Meet the Professor - Professor Fiander's Classroom

The online platform for learning can sometimes make students seem distant from their professors and their classmates. In order to help close this gap, I provide my students with a detailed biography of my educational background and work experience. To personalize my bio, I also include a "video introduction" at the start of each term. Students are able to put a "face to a name" and learn a little bit more about me, my teaching style and what is expected of them during the term.

Below is an example of my introduction to my PH341: Portfolio students:

Hello Class!

My name is Melanie Fiander and I am a native of the Washington D.C. area. I attended Lynchburg College in Virginia and received my B.F.A. in Studio Art and in English. I relocated to Portland, Maine in 2005 and studied documentary photography at The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. After completing the program at Salt, I began my graduate studies at Maine College of Art and received my M.F.A. in Studio Art with a concentration in photography and video.

I hosted and curated my first short film festival called the "Fiander Film Festival" in February of 2012, a sold out event that was held at The Dunes in northwest Washington D.C. Artists and directors from all over the US, England, Italy and Bermuda were screened at the festival including my recent video done in collaboration with Bermudian artist, Jim West, titled "Heartbeats". Directors with many different levels of experience in film entered their pieces into the Fiander Film Festival. Some of the films seen in my festival were also screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, SXSW Festival, LA Skate Film Festival, the Catskill Film Festival, and the Anchorage International Film Festival. Plans are currently in effect for the next Fiander Film Festival for 2014! Stay tuned.

I have also shown my work at the Portland Museum of Art, Jason Simon’s One Minute Film Festival, The Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA, The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, Space Gallery, The Drawing Room and Constellation Gallery in Portland, Maine. My work has been published in The Photo Review, On Tap Magazine and The Blue Room.

I am currently based out of the Washington D.C. area; living and working as a freelance photographer. I am a Senior Full Time Faculty member at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division and I also teach as an adjunct professor at the Art Institute of Washington.

I look forward to meeting you all and working with you this term. If you'd like to learn a little more about me, please feel free to check out my "Introduction Video" on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoqHgOwNOks