Despite 3G only being available to the Muncie and Anderson area for a week, one Ball State University class has already taken advantage of the new network.
The interactive media course, known as iMedia, is a two semester immersive-learning class that combines students and faculty from five Ball State departments to develop interactive news and advertising programs for mobile platforms.
This year the class is creating applications for the city of Muncie and the Muncie Star Press. These applications will help people learn about the city and tell news stories through multimedia outlets, such as video and audio.
But, within the last week, the 3G network has helped the class hurdle two formidable barriers: a lack of speed and a lack of connectivity, journalism graphics professor Jennifer George-Palilonis said.
"We can do a lot more with 3G," she said. "It just does so much more than the other networks people were using. It's a big difference."
Their project is a mobile Web site called "My Muncie," which will provide users information about everything from city attractions to government figures.
For example, the class is creating an application for people who want to know more about the city's parks. The application could navigate a map of the park, while users would be able to find out more information on playgrounds and other attractions within the park. Also, users could be able to get information on restaurants and businesses surrounding the park.
A $30,000 Provost Immersive Learning Grant allowed the class to branch out to work with clients, such as the city of Muncie.
Palilonis said the class, which is in its fifth year, used to be focused on research, but now it has turned into something better.
"I feel that this year is a turning point," Palilonis said. "We always wanted to do something with a real audience and now we have that. We're kind of in a new league now."
Danielle Stewart, a journalism graphics major, said this experience is unique because it's different than regular classes in her major.
"My other classes just focused on print design," she said. "This is a completely different ball game. You have to work on a very small screen and think about how the program is best usable in that format. You have to think outside of your own conventions."
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