In recent decades, advances in technological development have allowed new digital tools to become ubiquitous in our everyday lives. These new media are key contributors in how we engage in knowledge production, social interaction, and creative expression. Though research has highlighted methods to utilize digital tools for educating professionals from a number of disciplines, including education, medicine, and engineering, little has been done to demonstrate how media experts – individuals trained in the utilization and design of digital tools – are introduced to their profession. These limitations in training opportunities for media experts have left them ill-equipped to enter a rapidly developing workforce.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of professional identity exploration undertaken by new media students as they progress through their formal education within institutions of higher education. Media production professionals have struggled to align their educational outcomes with the requirements of highly competitive professional industries. Given a lack of rigorous methodological investigations into these processes, there is a dearth of knowledge surrounding the most effective approaches to transition students into creative industries.

The current study addressed this gap through the usage of a convergent mixed-methods design in which strands of instructor and student data were collected concurrently, ultimately converging in the implementation of Ordered Network Analysis (ONA). Projective Reflection, which frames learning as identity exploration, was utilized as a theoretical framework to guide the interpretation of identity exploration characteristics. Classroom observations and instructor interviews provided insights into how instructors implemented pedagogical strategies in their courses. A quantitative survey and qualitative focus group provided insight into the students’ experience and perspectives on their own educational training. Though this study is part of a larger research study that integrates both student and teacher-oriented data, this paper specifically reports on strands of data concerning student experiences while enrolled in their chosen program. As a result, ONA was subsequently implemented to provide a visual comparison of the resultant themes stemming from multiple student programs within the Digital Media (DIGM) department including:
1) Animation & VFX,
2) Game Art & Production,
3) User Experience & Interaction Design, and
4) Virtual Reality & Immersive Media.

Findings of the study revealed key insights for characterizing the DIGM department including insight into student professionalization and identity exploration, the experience within the DIGM department, methodological approaches for professional identity development, and how these components differ across four unique DIGM programs. These findings provide implications for both research and practice with specific recommendations for how classroom practice in DIGM programs could utilize industry-standard technologies in the process of training DIGM professionals. This discussion highlights opportunities for further teaching and learning developments within new media fields.

Keywords: Digital Media, Identity Exploration, Professional Identity, Ordered Network Analysis, Quantitative Ethnography, Technology.