Northeast Mississippi Community College

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Northeast Mississippi CC receives $15.9 million technology grant

by Michael H. Miller

BOONEVILLE, Miss. -- (02/23/2023) — Northeast Mississippi Community College has long been known as a leader in education when it comes to supplying technology to its employees and students.

Northeast took a significant step in ensuring the success of its students in the workforce when the college partnered with EON Reality to bring augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (XR) to the classroom through a $15.9 million grant from the technology giant.

"Integrating augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality into the normal instructional process will create a tremendous advantage for our students," said Northeast president Dr. Ricky G. Ford. "They will now have access to the content in a completely unique way. This will encourage our students to be more creative and knowledgeable of the materials, thus ensuring our students will have the ability to be competitive in their chosen workforce field."

EON Reality's grant becomes one of the highest and most significant technology grants Northeast Mississippi Community College has ever received and helps the college fully embrace its technology initiative.

Not only will the grant help Northeast employees make the metaverse available to their students in ultramodern ways, but it will help train employees and students with the knowledge of the upcoming digital transformation.

EON Reality is a California-based organization that has established itself as one of the premier companies for preparing students for the growing AR/VR/XR marketplace and metaverse-based businesses, business practices and applications.

During the 2020 global coronavirus pandemic, Northeast transitioned all its classes to online learning in a few days while other institutions struggled with the virtual transition.

With the EON Reality grant, Northeast will expand its teachings through EON Reality's advanced AR/VR knowledge transfer platform, which allows instructors to focus on higher levels of instruction instead of memorization. EON-XR's platform will enable students to learn through analyzing, applying, evaluating and creating instead of memorizing information for a test.

"With this grant, we will be able to enhance our curriculum and create new opportunities for our students to learn and grow. We will be able to offer courses in augmented reality, virtual reality, and extended reality, which will enable our students to gain hands-on experience in these emerging technologies," said Northeast vice president of instruction Dr. Michelle Baragona. "This will prepare them for the demands of the future workforce and give them a competitive edge in their careers."

EON Reality's XR platform allows students to access over 20,000 lessons, 150 complete university-level courses and resources created by nearly 10,000 faculty and students across dozens of subjects. The XR platform holds nearly 120,000 assets and covers topics from architecture to engineering to lab sciences, advanced mathematics and fine arts like studio design and photography.

Not only will Northeast be preparing students for their time at any of its locations, but it will also be working with instructors to prepare virtual learners and workforce students for success at one of the nation's premiere educational institutions.

Schools that have partnered with EON Reality in previous years have seen increased student recruitment as more technology-savvy students are engaged in the classrooms and make decisions on their futures based on the technology offered.

In addition to increased student recruitment, students become stakeholders in the classroom. Instead of remembering information for a test or quiz, students are engaged by learning to do, enabling students to learn faster, remember longer and make better decisions.

Not only does this grant help to prepare students in the classroom, but EON Reality's XR platform allows instructors to embrace virtual learners in a unique environment through interactive capabilities and collaborative learning.

Students, who are part of the AR/VR/XR movement, are also able to embrace an ever-changing workforce faster than a traditional student, and the interaction with technology allows those students to use the resources at hand to create a competitive advantage when they are entering the workforce for the first time.

"Our 1:1 iPad program combined with the EON Reality platform, puts content creation in the hands of our students," said Northeast instructional technology specialist Dr. Carlena Benjamin. "In today's digital age, it's important for students to be active participants in their own education, and by creating content, students can explore topics more deeply, gain a better understanding of the learning objectives, and think critically about the subject matter."

With the EON Reality grant, Northeast looks to incorporate AR/VR/XR into every classroom on campus and make the metaverse accessible to all students. Classrooms will see a new digital transformation; through EON Reality, Northeast will incorporate immersive interactive learning experiences for its students in various subjects.

Northeast students will also have access to their AR/VR/XR lessons outside of the traditional classroom, which means that learning can take place anywhere the student has access to their iPad and an Internet connection.

For many science students, with the EON-XR, the student always has a virtual lab in their hands. EON-XR's grant will allow Northeast to create a safe space to conduct AR and VR experiments without being in the lab.

"The infusion of this type of technology into the classroom and beyond will be a game changer for our institution and our students," Ford said. "The amount of retainable knowledge by Northeast students will increase tremendously."

Students can now set up their experiments on their iPad and do not have to jockey for time in a science lab to witness results. Northeast's partnership with EON Reality will allow the college to provide an opportunity for students around the world who want to be part of one of the nation's top institutions.

Students can also use EON Reality's platform to review techniques, concepts and theories as often as they want in a controlled environment while receiving feedback from EON that will help them understand the images in a virtual, hands-on learning environment.

Instructors can give students a front-row seat to history through an AR/VR classroom and choose how they want the simulation to play out. For history instructors, that means taking a student to the front lines of the French Revolution or having them witness a deployment on D-Day to give the student a better understanding of history than what they could read in a textbook.

For those looking to get into the agricultural market, Northeast's partnership allows students to view the history of farming from hunter/gatherer societies to those that settled down and started to farm the lands. EON Reality's platform will enable students to witness the changes in the agricultural fields over the last 11,500 years and witness technological advances that affect agriculture today. Not only do students learn about farming, but they will also get an immersive lesson in climate, terrain, technology and traditions that help to increase a farm's yield year over year.

"This is a major milestone for our college and a testament to our commitment to providing innovative and cutting-edge education to our students," Baragona said. "This grant will enable us to upgrade our infrastructure and provide our students with state-of-the-art facilities to facilitate their learning. Our faculty members will receive training and professional development to ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to integrate these technologies into their teaching."

Northeast's partnership with EON Reality will make training employees more accessible and efficient for those interested in going into the workforce or industries looking to train their employees.

Northeast will now be able to provide remote skills-based lessons to industry partners so that local businesses can have employees on the forefront of production. This increases the efficiency of training and staffing and allows the college to provide specific training to an industry while reducing cost and risk to all involved.

--NEMCC-

Multimedia Package:

Here is a 2 minute, 45 second clip with interviews from Northeast president Dr. Ricky G. Ford, vice president of instruction Dr. Michelle Baragona and instructional technology specialist Dr. Carlena Benjamin talking about today's announcement with the college receiving a $15.9 million grant from EON Reality for augmented, virtual and mixed reality in the classroom.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/freyhi0q8akkp6t/NEMCC%20EON%20Grant%20Press%20Conference.mp4?dl=0

Northeast President Dr. Ricky G. Ford talking about the impact that the $15.9 million EON Reality grant will have on Northeast Mississippi Community College.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h4nes4iom7fxltu/NEMCC%20EON%20Reality%20Grant%20-%20Dr%20Ricky%20G%20Ford.mp4?dl=0

Northeast Vice President of Instruction Dr. Michelle Baragona talking about how the $15.9 million EON Reality grant will impact instruction at Northeast Mississippi Community College.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x6hykr90pz35x84/NEMCC%20EON%20Reality%20Grant%20-%20Dr%20Michelle%20Baragona.mp4?dl=0

Northeast Institutional Technology Specialist Dr. Carlena Benjamin talking about how instructors and students will use the technology from the $15.9 million EON Reality grant in the classroom.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9aaitu81s0kxltk/NEMCC%20EON%20Reality%20Grant%20-%20Dr%20Carlena%20Benjamin.mp4?dl=0

(VERTICAL) Northeast President Dr. Ricky G. Ford works with a 3-D Camera on the college's Booneville campus.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2so6tr1yrwjvbm2/NE_EON_PresFord_Technology.mp4?dl=0

--NEMCC--

Information about Northeast Mississippi Community College

Northeast Mississippi Community College, located in Booneville, Mississippi, is continually moving forward.

In the spring of 2020, Northeast became just one of four community colleges in the world to reach the prestigious Apple Distinguished School designation. NEMCC was the recipient of the Ellucian Impact Award for 2020 that recognizes the college's advancements in technology and is the only school in the nation to receive the award with the second award going to the University of Greenwich in London and Kent, United Kingdom.

Northeast has been named one of the top colleges and universities in Mississippi and was recognized by the Mississippi Business Journal as the Healthiest Workplace in Mississippi as it pertains to colleges and universities.

In addition to being one of the top colleges and universities in the nation, OnlineColleges.com recognized Northeast as the top school in the state of Mississippi for online education out of all colleges and universities, including four-year colleges and universities.

ZIPPIA has honored Northeast as the top community college in Mississippi in preparing students for the workforce and Northeast became the first college or university to offer a Z-degree (zero textbook cost) degree in the state of Mississippi as well.

Northeast athletics can also boast that it is home to a new ultramodern baseball and softball facility and currently holds the record for largest video boards for both sports in the community college ranks in the state.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has designated the college as one of its 'Best Places to Work For,' and CollegeChoice.net has named Northeast a Top 25 Community and Junior College in the country while The Center for Digital Education has recognized Northeast as a Top 10 Digital Community College in the nation.

Campus Labs recently named Northeast as one of two educational institutions in the nation as a Campus Labs Trailblazer Award honoree. The Campus Labs Trailblazer Award is based on the college creating a culture of assessment on campus through Campus Labs Planning to increase institutional adoption, focus on continuous improvement, and closing the loop in the institutional assessment priorities.

For more information about Northeast Mississippi Community College, visit http://www.nemcc.edu.

Media Attachments

A Northeast Mississippi Community College student uses EON Reality glasses on a mobile device to view the college’s website.

Northeast Mississippi Community College president Dr. Ricky G. Ford works with a 3-D camera on the college’s Booneville campus.

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