News

A big part of my job, as program coordinator, is getting the chance to work with our creative and enthusiastic program leads. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to work with these passionate and fun people everyday. The question I get asked the most from people who first hear about our program and the fact that we have spaces across Northern Ontario is, “How do you manage a team of people across a large geographic area?” True, Northern Ontario is a huge expanse of space and our communities are spread out a great distance from each other. The great thing about running a digital media program is that we readily embrace technology… especially the technology that keeps us connected. Everyone on our team works together and takes the time to make the time for each other. Skype has become our best tool in shrinking the distance for regular meetings with one another, messaging and creating online groups and adapting to software like Basecamp keeps us in constant communication with each other. It gives us the chance to collaborate on projects, share programmings and be a support system for each other. We might not be able to offer an actual shoulder to cry on, but we’re only an email or call away.

Also, one thing we love to do is come together for conferences or knowledge exchanges, like the one we had in Chicago with YouMedia last Spring. Getting a chance to know one another, share our successes and challenges, creating relationships using technology as a way to connect has all been helpful in creating a team.