News

Registration is now open for technology workshops offered throughout the summer on topics including Access, Excel, Dreamweaver, ANGEL, InDesign, Photoshop, Blogs at Penn State, a variety of Penn State's administrative computing topics, and more. Many sessions are also offered online through Meeting@PennState (powered Adobe Connect) in order to give more members of the Penn State community the opportunity to attend. View the course list below or log in with your Penn State Access Account user ID and password for details or to register.

 

ANGEL: Start Using ANGEL in Your Course Right Away

Monday, May 7 from 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. in 23 Willard 

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110021

 

The Active Classroom: Effective Clicker Use

Monday, May 7 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in 371 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110028

 

Best Practices in Videoconferencing for Education

Monday, May 7 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110023

 

Creating Stellar Syllabi

Tuesday, May 8 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110025

 

ANGEL: Start Using ANGEL in Your Course Right Away (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Tuesday, May 8 from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. via Web 

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110022

 

ANGEL: Course Gradebook

Wednesday, May 9 from 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110019

 

Getting Started with Adobe Connect Pro

Wednesday, May 9 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in 116 Wagner

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110026

 

Adobe Connect: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Thursday, May 10 from 8:15 a.m. - 9:30 am. Via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110018

 

ANGEL: Course Gradebook (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Thursday, May 10 from 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. via Web 

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110020

 

Effectively Using VoiceThread for Teaching and Learning

Thursday, May 10 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in 210 IST

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110179

 

Hazards and Benefits of Web 2.0 for Higher Education

Thursday, May 10 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 pm. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110027

 

Topics for Teaching: Google Apps Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Friday, May 11 from 8:15 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110029

 

Topics for Teaching: Google Apps Overview

Friday, May 11 from 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110030 

 

Blogs at Penn State: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Friday, May 11 from 12:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. via Web 

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110024

 

Access 2010: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Monday, May 14 from 12:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. via Web 

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110073 

 

Administrative Information Services (AIS) at Penn State: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Tuesday, May 15 from 8:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. via Web 

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110046 

 

ANGEL: Start Using ANGEL in Your Course Right Away

Tuesday, May 15 from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110084

 

Web 2.0: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Tuesday, May 15 from 1:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110161

 

InDesign CS5: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Wednesday, May 16 from 8:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110128

 

Windows 7 Basic Security: Overview (Lunchtime Session via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Thursday, May 17 from 11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. via Web 

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110164

 

Getting Started with Penn State Wikispaces

Friday, May 18 from 8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110115

 

PowerPoint 2010: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Friday, May 18 from 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110144

 

Word 2010: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Monday, May 21 from 8:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110170

 

Using iPhoto (Lunchtime Session via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Monday, May 21 from 11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110153

 

Adobe Connect: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Tuesday, May 22 from 8:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110080

 

Access 2010: The Basics ($30)

Tuesday, May 22 from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110076

 

IT Pro Roundtable: Windows 8-To-Go and Windows 8 Server (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Tuesday, May 22 from 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110201

 

MATLAB in Serial and Parallel

Tuesday, May 22 from 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. in 223 Computer Building

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=109989

 

Excel 2010: Overview (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Wednesday, May 23 from 8:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110104

 

GarageBand: Podcasting Basics

Wednesday, May 23 from 11:00 p.m. - 12:00 p.m. in 11 Sparks

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=109975

 

What to Consider When Facilitating Meetings Using Adobe Connect (Lunchtime Session)

Wednesday, May 23 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. in 23 Willard Conference Room

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110163

 

ANGEL: Course Gradebook

Wednesday, May 23 from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110083

 

Google Finance (Lunchtime Session via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect)

Tuesday, May 29 from 11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. via Web

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110121

 

How to Use Your Digital Camera Without Using the Manual (Lunchtime Session)

Tuesday, May 29 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. in 23 Willard Conference Room

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110126

 

Excel 2010: The Basics ($30)

Wednesday, May 30 from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110105

 

EndNote: The Basics

Wednesday, May 30 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. in W315 Pattee

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=109963

 

Final Cut Express Part 1: Video Authoring Basics

Wednesday, May 30 from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in 206 Pollock

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=109985

 

Illustrator CS5: The Basics ($30)

Wednesday, May 30 from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. in 23 Willard

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=110127

 

MATHEMATICA in Serial and Parallel

Thursday, May 31 from 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. in 223 Computer Building

https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=109990

Faculty, instructors, and graduate students are invited to sign up for free workshops during two Summer-Fest sessions developed to target technology as it relates to pedagogy and research. Sessions are scheduled to take place during the week between spring and summer semesters (May 7-11), as well as the week before the start of fall semester (August 13-17).

The workshops will highlight the ways instructors at Penn State are using technology to enhance classes and put innovative teaching ideas into practice. Many of these sessions will be offered live through Adobe Connect in order to give more members of the Penn State community the opportunity to attend via the web.

Please visit the ITS Training Services online catalog at http://its.psu.edu/training/catalog and click "Summer-Fest" in the black bar at the top of the page to view all available sessions.

Students at University Park may apply to become Tech Tutors to help other students use technology to complete course assignments and to provide faculty members with assistance on technology-related teaching, learning, and class management topics. Tutoring areas include Access, Excel, ANGEL, Blogs at Penn State, PowerPoint, Visio, basic computer skills, e-mail and file organization, creating web pages, and more. Tech Tutors gain one-on-one consulting experience and build communication and organizational skills while enhancing knowledge of technology. Applications are currently being accepted for the fall 2012 semester. For more information, view the job description and application process below.

 

Tech Tutors are responsible for providing individual technology support to faculty and students in a variety of settings. This position is also responsible for developing training materials as needed and may be responsible for delivering training to groups of students. Experience presenting technical content to non-technical audiences is preferred. Excellent verbal and written communication skills required. Ability to learn technology skills quickly required. Position will begin at the start of the fall 2012 semester. Applicant should be prepared to present a 10-minute training session to ITS Training Services staff. Minimum availability of 10 hours per week required. Please submit a cover letter and resume to L-Student-Trainers@lists.psu.edu and direct questions on the application process to ITS Training Services at 814-863-9522.

by Sarah Stoolman
Communications Intern for Teaching and Learning with Technology

For those stressing over using certain software programs to complete projects for their courses, a new tutoring service is being offered to students in select computer labs around University Park campus and upon request. The Tech Tutors service is a student-to-student tutoring program available for students who are seeking help with class assignments that involve technology.

With the anxiety of mid-term exams and projects coming up, Tech Tutors is a great service to utilize for help with these assignments. Well-trained students are here to assist students with any problems they may come across during this busy time of the semester.

"Tech tutors will focus on students helping students with projects that involve technology," said Heather Huntsinger, IT Training Specialist for ITS Training Services. "Part of that help will be provided in scheduled lab hours and we have selected labs spread throughout the University Park campus that we know are populated by students at core hours, usually between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. We have some insight that those are labs students use when working on projects," added Huntsinger. "The other part of that is, students can also request a time that is not part of those scheduled lab hours, and we're hoping that that will take off in its own right as well."

The Tech Tutors service offers help in popular topics for students such as Access, Blogs at Penn State, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, InDesign, and more.

The labs are located in convenient and relevant places around campus. "We've chosen three labs that we'll concentrate on for the spring semester. These are the Redifer commons, 201 Pollock and 15 Sparks," said Glenna Emel, Instructional Designer for ITS Training Services. "The labs are distributed in three locations across campus where Tech Tutors hold weekly hours. Those hours are listed on the calendar embedded in the Tech Tutors website," added Emel.

"Each of our tutors has a specialty area or two that they are more comfortable and confident assisting with, and we've noted those specialty areas on the calendar," said Huntsinger.

Tech Tutors are recognizable by their uniformed shirts. "We have dark purple shirts that say Tech Tutors in very large, bright white lettering on the back," said Emel. "They are wearing these in the labs and should be fairly easy to pick out from the crowd," she added.

The Tech Tutors service is designed to help students successfully accomplish assignments and projects that require knowledge of specific technologies. With student response and feedback, Tech Tutors will become a strong asset to ITS on the University Park campus.

"There's an evaluation process with these Tech Tutors, so students who participate or request assistance from a Tech Tutor will receive a feedback survey. We would like as much student response as possible to make future choices about where the program goes, types of projects, types of topics that are most needed, the most frequent times and locations, etc. We want to go to where the students are that need the help, so getting as much feedback as possible will be beneficial as we move forward," noted Emel.

This ITS service is looking to help students perform to their highest abilities and is readily available at three labs around campus during the spring 2012 semester. Please visit http://its.psu.edu/training/techtutors/ for available times and locations or to schedule an appointment. Tech Tutors are eager to help all students make the most out of their learning experience at Penn State.

The lynda.com at Penn State website for online video tutorials is sporting a streamlined interface for the start of the fall 2011 semester. These popular software tutorials are used by students, faculty, and staff at no cost through a license agreement between Penn State and online training provider lynda.com. Be sure to visit the new site at http://lynda.psu.edu/ to watch a sample tutorial or sign in with your Penn State Access Account ID and password to dive right in to the training!

Check out this Q & A on the new website with ITS Training Services director, Chris Lucas:

What prompted the decision to change the location of the lynda.com at Penn State website?
The lynda.com service has proven to be a very popular and cost-effective way to provide training support to the entire Penn State community. However, one of our goals for the coming year is to further increase usage. We felt that moving it from the ITS Training Services site to lynda.psu.edu would give it more visibility and make it easier to access. Creating a dedicated website is just one strategy we are taking to create even more awareness of the service.
 
 
What are the goals of this new site?
As stated previously, making the service more visible is one goal. Another goal includes helping faculty, staff, and students understand how it (the lynda.com at Penn State service) can benefit them personally. For example, we want faculty to be aware of strategies for incorporating it into their courses. Staff should be aware that lynda.com is a great resource to incorporate into their professional development plans. Students can develop skills that can help them complete course projects and boost their resume.


What are some enhancements of the new site?
The content on the site has been condensed and streamlined to make it easy for people to find exactly what they need. We have also added a news section to the site, where we will post announcements related to the service. This includes new courses, enhancements to the service, and even online webinars that are hosted by lynda.com.
 

Will the site continue to change and if so how?
Yes, the site will continue to grow. In particular, we plan on incorporating case studies of how faculty, staff, and students are using the service. We'd like to work directly with faculty and students--anyone using the service--to come up with best practices, guidelines, success stories, and anything we can add that will benefit the Penn State community. This will make the site's content even more useful.


Is the lynda.com at Penn State service changing?
We anticipate some changes to the service that should really make the service even more valuable to the Penn State community. Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to talk about the details right now, but I'll go out on a limb and say that, if all goes well, I expect some significant enhancements to the service very soon. Stay tuned!

Technology is often thought of as a tool that inherently improves efficiency and productivity, but the truth is technology only functions as well as a person's ability to use it. Chris Lucas, director of ITS Training Services, wants to make sure Penn State students have plenty of opportunities to learn technologies that can help them be successful in their coursework and beyond.

One of the ways the ITS training unit is trying to make this possible is by sending technology training experts into academic courses to provide instruction on commonly used technologies. This service is called Training on Demand, and, according to Lucas, is designed to help relieve faculty of the burden of having to be experts in every technology their students will need to use.

The training, which is provided upon request by a faculty member or instructor, typically consists of an overview of a software application that can fit into one or two class sessions, depending on the need. "We have many repeat users of this service," said Lucas, "and they seem to be very happy with it."
 
Ken Yednock, senior lecturer, advertising/public relations, said, "I have been most pleased with the ITS trainer who helped with my classes on Photoshop and InDesign. It is great to have this resource available for our students and to enhance our class experiences."

Not only does learning about these technologies help students in their course work at Penn State, but it also prepares them for the future by providing skills they will be able to use in their careers after graduating.

"People might assume that students are naturally technology savvy because they grew up with technology. They're known as the 'Millennial' Generation. But even though they're using cell phones and Facebook, we can't assume they know how to use tools like Excel or PowerPoint or even Photoshop--tools they might need to use in their future careers," said Lucas.
 
John Beale senior lecturer in the College of Communications said, "Training on Demand has offered my freshmen students an excellent introduction to The Blogs at Penn State. Scheduling a session is convenient and the students appreciate the hands-on approach of the trainer."

While additional learning options exist for Penn State students, such as free video tutorials through online training provider lynda.com, Lucas said, "The goal of the Training on Demand service is to provide students with another option for learning the technology skills needed to successfully complete their course work. They [students] also have the opportunity to ask the trainer specific questions related to using the technologies in the Penn State environment," he said.

Training on Demand is available at no cost to Penn State faculty and instructors upon request. Details, request guidelines, and a list of available topics are available at http://its.psu.edu/training/ondemand/. After reviewing the guidelines, begin the request process by contacting the ITS Training Services training coordinator at 814-863-9522 or ITSTraining@psu.edu.

Patty Nordstrom was born in Western Pennsylvania and grew up in Beaver County. She attended Penn State and majored in agronomy with a specialty in crops and soil. Patty went on to use this degree working for a lawn service outside of Pittsburgh after college for some time.

Patty returned to Penn State in 1990 with a mission to get more involved with the State College community. She achieved this goal by working year-round to help plan The Central Pennsylvania Festival for the Arts. Patty worked on planning the Arts Festival for six years in a row and had a marvelous time in the process. "It was great to see the results of all of my work on the thousands of happy faces walking around State College during Arts Fest weekend. It's an overwhelming sense of accomplishment," Patty said.
 
During her time with the Arts Festival, Patty began working on her Master's degree in Agricultural and Extension Education. She explains her experience as a form of e-learning before computers really started to kick in. This gave her an exciting glimpse of what the future had in store and how essential computers would soon be. After receiving her master's in 1995, Patty became a project assistant in Penn State's Dairy and Animal Science department and worked on several Pennsylvania Department of Agricultural Department research projects.
 
Patty started working with Information and Technology Services in 2010, continuing her work as an instructional designer. Patty feels that for Penn State to be most effective with technology usage, ITS needs to listen to the needs of faculty and staff.

Patty's hobbies include caring for her adopted shelter dog, Iko. She also loves school and learning, in general, and she is currently going for her D.Ed. in instructional systems.

By Peter Cardoso, Communications Intern

Ryan hails from Saratoga Springs in upstate New York and worked at the Saratoga horseracing track when he was a kid. He realized a deep passion for the weather at a very young age. Ryan attended SUNY Albany, gaining a degree in Atmospheric Science. Despite Ryan's love for the weather, he didn't much appreciate all the math involved and found that meteorology was a tough thing to break into during an internship with a TV station.  

Ryan, like so many who now work in Information Technology Services, started off working down the road at AccuWeather in the TV systems department.  In this position, Ryan traveled all over the United States and even worked internationally, training weather station employees on how to use new meteorology equipment and software.

Ryan loved the travel aspect of his job, but when he met his wife, Angelita who worked at AccuWeather as well, Ryan knew he had to find a different position in order to spend more time at home. Ryan became the manager of the Customer Services department, working alongside his wife there for six years. Ryan would eventually end up managing the call center. He gained  a lot of training and support experience while at AccuWeather and he managed the creation of many of AccuWeather's training programs.

Ryan finally left AccuWeather and came to work at Penn State in the ITS department in 2008. Here, Ryan does training on Penn State administrative systems.  Ryan very much enjoys working here at Penn State compared to the high-stress nature of his previous job.
Some of Ryan's hobbies include forcing himself to work out, hanging out with friends and going to concerts in his spare time. He is also a huge movie lover and even has a movie room in his basement with a screen, projector, and a wide array of movies.

By Peter Cardoso, Communications Intern

Glenna Emel was born in Germany into a military family, and when she was young her family was constantly on the move. She spent most of her childhood in the southern United States, moving from town to town, wherever the Army stationed her father. Glenna went on to join the Marines herself three days after graduating from high school. She trained all over the United States before getting shipped off to Kuwait to contribute to the Desert Storm effort as an ammunition and explosives specialist.

Upon her return to the United States, Glenna attended the University of Pittsburgh and earned a degree in Accounting. Although she enjoyed the course work, Glenna didn't really see herself as an accountant. She decided to attend Lock Haven University, earning a degree in education before earning her Master's in Technology Integration at Indiana Westline. She also earned a Paralegal degree through Penn State.

Glenna exercised her degrees by becoming a public school teacher for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. She taught English, Science, and Social Studies and absolutely loved her experience with teaching children.

Glenna started working in Information and Technology Services here at Penn State in 2006, starting out as an Administrative Systems financial trainer before becoming an instructional designer in 2008. Glenna now creates Web-based training and instructional materials for Penn State-specific programs including Workflow and Termination form, which brings her back to her accounting roots in a fashion that allows her to continue being an educator.

In her free time, Glenna enjoys spending time with her husband, Gary and their four kids. She also enjoys gardening in her big backyard, quilting, and camping out with her family.