December 8, 2011  

NACC First in ACCS to Launch Official Mobile App

Northeast Alabama Community College president, Dr. David Campbell, is pleased to announce the unveiling of the college’s new dynamic mobile App which launched December 5, 2011. NACC is the first college in the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) to launch an App of this type.

“The use of this App will permit anyone who is interested to find out information about Northeast in a remarkably short matter of time,” Campbell stated. “The development of this App keeps us on pace with the technology that has revolutionized communications both here in the United States and internationally.”

Apps (applications) are some of the most popular and versatile mobile tools available for use in today’s technology. “We began this process several months ago in order to provide our students with the latest in technology,” said Debra Barrentine, Director of Promotions and Marketing at NACC. “In many ways, the App has exceeded our expectations. We are very pleased with the outcome.”

Everything you need to know about NACC can be found by downloading the free app from Apple's App Store. The app is developed for any Apple iOS 5.0+ device, including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Users of Android, BlackBerry, or other smartphones/tablets may visit www.naccmobile.com to experience most of the same content found within the app in a "mobile-friendly" format. Apple device users though will enjoy an exciting user interface and several exclusive features that take advantage of the platform’s unique capabilities.

Apple device owners can download the app directly from their device or on their computer for syncing to their device later. The app can be viewed and obtained from Apple’s App Store.

“The dynamic app allows us to refresh content in-house when needed ensuring a fresh and exciting experience for our users,” said Barrentine. “One of the advanced features of the app includes a campus map with GPS functionality. This feature would allow users to load the map on their device, and have their location pinpointed on the map. Instead of just having a ‘You are Here’ pinpoint, the user can select a building and have it instantly highlighted on the map to show them how to navigate quickly to their destination. This will be incredibly useful for our newer students and visitors.”

Zach Jones of Warehouse-Media in Fort Payne is the developer of the app. "I'm very excited to bring advanced mobile technology to NACC. Ensuring this project was not only cutting-edge but also incredibly useful and easy to use was a priority for NACC. We worked to develop engaging features that can be useful to current students, prospective students, and the general public. NACC staff will be able to manage app content in-house using Warehouse-Media's proprietary Cloudalyst technology."

Jones is a certified App developer with Apple. As a part of his certification, Jones submits Apps that he designs to the Apple Inc. for approval. Apple released the Northeast App for public use on December 5, 2011. The Northeast App includes access and to the college catalog, semester schedules, programs of study on campus, e-mail, student Noah accounts, and faculty and staff e-mail, office, and telephone directories, information about admissions and registration, as well as announcements about events and activities on campus.

“Our recruiters will provide prospective students with information about how to download the App and from there they can find out just about anything they want to know about Northeast,” Campbell added.

Angie Stewart, Assistant to Vice President/Dean of Instruction at NACC, will monitor and update content of the App. “We are so excited for our current and prospective students as they begin using this App. They will have the information at their fingertips when and where they want it through the use of a smart phone or tablet device.”

Everything that anyone needs to know about the college can be found through the Northeast App, which can be downloaded by searching the App Store for “NACC;” the app is free to download. For those with other devices, the information can be downloaded and used from the mobile website, which is compatible with all smartphones and tablets, at www.naccmobile.com.

In recent years Northeast has emphasized the development and use of communications technology on campus. The college, for example, has more than twenty computer labs on campus for a wide-range of subjects and for general use by students. Northeast utilizes the Blackboard software system for online and classroom courses. Wimba software may be used by Northeast instructors to make audio recordings of their lectures to be replayed by students for study purposes. Some seventy-five percent of Northeast classrooms have electronic teaching boards (SmartBoards) that can be used by instructors to highlight and augment their class presentations. Students as well as faculty and staff are served by the Technology Learning Center (TLC) on campus in which individual instruction on the use of educational technology is provided. This technology center was financed through a 1.2 million dollar Title III federal grant. The college was one of the first institutions, municipalities, or organizations in Northeast Alabama to provide total wireless access. Additionally, the college features its own web cam, the Mustang Cam, which provides a 24/7 view of the school’s Quadrangle area.

“We consider the development of the Northeast App to be one more step in the college’s efforts to provide the latest and best educational technology to our students and the community,” Campbell stated. “The way communications is developing in today’s world, one thing is certain and that is that there will be more cutting edge technology to follow. We at Northeast want our students to have the opportunity to have access to that technology.”

For more information on App development, contact Jones at 256-844-6600 or go to www.warehouse-media.com.

Showcasing the mobile app are (L-R) Debra A. Barrentine, Director of Promotions and Marketing at NACC; Zach Jones, App developer, Warehouse-Media; Angela Stewart, Assistant to Vice President/Dean of Instruction at NACC, displaying the NACC App Icon;  and Dr. David Campbell, President of NACC.