AT&T is giving ACU $1.8 million to enhance mobile learning. The money will, in part, go toward construction for the AT&T Learning Studio beginning in August.

“We’re committed as a company to advancing the mission and cause of education so we look forward to working with ACU to help collaborate with them to help shape the next generation of innovators,” Wendi Fuller, AT&T spokesperson said. “If you think about education as a whole, mobile learning strategies open up a whole new world of possibilities to transform education and drive learning outcomes.”

Kyle Dickson, director of the digital media center, said the grant will serve three purposes. It will first build on mobile learning research by providing resources to help put it on the same level as other research programs on campus. Secondly, money will go to a K-12 professional development institute providing teachers the opportunity to learn about mobile research at ACU. The money will also  create the new AT&T Learning Studio that Dickson said will support students producing messages for new web audiences.

“For the vast majority of students, media is going to continue to become a part of everyday experience,” Dickson said.

The AT&T Learning Studio will be on the top floor of the library, and Dickson said it would be like the technology version of the writing center.

“The digital media center lab will be a place where they can, very much like the writing center, walk in with a project, an idea or something they want to create through audio or video and have the resources and the expertise right there at hand to get them started,” Dickson said.

The studio will feature small group rooms where a speaking tutor could sit down and work with a student on a speech assignment, where a student could record a practice speech or where a student could record a digital draft of a presentation. It will also offer two conference rooms for small groups to practice, record and gain feedback. In the evenings these rooms could be used for studying, Dickson said.

Also, the studio will provide faculty and students with an editing lab and an HD studio where they can complete assignments designed to develop media learning objectives.

Sandra Amstutz, senior digital media major from LaFeria, works in the current digital media studio. She said she works with students on projects and hopes the new studio will have more technology to more the mobile initiative forward.

“We are keeping that initiative in mind when we are helping students with their projects,” said Amstutz.

As teachers assign more media based projects, Dickson said all faculty and students can use the center to create quality projects to further the mobile learning initiative.

“We’re not going backwards, this trajectory is one worth supporting, exploring and experimenting with on campus,” Dickson said.