The fourth floor of the Florestano building opened for students at the start of the semester after nearly three years of renovations.       The renovations included the addition of media production studios; a computer lab for students taking online synchronous classes; modular “innovation classrooms”; and the new Innovation, Design, Engagement and Accessibility Lab, a space for faculty to meet and develop new teaching techniques, according to team leader of instructional technology Spencer Setters.

“When I learned that we were going to have this IDEA Lab and, basically, the whole floor, I was elated,” Setters said. “This is a really special space. I never imagined that we’d actually get to create it.”

The fourth floor opened for faculty and staff last semester. This school year is a “soft launch,” according to Setters.

The media production studios include two self-serve recording booths, as well as a full recording studio with a control room.

Setters said the goal of the recording studios is for students and professors to be able to create content matching the “quality of a high-end YouTube content creator.”

The Performing Arts Department’s new music technology classes next semester, Recording Industry Techniques 1 and 2, will practice in Florestano’s media production studios.

“On a personal note, when I was first going to school here,” Setters said, “I wanted to major in audio engineering, [but] there was no audio engineering degree. … We’re now able to offer [classes] like that.”

Setters noted the media studios are an “impact multiplier” that will even affect students who don’t use them, as professors can “record high-quality audio, video content … and improve all of the courses where instructors are willing to create their media from inside those spaces.”

The fourth floor’s computer lab contains 10 “pods” outfitted with computers, microphones and cameras for students taking online synchronous classes.

“Each individual computer pod is kind of like its own office in a way,” Setters said.