

24. • marketingstrategy
We learned the hard way that just beacuse you build
it, doesn’t mean that students will come. When we
first rolled-out the Adobe Creative Cloud, we were
only at a 33% student adoption rate. We took this into
consideration and worked with student focus groups and
formed a PR team to strategize on how to better market
to Annenberg students. After the launch of the Digital
Lounge in 2014, these concenrated efforts and marketing
campaigns brought that adoption rate up to 86% after
just two years.
26