The Bates Technical College Advanced Technology Center addresses community needs and introduces STEM-oriented programs to students pursuing vocational and higher education goals as well as life-long learning, particularly with women and minority students who have been historically underrepresented in these fields. Personal networks and familiarity have created an attractive environment for new students and industry partners. Potential students see projects, technology, students working on computers, and they can envision themselves in these programs.
The ATC focuses on broadcast technologies and STEM-oriented programs. Unique learning arrangements are created by co-locating collaborative spaces as educational linkages between faculty, students, project areas, and instructional spaces. Multiple modes of teaching/learning are blended to provide different capabilities for cross-teaching and greater educational effectiveness. Project-oriented work, collaborative discussion, inquiry, and interaction among faculty and students are heightened through intentional connectivity. Integrated social learning spaces support learning and build community.
The building uses transparency on many levels to expose and express systems and programs as learning tools. The main building server resides in a two-story glass tower and functions as an immersive teaching space. An interactive U Tube Cube promotes social learning and is a podium for walk-up access to media, student work, and interaction.
