The Clackamas print., December 02, 2015, Page 3, Image 3

College receives Microsoft grant
¡photo by Andrew Koczian
BY BLAKE SWAN
Carnegie Mellon. Dartmouth College.
V irginia Tech, UC B erkeley and
Clackamas Community College. One
of these doesn’t belong.
Still, CCC has entered the upper
echelon o f Am erican technology
research along w ith th ese four
sch o o ls, all rec ip ie h ts o f th e
M icrosoft HoloLens Grant. Each
grant includes $100,000, two of
Microsoft’s augmented reality devices
(the HoloLens) and the M icrosoft
development kit.
The winning grant proposal, sent
to Microsoft, was a team effort by
CCC Digital Media Communications
director Andy Mingo, Oregon Story
Board and Intel. W ith this grant,
CCC w ill o ffer classes teaching
programming for the HoloLens, an
augmented reality device.
Augm ented reality, or AR, is a
technology that blends the real world
with interactive holograms. This is
separate from virtual reality devices
(such as the Oculus Rift) that
create an en tirely com puter
generated world.
The developm ent kit CCC’ s
DMC departm ent is receiving
w ill be given to them “ far in
advance o f the developm ent
k its th at w ill be put out for
professionals in first quarter 2016,”
Mingo said. Software development
kits or SDKs allow professionals to
program for an environment.
CCC is the only community college
that won the grant, giving the college
the opportunity to be part of the $150
billion industry that augm ented
reality is projected to com m and
within five years.
“ The great part about it is that it
gives access to students who don’t
have the funds required for an Ivy
League sch o o l,” said M ingo. “ It
really allows for this type of training
to be given to people w ith lim ited
Andy Mingo teaches in the DMC computer lab in McLoughlin.
being held in downtown Portland is
the office’ s central location. Also, the
space at the Oregon Story Board’ s
office that w ill be used for this
class will be reserved exclusively for
students working with the HoloLens.
“ Having a space reserved for it will
allow students to come and work with
the HoloLens outside of class,” said
Shelley M idthun, director .of
Oregon Story Board.
It fea tu res co n feren ce
rooms and private areas, as
w ell as an open workspace
that can comfortably seat 30
people with long desks.
photo courtesy of Microsoft
“ I t ’ s a great place for
individual or lab w o rk ,” said
Midthun.
According to Midthun, students in
The students w ill be programing
game engine and a mixed reality lesson that w ill be the class will be working alongside
the C# programming language will for the automotive department. The industry professionals. She, and
be put together for a project class, lesson will allow automotive students everyone at Oregon Story Board, are
to take a holographic engine and work really excited about being able to work
according to Mingo.
Brandon McCoy, a student at CCC, on it or take it apart using holographic with students and the HoloLens.
“ It’ s really going to be a game
already has some experience w ith tools.
The class, like all CCC classes, will changer for the college and for other
other VR devices.
“ I started going to VR m eet-ups not only be available to students of vocational training programs here at
downtown, where they have Oculus CCC but all throughout the region. the college,” Mingo said.
DMC-199 w ill be takin g place
Rifts and Samsung VRs,” McCoy said. The class will be held at Oregon Story
With his experience with other VR Board’s offices in downtown Portland. winter term.
Part of the reason for the class
devices, McCoy was “ super excited”
resources and your common person when he heard the CCC was getting
in Clackamas County and the region.” HoloLenses he immediately signed
DMC-199 w ill be the first in a up for the class. He has also demoed
series of three augm ented reality a Google Cardboard to CCC’ s STEM
d evelop m en t cla sses. The b est Club.
students versed in 3D modeling, Unity
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