The world is changing, and Auburn University is changing with it. Almost five years ago, the Auburn University Ralph Brown Draughon ensured that AU students would have access to the technology that is shaping the future of the world.

The Media Digital Resource Lab was created to provide students with access to digital media, creative software and extended printing capabilities for all school related assignments.

For four years, the lab has assisted students. Its first three years were spent in a smaller space than the current lab. Located on the first floor of the library, the old lab only had about 16 computers and some audio and video equipment.

After three years, they removed one of the walls and constructed the new MDRL It was completed nearly a year ago. The new lab is three times the size of the old one and contains 40 computers and multiple large scale printers. Students can be seen all hours of the day working on one of the computers that set atop the zigzagged rows of desks.

”It creates a more user friendly space,” Chris Mixon, head of the MDRL, said about the unique layout of the lab.

The desks allow for multiple users to gather around one computer, making group projects at the MDRL more group friendly.

The head of the lab has only lived in Auburn eight years. He was originally from Chicago and had no formal training in digital media or applications. He had studied geology as an undergraduate at Illinois State and got his master's degree in geography from the University of Wisconsin. Mixon learned technical illustration and graphic design partially on his own.

He came to work at Auburn in 2000 and worked at the library as a map collections specialist. When the new Media Digital Resource Lab was opening up, Mixon seized the opportunity to become a part of it.

Mixon and his three-member team work to assist students in their digital media endeavors. Gary Hawkins, Eileen Hall and Gerrit Dewitt all bring different expertise to the MDRL. Mixon’s diversified staff offer help to all lab users working on school related projects.

Mixon said that the provost saw the need for the MDRL and its expansion.

The lab does not go unused. Mixon said that it is used heavily by the graphic design students who use many of the software programs installed on the lab’s computers. Business and communication students make frequent use of the creative software and specialty printing.

Those who take the COMM 1000 speech course at AU may find themselves in the lab creating or printing their visual aids on the printers.

Sarah Puetz is a graphic design major from Pennsylvania. She said that she has enjoyed using the MDRL. The graduating senior used the lab to help create her portfolio. The portfolio consists of electronic media like compact discs and Web pages created with lab software. Other programs and printers have allowed Puetz to create decorative envelopes, resumes, cover letters and business cards.

Puetz is just one of many who have been helped by the services at the MDRL.

Mixon said that in order to help more students at the university, the MDRL has considered offering classes on some of the programs and options that are available in the lab.

For Auburn students, the lab is a tool that will prepare them for the technology of their future.

"It is important for all students, regardless of their discipline, to embrace the resources available in the MDRL," Robert French, professor of public relations at AU, said.

The MDRL is another way Auburn is providing relevant education to its students. French has seen first hand how educating students in what he called the digital information culture of today can be beneficial. In his classes, French constantly reports on the successes of AU graduates who have embraced the new digital technologies.

"The ability to communicate in creative and engaging ways will serve every graduate well," French said.


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