866-266-7496 mediacommons@psu.edu

Mobile Media Program

What is the Mobile Media Program?

The Mobile Media Program offers students the opportunity to tell stories wherever they are while also engaging with creative environments and augmented realities.

The Mobile Media Program has been putting iPad-based media production kits in the hands of students since 2014. As mobile hardware has grown increasingly powerful, a number of new program device affordances have opened novel pathways for telling and experiencing stories.

How does the MMP differ from students working on their phones?

While it is true that many students are bringing the latest mobile technology to class, not all do. Even those that have access to these high end devices are not necessarily using it for innovative, academic purposes.

The Mobile Media Program levels the playing field with standardized hardware, software and, most importantly, training. Further, for group-based work, the dedicated project devices eliminate awkward conversations about sharing a highly personal phone or tablet.

What assistance is available as a program participant?

From faculty consultation to in-class training to student support, the Mobile Media Program connects you with the right tools and storytelling expertise to make your projects and assignments classroom favorites.

Our consultants will work with you to deploy pre-loaded and pre-configured iPad kits, match instruction with project deliverables and maximize access to mentorship and support for your students no matter the activity.

Is my project a good fit for the Mobile Media Program?

Mobile media projects are particularly rich when students will be:

 

  • working in the field
  • sharing work immediately (create, publish and share)
  • working where small, low-profile devices are useful
  • creating using lightweight software tools
  • mixing reality with digital content
Mobile devices are not the best option when:

 

  • projects are complex and require high-profile software tools*
  • projects require immediate, simultaneous collaboration
* in many cases, a rougher deliverable or mock up is sufficient for the learning objectives of the project
To ensure you have a successful experience, Media Commons recommends:

 

  • letting students know early-on that they will be using mobile devices for their projects
  • scheduling training sessions with students (the workflow for media production on these devices is generally simple but may be new to students)
  • polling participants to determine who will bring their own device versus using one that we can provide

Assignment Ideas + Resources

Audio + Video

CAS 250

Small Group Communications class is required to work in teams to create videos based on topics from history. The students work together on their projects using the iPad minis to shoot and edit their videos. Each video is graded and the best ones are sent to our research fair.
See Full Assignment

APLNG 220N

Students of Applied Linguistics complete a narrative interview project in which they collect, analyze, and present oral histories or other stories from multilinguals. The people they interview may be members of their own family, language learners or parents of bilingual children.
See Full Assignment

SC 060N

Students in Art of the Natural World record the sounds of nature, create videos investigating the flora and fauna of the forest and develop a variety of documentaries of their personal voyages in nature. Students will be recording the natural world with the iPads for the purposes of capturing: insect anatomy and movement, species identification, recording sound and investigate the landscapes and light.
See Full Assignment

Creativity + Augmented Reality

ECE 479

Pre-service teachers pair iPads with LEGO® Spike robotics kits to explore, experience, and experiment. Students code basic robots to perform simple tasks, giving them ideas and tools that they can deploy in their future pre-K to 4th grade classrooms.
Watch Recap Video

MKTG 473

Digital marketing students explore how augmented reality is being used in the industry and what it could mean for the future. Students first learn how to create their own AR scenes using Adobe Aero on the iPads, utilizing simple 3D models and basic behaviors and triggers.

Tutorials

Tutorials

Looking for AR Experiences?

If you’re hoping to bring Augmented Reality experiences to your classroom, the Experience Catalogue is a great place to start. Curated by the IMEX Lab team, the apps in the Catalogue have been vetted for usefulness, categorized by academic discipline and summarized for clarity.

View AR Experiences

LinkedIn Learning Tutorials

Adobe Tutorials

Contact Us

We’re here to help! If you have questions about one of our Mobile Media Program devices while working on an assignment, shoot us an email at mediacommons@psu.edu or call us at 866-266-7496.

About Project Devices

Hardware

For traditional media production, the iPad offers many benefits over the camera → computer → delivery workflow, like still photography, on-device editing, web access, audio recording, note taking and video uploading.

The iPad also offers the latest in sensors and processing power, allowing for the display and manipulation of Augmented Reality (AR) materials as well as rich content creation to be used in both traditional and immersive contexts.

This form factor provides a much larger, Retina resolution screen for framing shots and editing video, peering into augmented spaces and combining media to create unique stories than phones.

We have 30 devices that are available to loan across the Commonwealth during the semester. We also have smaller numbers of accessories like Apple Pencil that can be added on an as-needed basis.

Software

The software load will change depending on community feedback and project needs. Make a suggestion if your favorite app is not listed.

Now Accepting Proposals for Spring 2025

The Mobile Media Program is accepting applications to join its cohort of faculty participants. We would love to hear your ideas for ways to engage your students with media creation, creative environments, augmented reality and more. Please take a few moments to complete the Form for Submissions where you can let us know the details of what you’d like to accomplish. We’ll get back in touch to help clarify the specifics and determine if our program is a good fit for your goals. We look forward to seeing your application.

Share Your Activity Idea