Multimedia0201

TCC TO EQUIP NEW MULTIMEDIA CLASSROOMS ACROSS CAMPUSES
The Norfolk Foundation grants TCC $350,000 to bolster state-of-the-art instructional technology

This high-tech multimedia instruction system at TCC's Advanced Technology Center resembles what all four of the college's campuses will have in place soon.

NORFOLK, Va. – (Feb. 1, 2005) – The Norfolk Foundation has awarded Tidewater Community College Educational Foundation a $350,000 grant to create state-of-the-art multimedia classrooms on TCC’s campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.

Facilitating installation of cutting-edge instruction technology, the grant helps fulfill TCC’s mission to prepare students in modern learning environments. “With these new classrooms, TCC faculty will be able to model today’s technology use - resembling what our students will find in the workplace,” says Scott Langhorst, associate vice president of distributed teaching, learning and services at TCC.

The grant funds an additional classroom on each campus to be equipped with high-speed Internet-connected computers and wireless access for every student. Faculty will be able to use a central multimedia console capable of presenting audio, video, and computer information to students. The desktop presentation system is considered to be among the most advanced systems available in learning environments.

With this technology faculty can present course content using a variety of instructional methods and media. The new classrooms include variable lighting to suit different presentation methods and the ability to record sound from lectures or presentations on the computer system for future use. Completing the optimal learning environment, TCC’s multimedia classrooms will have new furnishings in renovated floor space.

The TCC Educational Foundation was one of 17 area institutions awarded more than $1.4 million in grants during The Norfolk Foundation’s final round of grantmaking in December 2004. The foundation awarded more than $6.8 million in grants and scholarships in 2004. TCC was among the largest grant recipients.

Tidewater Community College is the second largest of the 23 community colleges in the Commonwealth of Virginia, enrolling more than 35,000 students annually. The 37th largest in the nation’s 1,600 community-college network, TCC ranks among the 50 fastest-growing large community colleges. Founded in 1968 as a part of the Virginia Community College System, the college serves the South Hampton Roads region with campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach as well as the TCC Jeanne and George Roper Performing Arts Center in the theater district in downtown Norfolk, the Visual Arts Center in Olde Towne Portsmouth and a regional Advanced Technology Center in Virginia Beach. Forty-four percent of the region’s residents attending a college or university in Virginia last fall were enrolled at TCC. For more information, visit www.tcc.edu