By Toby Warfel
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Students in the audio recording class at Camden County College are experiencing delays in class because of technical issues.
The iMac in Room L-017 of Lincoln Hall has had several software updates and required downloads that have caused both Professor Dave Downham and the instructional technology staff quite the headache. Also, some problems with a Perkins Grant allocation have rendered the studio incomplete.
“(The Audio Recording I) class is designed to give students hands-on and lecture-based training to become an audio engineer,” said Downham, a professor at Camden County College for nine years. This includes using the technology and equipment the college has available to teach the students skills that enhance their ability to produce a better-sounding product. However, this equipment is not usable.
Required software updates and missing software drivers are rendering the equipment useless. Drivers can be downloaded by going to the manufacturer’s website and downloading the corresponding driver to the desired device, Downham stated. The problem lies within the security features on this computer. They require an administrative user identification and password to complete any download or update. However, only the instructional technology department and select few have access to the administrative account information.
Downham has been lobbying to receive administrative capabilities to resolve these software issues; however, the college has denied these capabilities to him for security reasons. Downham and the instructional technology department are attempting to correct these issues.
The audio department is in the process of upgrading the studio, Downham stated. As a result, the studio is not completely set up because of some issues with a Perkins Grant allocation. At the end of last semester, Downham and the audio department petitioned for a piece of what is known as a Perkins Grant. The Perkins Grant is designed to support financially the purpose of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, which the act states “is to develop more fully the academic and career and technical skills of secondary education students and postsecondary education students who elect to enroll in career and technical education programs.”
The money from this grant was intended to buy custom equipment and cabling for the studio, Downham said. However, this equipment could not be delivered before the date required by the grant. Consequently, the audio department was denied the use of the funds and could not complete the setup of the studio.
These cables are a small part of the cabling needed to set up a studio. By Toby Warfel, CCC Journalism Program