Citizenship Profile

Carter’s academic citizenship has revolved around programme development and leadership. From January 2020 until September 2022 he was the Programme Convenor for BA Digital Media at the University of Roehampton, being promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2021. Carter led on key decisions concerning the programme’s design, development, and management—staffing requirements, learning resources and environments, and pedagogical evolution in response to changes across culture and industry. In particular, he oversaw and coordinated across programme staff a successful pivot to online pandemic delivery, and the subsequent re-transition to on-site learning.

As lead of Roehampton’s centrepiece digital degree, Carter internally validated several new undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and also advised on the establishing of a new School of Arts. Carter was an award-nominated academic lead for Widening Participation centred on Roehampton’s digital portfolio, working with AimHigher London.

In September 2022 Carter joined the University of York to became the Programme Convenor for MA Digital Media and Culture, as well as its Admissions Tutor. Carter is currently managing and administering all aspects of the programme, and has advised on its integration with future programmes as part of a growing digital portfolio at the School of Arts and Creative Technologies. Alongside, Carter has served as the Disability Officer for the School, and has provided external validation for new postgraduate programmes at other institutions.

Teaching Profile

Between 2018-2022 Carter taught at the University of Roehampton, developing a wholly new undergraduate programme, BA Digital Media. Carter’s delivery involved designing, convening, and delivering a significant portion of its new suite of core and optional modules, across all years of the programme, including the capstone final project module. Carter developed a range of innovative teaching practices centred on incorporating technical knowledge and experimentation within Humanities discussion, and, for pandemic delivery, implemented documentary videocasts, online cafés, and livestream interactives, while also coordinating and supporting the efforts of my colleagues. Carter also convened and delivered cross-departmental modules, including those for Foundation pathways, student Career Preparation, and the International Summer School.

Between 2016-2018 Carter taught as an Associate Lecturer at the University of York, convening and designing or redesigning a range of core and optional modules for BSc Interactive Media, being award-nominated by students and staff for my delivery. From 2022, as a Lecturer in Digital Culture at the University of York, Carter has designed and is convening and delivering nearly all the new core modules for the newly launched MA in Digital Media and Culture, including its capstone project module.

Leadership Roles

  • 2022—, Programme Convener, MA Digital Media and Culture, University of York. Designing and developing the contents across all core modules of the programme, and ensuring their coherency and efficacy with regard to key programme outcomes. Also coordinating with colleagues in the Department of Sociology with regards to the up-coming BA Digital Media, Culture, and Communication programme, working on potential continuities with the MA.
  • 2020-2022, Programme Convener, BA Digital Media, University of Roehampton. Academic lead for all key programme management processes, module design and approval, staffing requirements, programme pedagogical narrative and evolution. Developing, coordinating, and standardising the pedagogical delivery and contents of this all-new programme into a series of coherent skill pathways and subject themes suitable for key learning outcomes.

Citizenship Roles

  • 2022—, University of York, MA Digital Media and Culture, Admissions Officer. Working with central admissions to provide guidance for their decision-making process, as well as providing approval for specific student applications. Answering student queries on the programme and offering advice for postgraduate funding applications. Open Day delivery and coordinating with Marketing to produce a suite of coherent programme visual branding materials and video advertisements.
  • 2022-2023, University of York, School of Arts, Disability Officer. Provided administrative, pastoral, and professional advice and assistance to students registered as having Student Support Plans, processing extension requests and mitigating circumstances. Liaising with central disabilities on key issues facing students.
  • 2016, University of Exeter, Egenis, the Centre for the Study of Life Sciences, Project Manager. Supported the Centre Directors in developing a long-term plan for the Centre’s future research objectives and grant application activities. Consulted with academic and professional services staff associated with the Centre on current and future research objectives and grant opportunities. Developed impact case studies, sourcing and documenting evidence. Conducted market research identifying potential commercial partnerships and collaborations. Assisted in the development of content for a new website for the Centre. Published internal report into Egenis activities and future growth opportunities.

Teaching C.V.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (2019, PR164289).
  • Certificate of Advanced Level Study, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of Exeter (2014).

Prize Nominations

  • Nominated by senior staff at York in 2018 for the Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Award.
  • Nominated by students at York, and then shortlisted, for 2018 YUSU Excellence Awards, “Teacher of the Year”.

Dissemination of Teaching Practice

  • Carter, R. 2021. “Digital Art beyond Technical Reflexivity: Experiments, Environments, Concepts”. STEAM: The movement towards creative STEM learning. Digital Education Futures Initiative, University of Cambridge, August 2021. Available at: https://www.deficambridge.org/events/steam-creative-stem-learning.
  • Carter, R., and Frabetti, F. 2021. “Developing Project-based Assessments on the Roehampton BA Digital Media Programme”. Learning and Teaching Festival. University of Roehampton, June 2021.

University of York, Lecturer in Digital Culture, MA Digital Media and Culture (2022—)

MA Digital Media and Culture

  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Digital Methods. Designing and delivering this all-new core module exploring different methods for understanding different aspects of the digital world, a highly interdisciplinary mixture of approaches and practices explored.
  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Digital Life and Objects. Designing and delivering this all-new core module, offering a range of case studies in key digital activities, artefacts, and infrastructures that characterise contemporary life and culture more broadly.
  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Digital Culture Project. Designing, delivering, and supervising this all-new core capstone project module, enabling students to produce a research driven assessment project.

BSc Interactive Media

  • Module Convenor and Supervisor—Interactive Media Individual Project. Managed the administration and overall logistics of supervision and marking allocation for the second half of this module, taking over from initial convenor on research leave. Provided individual supervision for a selection of students running projects in specialist subject area.

University of Roehampton, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media, BA Digital Media (2018-2022)

Foundation

  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Media Practice. Redesigned and delivered this cross programme foundation year module introducing students to the key principles of Interactive Storytelling, UX Design, and Creative Coding.

Year One

  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Basic Web Design. Completely redesigned and delivered this core module introducing students to the key workflows, toolsets, and coding techniques of modern website design and development. Students concentrated on learning and implementing foundational design patterns in HTML and CSS, as well as the core design processes of wireframing, prototyping, and user testing – thus laying the basis for all their subsequent web-based coding throughout the Digital Media programme. 2021/22 student feedback score of 4.9 out of 5.0.
  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Introduction to Digital Media. Extensively redesigned and delivered this cross-listed module introducing students to the digital multimedia landscape and the theoretical work that evaluates its influence over how we see and experience the world.
  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Digital Methods I. Designed and co-delivered this all-new module focusing on research methodologies, critical frameworks, and selected technologies that can be used to investigate, qualitatively and quantitatively, the objects, environments, and activities that characterise digital culture and society.
  • Lecturer—Software Studies, BA Digital Media. Co-designed and co-delivered this all-new module in which students interrogated, critically and practically, the technical, historical, social, and cultural factors shaping the evolution and impacts of software.

Year Two

  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Digital Cultures. Designed and developed this all-new core module that critiques and debates key cultural, social, and political issues across the contemporary digital environment, including topics on dataveillance, algorithmic bias, artificial intelligence, hacking cultures, digital infrastructures, civic participation, online identities, workforce transformations, and environmental impacts. Each week students engaged and debated relevant examples in-class, as well as interacted with and critique instances of digital media that exemplify the topics at hand. 2021/22 student feedback score of 4.4 out of 5.0.
  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Gaming: Cultures, Industries, Impacts. Designed and developed this all-new, popular optional module examining digital games as cultural texts, considering the sociocultural contexts shaping their evolution, expressive potentials, and wider impacts. Each week students engage and discuss an extremely diverse range of games in a workshop environment, as well as explore various open-source game making tools, considering practically key aspects of digital game design and production. 2021/22 student feedback score of 4.8 out of 5.0.
  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Career Preparation. Redesigned and delivered this popular cross-programme optional module, preparing students to begin their initial career planning, searching for positions, placements, and internships, as well as establishing their professional profiles.
  • Module Convenor—Advanced Web Design. Developed module contents and supported the delivery of this core module introducing students to more advanced techniques of website design and development, encompassing scripting and frameworks.

Year Three

  • Module Convenor, Lecturer, and Supervisor—Digital Project. Designed and delivered this all-new core module from initial workshops to final assessments, preparing and supervising final year students in developing independent projects to a professional, industry-ready standard. Provided personal supervision for students running projects in specialist subject area. 2021/22 student feedback score of 4.7 out of 5.0.
  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Digital Storytelling. Designed and delivered this popular all-new optional module that provided students with an advanced understanding of the art of storytelling using the affordances of digital media. Students explored diverse case studies of creative digital storytelling, considering how different narrative vectors and potentials for meaning can be designed and engineered using varied tools and platforms, working across a range of contexts—artistic, journalistic, autobiographical, and ludic. Each week students experimented practically with different techniques of digital storytelling, including branching paths, navigable virtual environments, and conversing with artificial agents, using specially developed instructional templates and a range of open-source tools, including artificial intelligence. This module was cross-listed with BSc Computing and Web Design, BA Digital Design, and BA Creative Writing students, and had been developed to work with an especially broad student skillset. 2021/22 student feedback score of 4.5 out of 5.0.

International Summer School

  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Media, City and Cultural Capital. Redesigned and delivered this module for international students attending the Roehampton summer school, exploring key sites and museums throughout London, taking a first-hand look at artefacts and events that have shaped the historical evolution of the contemporary media environment.

University of York, Associate Lecturer in Digital Culture, BSc Interactive Media (2016-2018)

Year One

  • Lecturer—Digital Culture, Aesthetics, and Storytelling. Designed and delivered all workshops and seminars on this core module, introducing a range of ideas concerning the role of digital media in shaping cultural expression. 2017/18 student feedback score of 4.75 out of 5.0.

Year Two

  • Module Convenor—Interactive Media and Society. Redesigned and delivered this module examining key social and political issues in the contemporary digital environment, such as digital surveillance, activism, malware, and online identities. 2017/18 student feedback score of 4.8 out of 5.0.
  • Module Convenor—Interactive Media Group Project. Supervised students on this core module designed to assess their ability to work together as independent small groups in designing, developing, and delivering a public facing interactive media installation.

Year Three

  • Module Convenor and Lecturer—Gaming: Industry and Culture. Designed and delivered this all-new optional module focusing on digital gaming as a specific industry with distinct technical and player cultures, yet emerging from, and responding to, greater social, cultural, and economic imperatives. 2017/18 student feedback score of 5.0 out of 5.0.