Completing reading assignments, writing papers, and taking exams are challenges faced by all Penn State students as they tackle their course work. Students with disabilities such as low vision, blindness, limited mobility, or dyslexia can find these tasks even more of a challenge. To help afford all students an equal chance to succeed, Classroom and Lab Computing (CLC), part of Information Technology Services (ITS), is committed to providing assistive technology for use by students at University Park and the campus colleges. This article will focus on the specialized computing lab in 23 West Pattee Library at University Park, available to students with disabilities.
CLC equips the Pattee lab with a variety of assistive hardware and software. The Assistive Technology Committee, composed of representatives from CLC, the Office for Disability Services, Library Services for Persons with Disabilities, the Affirmative Action Office, College of Health and Human Development Information Systems and Services, and the Learning Assistance Center, decides which technology to provide, based on student needs and requests. The selected hardware and software is then installed and maintained by CLC research programmer Dana Landskroner.
Technology available in the 23 West Pattee lab includes:
Software:
Dragon Naturally Speaking: This software converts a user's spoken words to a text document onscreen, once it has learned an individual's speech pattern over a period of time. Being able to dictate text assists those who have difficulty typing on a keyboard.Duxbury Braille Translator: One workstation in the lab features this software, which converts a text document to Braille onscreen. A user may then send the file to the attached specialized printer, described below.
JAWS: This software reads onscreen text aloud, including program menus, Web pages, and documents.
Kurzweil 1000: This software for blind or low vision users reads text aloud. It recognizes a wide variety of text document formats and allows a user to search a document efficiently. Kurzweil 3000 Scan/Read: This is useful for users with low vision, as well as those with dyslexia. The program allows you to use the attached scanner to scan a document, then convert it to a text document that the software can read aloud. As you listen to a document, the current sentence appears in a different color, and each word is highlighted in turn as it is read. If a user selects a particular word, the software can provide a synonym or slowly pronounce and highlight each syllable.
OpenBook: This software also allows you to scan a document and convert it to a text file that it can read aloud. It includes tools for those with low vision, and it can export a document to the Braille printer.
ZoomText: This software magnifies selected portions of the computer screen. It also reads aloud onscreen text.
Additional accessibility features are built into some operating systems. These include the capability to magnify the screen, and StickyKeys, an application to assist people who have difficulty holding down two or more keys at a time. Landskroner said that both Kurzweil 3000 Read and ZoomText will shortly be installed on at least one workstation equipped with a large monitor in each student computing lab at University Park.
Hardware:AlphaSmart Pro: CLC loans four of these portable text entering devices to students. Consisting of a keyboard and a small LCD screen, this machine allows a student to type lecture notes in class. It is very lightweight and uses much less battery power than a notebook computer, yet allows a user to transfer text files to a personal computer.
Braille Express Printer: This specialized printer works in conjunction with Duxbury Braille Translator, embossing a Braille document on heavy paper.
Canon 5080C high-speed scanner: Lab staff members in 23 West Pattee receive numerous student requests to scan books and other reading materials for course work, so that the text can be read aloud by one of the software applications described above. Book pages are sliced apart, then placed in the scanner, which can quickly scan both sides of a page. Susan Hayya, coordinator for Library Services for Persons with Disabilities, reports that in fall 2003, lab employees scanned over 37,000 pages.
Tactile Image Enhancer: With this device, a user can scan an image, such as a graph or map, then emboss a tactile version of it using special heat-sensitive paper, so it can be "read" with the fingertips.
Video magnifiers: Several types of magnifiers in the lab allow users to place any reading material onto the machine, project it to a screen, then magnify it and zoom in as closely as desired.
Many of the workstations in the lab are also equipped with a large monitor and a scanner for student use.
Furnishings:Two of the lab workstations feature tabletops that can be raised or lowered by pressing a button to adjust them to an optimal height for a particular user, and permit wheelchair access.
Three workstations are separately housed in small rooms with doors, and are reserved for students taking tests. When not being used for testing, they may be used by students dictating text to an application such as Dragon Naturally Speaking.
According to Hayya, a core group of approximately ten to twenty students use the lab in 23 West Pattee each week. "With regard to this lab I rarely hear a dissatisfied word," she says. "All the comments I hear have been positive." William Welsh, director of the Office for Disability Services, also said that most students using the 23 West Pattee lab have reported being very satisfied. He added, "If a student is not satisfied or has a need that is not being met, the issue is brought to the committee for discussion and for a solution." Landskroner explained that the hardware and software currently installed in the 23 West Pattee lab has been determined by the committee to be of most use to current Penn State students with disabilities. Should a future student present new needs, ITS could purchase additional technology promptly. He said it would not be effective, however, to purchase software or equipment before it is needed, as it would quickly become outdated. If additional equipment were needed, he said, Penn State would purchase the latest model. "If the student makes their needs known to the Office for Disability Services, we'll take care of them," said Landskroner.
Welsh reiterated that the Office for Disability Services and CLC "rely on the students to notify us of a problem or a request, and we do what we can within reason to honor the request."
Attention Web Designers:
For tips on enhancing the accessibility of a Web site for individuals with disabilities, visit http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/accessibility/.
The Visualization ToolKit (VTK1) is a portable (runs on Windows, Macintosh, and Unix platforms) software system for 3-D computer graphics, scientific visualization and image processing. VTK is free, open source2, object-oriented and implemented in C++, but it also supports language bindings for Tcl/Tk, Python, and Java. These bindings allow for simple scripts that rapidly prototype complex and sophisticated applications. This has made VTK a popular software choice of visualization software for the programming staff of the Graduate Education and Research Support group (GEaRS) of Academic Services and Emerging Technologies (ASET/ITS) at Penn State. Many universities use VTK as a basis for courses in computer graphics and scientific visualization as well as a basic research tool. Additionally, many national laboratories are employing VTK to parallel-process visualizations of extremely large time-varying datasets.3 There are literally thousands of VTK programmers world-wide who are continually contributing software to enhance and extend VTK into new application areas. For example, the critical component in the application code discussed in this article is the method, "SetRadiusToVaryByAbsoluteScalar", which was recently contributed to the class, "vtkTubeFilter", by Michael Finch, a Senior Programmer and Lab Manager of the Scientific Database Laboratory at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
In this VTK application, Prof. Jonathan Lynch4 and Tom Walk, of Penn State's Department of Horticulture, worked with Ray Masters, of the GEaRS group, to visualize the output of their SimRoot5 program. SimRoot produces a geometric simulation model of plant root systems. The root data output by SIMROOT consists of many connected small line segments corresponding to root centerlines, and a scalar value for each segment which indicates the radius of that segment. The particular dataset discussed in this article contained 858KB of data describing thousands of root segments with this information. Figure 1 is a listing of the VTK program that processes this data, builds the graphic models, and then displays the result in a highly interactive graphics window. This program uses the Tcl/Tk wrapped version of VTK. One can infer both simplicity and power from the terseness of this code. Running interpretively on a 2GHz Dell Inspiron 8200 notebook, the program requires only a few seconds to process the data, construct the root geometry, and then display the root objects. The display can be dynamically zoomed, panned, rotated, and toggled into stereo mode. The image can be a simple wire-frame display (Figure 2) or a fully lighted and shaded surface representation as in Figure 3.
VTK is well-suited for medical visualization, including CAT and MRI data processing, volume visualization, CFD and fluid mechanics, acoustics, finite element analysis, and surface reconstruction from unorganized point clouds, just to mention a few popular application areas. VTK is relatively easy to learn and use, especially if one has had prior experience with object-oriented software and script programming.
VTK is one of the many topics for which specialized instruction and training is available through "Seminars-on-Demand", a GEaRS initiative designed to provide High Performance Computing and Visualization related education to the University community. The goal is simple: to deliver seminars that are tailored to fit your needs and taught at a time and place to suit your convenience. These seminars are taught using our Lab-on-Wheels facility, a portable laptop computer lab that can be quickly deployed anywhere, from a conference room to a faculty member's lab or office. "Seminars-on-Demand" are provided to make learning convenient and easy. The web page located at: http://gears.aset.psu.edu/education/presents this initiative with additional details. The web page: http://gears.aset.psu.edu/education/viz/tcltk contains information specific to learning VTK.
Please contact Ray Masters at 865-0828 or email to ray-masters@psu.edu for additional information.
2 Open source software is freely available as source code to anyone who wants it. This is different from commercial software, freeware, or shareware, which are normally distributed only as executable binaries.
3 www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/fl/publications/ahrens00.pdf
5 Lynch, JP, KL Nielsen, RD Davis, AG Jablokow. 1997. "SimRoot: Modeling and visualization of botanical root systems." Plant and Soil 188:139-151.Introduction
Sensitive data is confidential, private, personal data on any digital media. Experience has shown that many if not most PC's to be transferred out of production, still contain data which is considered sensitive related to University business. This includes passwords, employee/student private and/or personal data, financial, health, banking information, personnel documents, proposals, contractual records, etc. Thus when a University microcomputer is sent to University Salvage and Surplus, or transferred between departments, sent for repair, or otherwise disposed of, such sensitive data should be permanently and securely overwritten.
Recommendations for Microcomputers
Since manual removal of individual occurrences of sensitive data has been shown to be unreliably incomplete, we recommend using a professional disk sanitation algorithm (http://www.versiontracker.com/php/feedback/article.php?story=20035301448520630144) or wiping tool software that supports the DoD 5220.22-M disk overwriting Standard (http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/500/d522022m.doc) to completely overwrite fixed disk(s) of PC's that are being transferred out of production, sold/traded between departments, or sent to University Salvage and Surplus or sent out for repair. Methods (detailed algorithms) to completely securely overwrite fixed disks are well documented. For example, see http://wipe.sourceforge.net/secure_del.html. An excellent overview and list of software is given at IEEE Secure Disk Wiping: http://www.computer.org/security/v1n1/garfinkel3.htm
Hard Disk Data Erasure Product Functionality Test results: http://www.veritest.com/clients/reports/redemtech/redemtech.pdfOther Media and Devices
Finally, in addition to overwriting PC fixed disks, floppy and zip disks, CD's, there are other media that pose privacy/security risks. For example, network devices, like routers, PDA's (hand held Personal Digital Assistants) can have departmental information stored as personal data or configuration information. Prior to transfer or disposal, this data or configuration information should be cleared manually and by someone who understands the device(s) in question.
Related Penn State Policies and References
It is also important to work with departmental computer and data people before overwriting data on any PC. Also review the following Penn State Policies in conjunction with the technical information above:
Some Available Software
Evidence/Local Activity Eliminator (Windows): http://www.harddrivewipe.com/ and for the Macintosh, MacWasher: http://www.newfreeware.com/utils/1518/
The following software completely destroys (overwrites; wipes) ALL data on fixed disk(s), including the operating system. Actual MS Windows and Linux software that support secure (DoD 5220.22-M disk overwriting Standard) complete wiping of fixed disks may be found at commercial disk wiping software:
Summary
Departmental computer professionals have the responsibility to secure departmental and University sensitive data. This responsibility includes following University Policies on Disk Sanitation and data archival, as well as touching base with related department people, and then clearing or overwriting all sensitive data on PC fixed disks and other devices before the they are traded/sold/salvaged/repaired.
For further information see http://ftp.aset.psu.edu/pub/ger/documents/SecureFixedDiskWiping.html
Acknowledgment: thanks to Pete Weiss and Todd Litzinger, Penn State Administrative Information Services, for helping to review and improve this document.
While the cost of energy, equipment and facilities associated with running a major university rise, institutions across the nation are searching for ways to keep tuition increases to a minimum. Recently Penn State created a Task Force (headed by Executive Vice President and Provost, Rodney Erickson, and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business, Gary Schultz) to identify avenues to help the University cut costs and increase non-tuition income. The Task Force responded with recommendations that are expected to save Penn State millions of dollars over the next several years.
Information Technology Services (ITS) is contributing to these cost savings efforts through three programs that will help reduce University expenses for software purchases and national and international phone calls. "The ITS initiatives are expected to save the University hundreds of thousands of dollars a year," said Jeff Kuhns, senior director of Consulting and Support Services within ITS, "but, it all depends on how quickly and effectively these programs are adopted by University departments. The potential for savings, however, is significant."
New Calling Cards
With faculty and staff stationed around the globe, it's essential for Penn State to provide affordable ways for its employees to check e-mail and converse via phone from distant locations. To help offices and departments meet this need, ITS created two new calling options for University community use. Each of these plans, the Penn State Travel Calling Card and the International Prepaid Calling Card, will provide significant cost savings to departments by offering lower national and international rates for long distance calls. (Note: faculty and staff traveling on restricted or federally-funded budgets should only use the Travel Calling Card or their original calling options. The International Prepaid Calling Card does not meet federal audit requirements for recorded call detail information. See http://guru.psu.edu/policies/BS19.html for more information.)
Both calling cards- Travel and International -- are now available for general use and Penn State departments can begin replacing the more expensive ExecuBill Calling Cards and Corporate Calling Cards, with the newer options. Details of the new calling plans and recommendations for use can be found at: http://css.its.psu.edu/es/phone/index.html.
Penn State Software Contracts
Computer software purchases have become significant expenses in individual and University office budgets. In order to reduce these costs, ITS often negotiates with companies to purchase software in bulk or package-contracts. This software is then sold to departments and students at a reduced educational rate, saving the University and individuals thousands of dollars each year.
Many Penn State community members, however, aren't aware that these lower rates exist and sometimes purchase software at prices that greatly exceed the University's negotiated price. This spring, the University plans to spread the word to faculty, staff and students that software such as Microsoft Office, Adobe, SAS, Macromedia, FootPrints, Matlab, Autodesk and many other packages can be obtained at lower cost through Penn State's software contract programs. Information will be distributed through a variety of channels including a letter that will be sent to each of Penn State's Financial Officers, according to Kuhns. "Penn State has negotiated significant savings for many kinds of software," he explained, "yet we have students buying software such as EndNote-a useful bibliography tool-at the full price of $299, instead of the contract rate of $50. We want to ensure that both individuals and offices know their dollars will go a great deal further if they keep up-to-date with the University's negotiated software rates."
To learn more, check for a Mac or Windows software license title at the Penn State Computer Store web site (http://www.computerstore.psu.edu), or call 814-865-2100. For UNIX titles, questions can be directed to to ilsd@psu.edu.
UPS at PSU
The Penn State Computer Store is now using the United Parcel Service (UPS) for campus deliveries, a method that is surprisingly more cost-effective than doing it in-house, according to Janda Hankinson, director of Entrepreneurial Services at ITS. "In the past we used our own trucks and staff to make deliveries, but when we did a cost comparison we discovered that UPS services were considerably less expensive."
The UPS administered deliveries, which began on trial basis last semester, have resulted in a variety of reactions from University departments and offices, Hankinson adds. "Some people have been confused when they find a UPS driver delivering Penn State computer equipment and software to their University office, but we've found this to be an extremely efficient service with significant savings for students, staff and faculty."
Under the new system, Computer Store customers can track their purchases online when they request a campus delivery; receive package insurance for each of their orders; and access next-day delivery capability twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Deliveries are also free to Penn State departments at all campus locations.
An official launch of the service this spring will feature a "Why UPS" awareness campaign, to help address customer's questions and increase understanding of how the delivery concept will enable Penn State to save money each year. "We think it's important for everyone to know that this is just one small example of the many cost-saving initiatives now taking place routinely across the University," said Hankinson. "The sum of all these efforts is where Penn State really gain-small projects that collectively create a more cost-effective University."
If you have questions about any of the above cost savings programs, please contact Janda Hankinson at: Janda@psu.edu, or visit ITS on the Web at: http://www.its.psu.edu/.
ITS Entrepreneurial Services
ITS Entrepreneurial Services is announcing the addition of security consulting into the suite of services that it offers the Penn State community. Starting this spring, the new services will include reviewing and installing and testing Microsoft patches and service packs on servers and workstations prior to user installation. Another service that has been added is the support of the ITS firewall service for departments and offices that may not have the time, resources, or expertise to install proper security measures on their own.
In addition to the new security services, network services are offered to Penn State offices at University Park at the current cost-recovery rate of $65 per hour.
Room 158 Willard Building has been upgraded to enable 3D stereoscopic display of spatial data by faculty in their teaching. In addition to offering standard technology classroom capabilities, the new installation includes a dual-screen WindowsXP graphics workstation and a multi-projector display to allow wide-screen projection of three-dimensional information in passive stereo using inexpensive "theme-park" style polarized glasses.
An initial complement of stereo-enabled software has been installed on the system, including VMD and SwissPDB Viewer, for viewing molecular structures; Visualization Toolkit (VTK) for scientific and engineering data visualization; SuddenDepth, for viewing stereo image pairs; and GLSMpegPlayer, for viewing 3D stereo movie files. Additional applications can be installed in the classroom to accommodate sufficient faculty interest. A partial listing of available stereo enabled applications is available only at: http://www.stereographics.com/support/srsoftware/index.html.
Faculty who are interested in scheduling room 158 Willard for its 3D stereoscopic and/or widescreen multimedia projection capabilities should contact their departmental scheduling representative prior to the priority scheduling period.
3D applications consulting support and/or demonstrations of the new facility can be arranged via e-mail to vizgroup@psu.edu, or by contacting George Otto at 863-6112.
The Stereo and Enhanced Multimedia Classroom is the result of a combined effort of the University Committee for Instructional Facilities (UCIF) and several ITS service units: Media Technology Support Services (MTSS), Classroom and Laboratory Computing (CLC) and the Graduate Education and Research Services (GEaRS) Visualization group. Stereo projection has been provided under a research partnership with CyViz, AS of Norway.
The Access Grid represents a global effort to deploy open solutions for high bandwidth group-to-group multi-modal telecollaboration over existing high-performance computing networks. Originally developed at the Futures Laboratory of Argonne National Laboratory, with support from U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and Microsoft Research, the Access Grid has grown into an international network for research telecollaboration, with Access Grid nodes installed at more than 200 institutions worldwide (see http://www.accessgrid.org/community/nodes/nodes.html).
Individual Access Grid installations vary in scale and design, but, typically, they consist of meeting rooms or other designed spaces that employ a complement of computing, audio and visual technologies to support rich multi-media collaboration across multiple participating locations. Recommended configurations and software distributions can be found at http://www.accessgrid.org. Access Grid protocols allow voice and video teleconferencing in conjunction with applications and data sharing to provide flexible distributed work environments for high bandwidth information exchanges among participants. For example, the Access Grid has been used to conduct distributed research meetings, collaborative work sessions, conferences, and tutorials as well as for collaborative experimental performances in the arts.
At Penn State, the ITS/Graduate Education and Research Services (GEaRS) Access Grid node offers a local venue for members of the Penn State community to participate in Access Grid events from a University Park location. The GEaRS node, located in 140 Computer Building, can be scheduled by members of the Penn State academic community for participation in scheduled Access Grid events or for exploring the technology for communications and collaboration with colleagues from other Access Grid-enabled institutions.
For information about using or scheduling the Access Grid node at Penn State, send email explaining your interests and requirements to access-grid@psu.edu.
Note:
Access Grid™ is a trademark of the University of Chicago.
Not long after Penn State's Course Management System, A New Global Environment for Learning (ANGEL), was implemented, it became apparent that most faculty would benefit from ready access to an ANGEL-savvy individual. Thus, Information Technology Services's Teaching and Learning with Technology department, under the direction of John Harwood, extended an offer to University Park colleges and non-University Park locations to cost-share an individual for several years to serve this purpose.
The job of an e-learning support specialist (eLSS) is to support Penn State faculty in developing their ANGEL skills and integrate the use of ANGEL into their courses. The position is designed to assist faculty to become experts in management and delivery of learning in online environments.
eLSSs are able to:
An eLSS is expected to work with many faculty over the course of a year, assisting each with small, individual needs.
Currently, five eLSSs have been placed. At University Park, Roxanne Toto is in the College of Engineering and Mark Wherley is in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Alan Hecht is at Penn State Abington, Carol McQuiggan is at Penn State Harrisburg, and Stephanie Janson is at Penn State Erie: The Behrend College.
To date, the eLSS position is of immense benefit to Penn State faculty. The eLSSs have worked with hundreds of faculty on both small and large projects, and continue to help build and foster groups and communities interested in expanding their teaching offerings to an online environment.
This is not just "another" technical position. As one eLSS describes, "Helping faculty use the ANGEL system is not as simple as showing them how to add a file or uploading a syllabus, but a more complex learning process that begins with technical instruction, followed by trust in the system, and eventually moving to the creation of interactive learning environments contained within ANGEL."
Another eLSS, Alan Hecht, describes his impact: "For many faculty, the time and effort it takes to learn a new technology by reading through a user manual or by trial and error substantially diminishes the return on investment that the technology offers. My arrival has enabled many faculty to explore the use of ANGEL in a much more effective and focused manner while giving them the confidence that they won't be left on their own if they encounter problems. By combining technical skills with a pedagogical framework, I am able to show them how they can improve their teaching with ANGEL as well as why they might want to do so."
eLSSs are quickly becoming deeply attached to the communities they serve. Faculty often post the eLSS's phone number near their computers, for example. eLSSs sometimes have trouble traveling from one room to another in a timely manner, because faculty want to chat with them when they see them to discuss the odd ANGEL tidbit or two.
Here are some faculty insights on the eLSS position: "As with all previous workshops, the potential for ANGEL to enhance my ability to teach and my students to learn has been demonstrated once again as a result of this workshop."
"It was a 'major-league-kick' to witness our ANGEL instructor innovatively developing solutions to problems and answers to questions. (Our eLSS) definitely 'knows her stuff' and communicates her in-depth knowledge of ANGEL both professionally-and enthusiastically."
"This training session was outstanding! I learned at least a half dozen examples of features that I will use this month in setting up my fall courses. Thank you!"
"The most significant change that has made ANGEL much easier to deal with is the eLSS's presence in the system. I was elated when I received the e-mail this summer announcing that the eLSS was assigned to be an ANGEL support person. The eLSS is an important resource for me as I use ANGEL, not only because he has been able to quickly respond to 'how to' questions and help with the design of applications, but also because he has helped me deal with some of the frustrating system issues that I have no way of approaching."
"The project that (our eLSS) accomplished for me was something I had been working on for more than two years. His expertise got the job done in a few one-hour sessions."
"Our eLSS is a very resourceful individual with a genuine desire to work with people, which shows with every contact I have had with him. He is an asset to our campus."
As Penn State moves into its third year of ANGEL use, the role of the eLSS continues to grow. Not only are they working and expanding within their local environment, they have also developed a community among themselves where problems, ideas, and products are shared daily. The fruits of their labors are now being shared with the larger Penn State community, empowering us all.
One of the most dynamic buildings to come to the University Park campus is not just exciting from the outside. The interior spaces were planned to bring state-of-the-art learning and convenience to Penn State. With the walkway over Atherton Street as its most predominant feature, the IST Building hosts classrooms and offices, as well as a café, library and a copy center. Information Technology Services (ITS) has been working with the School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and the building architects from the beginning to bring an affordable, convenient retail resource for students, faculty and staff at Penn State.
No longer tucked away just in the basement of Willard, Penn State's Computer Store (formerly known as the MicroComputer Order Center) now puts on a bright and airy face with a branch store in the walkway over Atherton Street. The Computer Store TechStop will provide a showcase for the very latest in smaller technologies, such as software, digital cameras, MP3 players, and personal organizers, as well as a convenient location to pick up consumable items like ink cartridges, specialty papers, and cables-all at the University's discounted prices.
The Computer Store ShowRoom location, located in 12 Willard, will still remain a familiar place for any Penn State faculty staff or student to pick up Web orders, demo and shop for software or equipment, and consult with ITS staff about which University and personal purchases are best suited for their needs. Both locations are open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
While the TechStop quietly opened it's doors for business in February, plans for celebrating the Grand Opening in a big way are set for the week of March 22-with a full week of prizes and free product demonstrations. To heighten the celebratory mood, Penn Staters can take advantage of free ground shipping for all of their departmental and personal purchases, for any domestic address, when they shop online at http://computerstore.psu.edu.
Penn State faculty and staff are invited to submit a proposal for presentation at the seventh annual Penn State Web 2004 Conference, scheduled for June 15, 2004, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel at Penn State, University Park. We are also planning pre-conference tutorial sessions for Monday, June 14, 2004.
Proposal criteria and the submission form are available at http://www.psu.edu/webconference/surveys/call.html. Multiple submissions are welcome; however, each proposal must be submitted separately. Though this conference is designed for the Penn State community, the Web Conference Committee is willing to entertain nominations for presenters from outside of the Penn State system. Proposals must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on March 8, 2004. Our recent conference topic survey results indicated high levels of interest in the following areas: Usability, Dot-net, Redesign, Standards, Databases, Security, CSS, XML, and Content Management.
The conference is open to University employees who support an official Penn State Web site as a server administrator, writer, designer, programmer or manager. Last year's conference offered over twenty sessions and attracted more than 350 attendees from 19 campus locations. More information about this conference is available at http://www.psu.edu/webconference/.
Interested applicants also are invited to share this information with colleagues who may be interested in presenting at this year's conference. Inquiries regarding the proposal process can be directed to the conference planners at webproposals@psu.edu.
Prior to moving to 212 Rider II Building, the staff at the Faculty Multimedia Center (FMC) did not have a facility in which we could videotape faculty delivering introductory messages or course content for their Web sites. We always had to schedule a conference room and lug our equipment there. Now that we have a new facility for videotaping, we can do a much better job of controlling the quality of our end product.
Although we knew we were not going to achieve a professional TV studio environment, given our location, we were able to do a pretty good job of planning a "pro-sumer" quality studio. Here are some of the things we considered in the planning stage:
Size-We knew we wanted at least a 20'x30' room to give us enough space for the video camera and lighting. For more flexibility in lighting, we had hoped for walls that were at least ten feet high, but in the end we had to make do with walls that are about eight and a half feet high.
Noise level-Although we could not achieve a sound-proof room, we did take steps to make sure it was as noise-resistant as we could get it. This required extra insulation in the walls and sealed walls that continued up past the level of the dropped ceiling tiles to keep out as much sound as possible. We weren't able to control the noise level of the heating and ventilation system, however, but it hasn't been too bad.
Access-Our studio had to have a Web connection to allow us to access our network, so we could possibly offer live Webcasts.
Electricity-We had to plan for sufficient electrical service to handle all of our lighting and video equipment needs. We supplied the architect with an itemized list of all the electrical requirements of our equipment.
Multi-use-Not only would our studio provide us with a place to videotape, but it also would be able to double as a conference room, complete with an RGB projector mounted on the ceiling and folding tables and stackable chairs that could easily be stored along the wall. A large room-dividing screen would be installed and could be pulled across a section of the room to hide our equipment.
Once we started using the video room, we found that, in some instances, the projector can be used as a kind of teleprompter. We can project our subject's slides onto the large screen behind the video camera, and the subject can read from the screen instead of looking down at paper notes. The video room also houses our digital camera copy stand for making digital copies of large printed items.
Most of the equipment in the video room can be set up and left in position for the next shoot, which saves us a lot of setup time and helps us to position the lighting correctly every time. Although we had to make some compromises due to budget and architectural constraints, we ended up with a pretty nice studio in which to shoot video-a controlled environment where we can maintain a consistent level of quality.
To see a QuickTime Virtual Reality view of our video studio, go to http://tlt.its.psu.edu/fmc/qtvr/ksw_fmc_studio.mov.
Tech Tips are provided on a monthly basis by the staff of the FMC. These tips are free to members of the Penn State community and available via the FMC Web site. The FMC is Penn State's resource for faculty to learn about the methods and benefits of incorporating multimedia into the classroom environment. Staff members at the FMC offer consulting and training on the various multimedia tools that are available, via the FMC, to faculty members at all Penn State locations. To learn more about the FMC or to schedule an appointment, visit http://tlt.its.psu.edu/fmc/ or call 814-865-7051.
This spring, ITS Training Services offers professional training on popular technology topics for a minimal fee. Extended Seminars cover a broad range of features and functions of the seminar topic. These seven-hour seminars are offered over two half-day sessions, providing ample time for hands on exercises, questions and answers, and close interaction with the instructor.
Seats are still available for seminars with the following topics:
IT Professional courses are new to the growing list of services available through ITS Training Services. Developed to provide high-quality technical training to members of the Penn State community, these courses are being offered at deeply discounted educational rates. Because this training opportunity is brand new, ITS Training Services is offering a no-risk, money back guarantee to all participants.
IT Professional courses for March include:
All spring seminars take place at South Hills Technology Center (1315 S. Allen). Upon request, ITS Training Services can also arrange specialized training for your unit. For course descriptions and details, please visit the Web site at http://its.psu.edu/training/itpro/.
This newsletter is published by The Pennsylvania State University, Consulting and Support Services, a unit of Information Technology Services, 214 Computer Building, University Park, PA 16802. The newsletter is also produced as a set of Web pages and Acrobat PDF files at http://css.its.psu.edu/news/ on the World Wide Web. A printed version is mailed to full-time faculty and staff at all locations. Copies are available at the Computer Building at University Park. To obtain copies by campus mail, contact Danette Yakymac at (814) 865-4757 or send e-mail to dxs8@psu.edu.
Information Technology Services encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us in advance of your participation or visit.
This publication is available in alternative media upon request.
Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Please contact the editor, Margaret Smith, 214 Computer Building, University Park; (814) 865-4757; e-mail mes8@psu.edu.
Editor in Chief
Kathy Mayberry, Director, User Services
Editor
Margaret Smith
Cover design
Lauren Kanfi, student in ART 475, studying with Professor L. Sommese
Production Assistant
Danette Yakymac
Spring 2004