In cooperation with their technologies supply partner, ioxp GmbH of Mannheim, Germany, SeeDaten has made an in-kind donation in excess of $135,000 to install, train and support the leadership and students of Spartanburg Community College. SeeDaten is based at the college's Spark Center SC and is an IT solution provider for B2B applications in augmented reality/mixed reality technologies (AR/MR) to improve employee, student learning and performance, leading to an increase in quality output and a reduction in operational cost.
"AR is a game-changer because it brings a whole new dimension to the classroom and to learning, allowing our instructors to create digital information on top of the physical world to teach and learn. It's one thing for students to read about a technique, but it's a completely different learning opportunity for students to actually experience and complete a process in their own classroom/lab setting via AR," explains Henry C. Giles, Jr., SCC's president. "We are indebted to SeeDaten, ioxp GmbH, Milliken, and SCRA for bringing this technology to our students. SCC faculty in our School of Health Sciences (nursing) and the School of Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies, which houses CAMIT (Center for advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies) have already undergone training to use reality and augmented reality learning assistance and process documentation technologies. Our goal is to expand so more of our Schools of Learning and as many SCC students as possible have the chance to learn via AR."
The goals of the partnership among participating companies are three-fold and provide cutting-edge technologies that assist instructors, students and industries.
- Instructors can prepare consistent and effective course content for students and client companies across SCC, and have access to the latest technologies to enrich the learning experience for each individual student.
- Students can learn course content consistently, on modern platforms including mobile devices, in an interactive and immersive manner, at self-pace to meet their individual learning preferences. Students also have the opportunity to interface with latest learning technologies, such as Augmented Reality, to prepare them and give them an edge in their career choices (in the classroom and the workplace).
- Industries benefit from AR in the classroom because they can be assured that when hiring SCC students, they have been prepared to help their future employer produce quality products and quality results in the shortest amount of time, reducing the cost of required training.
Philip Riddle, president, CEO, founder, of SeeDaten, Inc., says, "We are thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to partner with SCC, SCRA and Milliken & Company to make an ongoing positive impact with current and future SCC students and faculty. This in turn will make positive impacts with the entities that hire SCC graduates and put them above their competition. We believe the result of coordinating and combining the talents of an SCC education, SCRA's initial donations to accelerate technology-enabled growth in SC, as well as donations from Milliken, a legacy SC leader in manufacturing, research and quality products, sets a new standard for what can be accomplished to impact individuals, workforce development and the competitive landscape of SC." He adds, "It is also great to have Dr. Alex Lemken, co-founder of ioxp, here with us for the install, training, and launch with SCC, Milliken, and SCRA."
Milliken has invested, via a considerable in-kind donation, to assist SCC in raising the bar for educational excellence and to prepare students for movement into Milliken's modern manufacturing operations. "Investing in innovative approaches to learning is important to Milliken's current and future success. We are honored to help increase the manufacturing readiness of SCC students through the use of SeeDaten technology," says Craig Haydamack, senior vice president, Human Resources, Milliken & Company."