Posted August 21, 2007
NWTC students plug into new
digital media lab
School in process of starting new 2-year technology degree
By Kelly McBride
kmcbride@greenbaypressgazette.com
A new digital media lab — and the promise of a new degree program — greeted students at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College during their first day back to school Monday.
The $459,000 lab is designed to offer the latest in multimedia production, from audio to video and online capabilities. Officials say it will provide the total multimedia package in an increasingly in-demand field.
NWTC's lab will set the stage for a new two-year degree program in digital media technology, instructor Patrick Saxe said Monday. The new program is scheduled to be approved at the Wisconsin Technical College System Board's next meeting Sept. 12, with the first full class enrolling in January.
Faculty and staff spent a considerable amount of time researching the new degree, Saxe said, including its practical application in area businesses."We're finding a lot of Internet-based jobs, where you're going to be creating digital content for the Internet," Saxe said. "And also internally, too — companies are going with Intranets, where they're putting up a lot of training, tutorials and product demos, and going in-house with a lot of their multimedia work."
Multimedia classes haven't officially started at NWTC, but a digital photography class got to try out part of the 2,830-square-foot lab during the first day of classes Monday.
In addition to two full computer labs, the lab includes audio and video studios, control rooms, isolation rooms and a workroom. Total costs included $226,000 in construction costs and $233,000 in equipment.