Des Moines Area Community College students will have access to the same e-books and augmented reality mobile apps that utilities like MidAmerican Energy use to train apprentices through a new partnership with Index AR Solutions announced Monday. Under the terms of a teaming agreement, Index is implementing an immersive, multimodal digital curriculum for classroom instruction at DMACC that will provide students the exact skills and information needed to be hired as a power line mechanic, a news release stated. Students who started a two-semester course at the DMACC Ankeny Campus this fall are the first DMACC students to use the new curriculum, delivered on tablets. The materials include 20 Index e-book titles originally developed in collaboration with MidAmerican Energy, which feature digital annotation tools and videos of line mechanics performing work and providing guidance. The tablets also have 22 interactive mobile apps using AR, three-dimensional models and animations to teach students how to identify key pieces of equipment and walk them through safety considerations. “Utilities and trades across the country are struggling to keep up with workforce development needs,” said Rob Denson, president of DMACC. “Our partnership with Index is a unique career and technical education model that delivers a proven solution to solving today’s acute workforce issues.”