This is an interview with Dr. Jorge Ayala, Superintendent of Yolo County Office of Education. I interviewed Dr, Ayala by phone. We ranged over a lot of topics related to digital media arts.

(PM) Today I have Jorge Ayala with me. Dr. Ayala is the County Superintendent of Yolo County Office of Education. Jorge, on the heels of your swearing-in, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

(JA) You're welcome. Glad to be a part of the project.

(PM) I want to start by seeing your reaction to a statement. The paper I am writing for this project emphasizes how important digital media arts are in today's knowledge-based economy. Is that something you subscribe to?

(JA) Most definitely. Both from the vantage point of being a consumer as well as an educator. I recently traveled to Compeche, Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula and that is fairly remote and I was able to keep in touch with my niece who is working in Hong Kong on a Bank of America scholarship/grant to further education in international trade. In both places I was struck by how technologic the world has become. In fact China is very advanced in comparison to us in their use of technology. And it isn't just youth that is involved. Younger people, businessman, elderly; they all have joined the technologic revolution. I was able to set up a video conferencing with my niece from my laptop and it was like she was right there. It was more evidence about what Freidman reported in his book "The World Is Flat".

My comment with respect to schools and education is that we are so focused on math and language arts we lose track of other areas. Especially technology. The leaps and bounds are taking place so quickly. We live life in nano seconds of development. It isn't to say that nothing is happening. We have bits and pieces of changes going on but it is piece-meal. The changes are not obvious We have a ROCP program built around technology. We teach desktop publishing, we build skills in the Microsoft office applications and we teach web-design as well. So, I see our involvement in ROCP as a means to accomplish some of what needs to be done.

(PM) Did you do a grant for the "Quick Start" funds that came from the Chancellor of the Community Colleges that depended on ROCP?

(JA) Yes , this office wrote a proposal. Going through the community college provides perhaps more avenues to access. Certainly you have to balance the need for academic requirements of UC or CSU with Career Tech Education. So I see Career Tech Ed as a viable and integral part of high school reform. We can't be focused on the needs of academia alone.

Are you familiar with the Cosmos program? The state summer school for mathematics right here at UC Davis? Here students learn how to develop special project across content areas. Students are doing science but they are using their creativity. They post the work on a web site using digital media. There are man opportunities for multi-media presentation. This innovation can be done in any class. The digital media is a powerful tool particularly for kids who don't learn completely through normal language arts. By combining language arts with more visual media you can engage students who might be left out.

Another program in our county that I would point to is da Vinci school, which is small learning community sponsored by the Gates Foundation. It is a high technology centered school that eventually will have 400 students. The program runs completely through high technology. Each student has a Laptop computer which is used for everything. It will move soon, we hope, to a new Learning Center at UC Davis Davis. I would say the students are super engaged in content there. The medium is the technology.

(PM) Do you reach out to the community, particularly the business community?

(JA) I want to mention that we do want to build a comprehensive arts curriculum. John Roina working on an arts curriculum that will utilize digital media arts as a basic part of the curriculum. It will incorporate subjects like web-design and film/video. On the community issue, we try to reach out to the community. One small project was a result of community outreach and that was that an ROP program in Winters where we had students design a web site for the Winters Chamber of Commerce. That's one example but we are constantly reaching out to the business community.

(PM) Can you tell me about your insights on how digital media arts may assist us in building capacity in our democracy? Is that important?

(JA) Most definitively. Every county has a community cable network, or satellite feed. We have the capacity to reach almost everyone in his or her home. I think the technology can help by reaching citizens in all languages through television in their home.

Modern tech. So digital media can help alleviate the participation divide. I know that there is a project in San Diego where Mexican parents can continue their education in Spanish by getting access to Mexican curriculum. So they continue to learn in Spanish as their children and the parents learn English.

(PM) I also would like to talk a little about how to change the system. What can we do to promote more arts in the curriculum?

(JA) We need to first look at the forces that are driving education today. One dilemma is that everyone wants their child to go to college. So, schools respond by making sure that every student has that pathway available. The whole schedule is based on college preparation. Many children who are visual learners and not adept at language fall by the way-side. The system we have designed is pretty rigid. It does not allow much flexibility. Structure drives the schools.

In one way what happens is that students get doubled up in classes. They have less opportunity to use technology because they are taking so much language, maybe remedial classes, and because they are behind they get more of the classes they are not good in. So they do badly there and lose opportunities to engage in technology. School should be leveling field. Instead schools tend to reinforce the power structures that exists in society.

What you hear from employers is that students lack the skills that may be considered "soft-skills." Those are forgotten. How to work in a group, how to get along, how to express yourself verbally. It is true that colleges drive the curriculum and what do colleges do best? They work in academics. So they ratchet up the requirements to get into college. The high school begins to reflect the college.

(PM) What should County Superintendents do to help promote the digital media arts?

(JA) We the first thing is to address the elephant in the room. It is what the university sees as important. University does not see arts as an emphasis. The superintendents can work through various forums to address these concerns. I would point to the P-16 council which is a intersegmental organization dedicated to make all the systems of education work more seamlessly. Perhaps we should even acknowledge that it would be a good idea to require digital media arts to graduate. The state needs to look at that. We must make the case for a balance between academics and other areas in which students excel. I would call that educating the whole child. Basically provide a more "Holistic" education.

(PM) The issue as I see it is how can you introduce more art in the curriculum when the class day is already filled. What gets kicked out? Is the longer school day an answer?

(JA) Perhaps but more than a longer day the answer may be how we break up time in the school day differently. Time is a factor but if you integrate the arts, particularly media arts into other subjects you may not need the longer day. Of course teachers don't get paid for longer school days. In addition you have to make sure that any digital media arts classes are going to count toward graduation requirements.

I also think outside forces like the Hewlett, Irvine and Gates Foundations will change the system by leveraging change through what they fund. I know the Gates Foundation will fund projects that use creativity to improve the system. By the way what I mean by improve the system is not more of the same. Right now we don't have much of it. Creativity that is. In general we are not closing the gap. We think that other models can be devised. For example, we are planning an alternate program here at the County that will depend on technology that maybe will be located at the mall. We will incorporate Internet access as a learning tool. Maybe even I-pods.

The kids recognize that the digital media arts as part of their lives. You can fight the cultural shifts taking place but if you want to engage kids you will have use approaches they are familiar with. The kids culture is going to dominate. That does not mean you don't have rigorous standards in education, it just means let's use all the various tools technology has brought to us.

(PM) What specific recommendations would like you like to present?

(JA) Well first is to work for utilizing digital media arts as an integrated part in the total education community. P-16s partnership is a great vehicle. The P-16 curriculum steering committee is a tremendous lever. I think we need to reinforce the idea that you don't need a whole new class but find ways to integrate the digital media arts into all learning. The digital arts can be a powerful resource. We have to think more about getting kids engaged with school through the media. It is really like State Superintendent O'Connell says there are 3 new Rs, Rigor, Relationships and Relevance. Rigor also applies to relevance. It is changing how we go about instructing.

Second we should trust that all kids know how to access technology.

(PM) Do you think there is a kind of fear on the part of the education establishment that the kids will know more than they do?

(JA) Yes and that brings up my third point which is we need to introduce technology methods to teachers while they are still in college. Will need training for teachers as part of the staff development plans. Maybe even say that you have to demonstrate some proficiency in digital media to get credentialed. I will tell you this if we do not embrace technology the advantage gap will just keep widening

I also should say that we need to do a better job with counselors. They need to be more aware of technology and career pathways that exist outside of college.

With respect to Career Tech Education we have to try and change the perception that the old vocational model is dying on the vine, servicing old industries, etc. It doesn't have to be seen that way. There are a multitude of careers in the digital media arts, some will require going to college but some will not. Even with respect to things like auto-shop. Today mechanics are really technicians. They need to know how to use technology to diagnose what is wrong with the car.

(PM) I know, I try and fix my car and I have no idea what I am doing nowadays.

(JA) (laughing) Yes, although I can still fix my old VW Carmen Ghia, but past that I am in trouble.

(PM) Dr, Ayala thank you once again.

(JA) Thank you and you have my number if there is anything I can do to promote the digital media arts I will do it.