Naples, Italy – September 19-26, 2017
Submitted by: Jorge Muñoz, SHSU Esports
The purpose of the ICEM (International Council for Educational Media) 2017 Conference was to learn about the implications and uses of MOOCs (massive open online courses) in education. This event took place at the University of Federico II in Naples, Italy, partnering with FedericaX (a partnership between EdX and the University of Federico II), which is a public online university. ICEM was given the opportunity to demonstrate various viewpoints on the benefits, hardships, questions, and efficacy of online courses. It was a shared opinion among speakers and attendees that the future of education lies in online courses, and that they will bring about a great change to the status quo of brick and mortar institutions. For that reason, presenters were 
assigned to study ways to further implement technology, allow a seamless transition into online courses, and challenge the issues that come with ensuring the highest quality online media that will make up the online courses. In fact, the majority of the guest speakers, spoke about ways to promote and enhance the legitimacy and quality of online courses. Mark West, Education Project Officer at UNESCO (United Nations in Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) in Paris, discussed: Problems within education and the education system. Anant Agarwal, CEO of EdX, discussed: The evolution of education through technology and implementations of new methods of teaching, such as EdX. Chance Coughenour, Digital Archaeologist with Google, spoke about: The use and application of Google Arts and Culture into classrooms worldwide.
The location of the event, the University of Federico II, helped to show a brilliant unison of the old and the new with a campus that has stood for nearly 800 years, since 1225, yet filled with minds from around the world seeking a way to restructure education to the needs and demands of the present world as well as what is best for current and upcoming generations of students. According to Jorge Muñoz, SHSU ESports, “this trip enhanced my knowledge on the world of pedagogical presentations and taught me the value of a good budget. I was able to create a network with people from all across Europe, as well as parts of the U.S. I was able to learn about the benefits my degree can have in the field of education, which gives me a better outlook on life after graduation.” During the conference, Jorge Muñoz and Christopher Ellis gave their poster presentation discussing data collected and its analysis over a mentoring program that seeks to advance the opportunities of future Esport athletes starting at the high school level.
Overall, participants gained knowledge regarding the skills relating to the creation and maintenance of websites that provide online courses. Some of those skills included the use of IT or programming, and learning which programming languages and IT skills are needed and used in these areas.