Volume 29, Number 2

Center for Teaching Initiatives | Copy Center | Information Technology Services | John M. Lilley Library | Learning Resource Center

Teaching and eLearning Initiatives

Welcome, Lee Ann Dickerson, Ed.D.

Lee Ann Dickerson is an instructional designer for the Center for eLearning Initiatives at Penn State Behrend and partners with faculty to manifest their teaching and learning goals in their courses. She holds an Ed.D. in educational leadership from Concordia University, St. Paul, and has 12 years of higher education experience in faculty, instructional design, and educational technology roles. Lee Ann is an INTJ; her Gallup Strengths are Learner, Maximizer, Intel-lection, Ideation, and Input.

Teaching Triangle Connection Time

November 10, 2022, Burke 236, 9:00–10:30 a.m.

Special invitation to Teaching Triangle participants: This is a casual idea exchange of what we learned from the class visited. Bring your notes and annotations! Feel free to stop by for coffee and refreshments even if you may have a class that keeps you from attending the full 1.5 hours. Please let Qi know you plan to come.

eLearning Initiatives Expands Teaching Online Program

eLearning Initiatives has recently expanded its Teaching Online Program to include three levels. The program is now open to ALL commonwealth campus faculty as well.

Information Technology Services

Major Changes to Student Printing

Consolidation of Printers

BITS undertook an evaluation of the print volume for printers used by students. The goal was to determine if the volume justified having printers at all those campus locations. The data revealed that there were a number of locations where print volume dropped so low that it no longer made sense to retain those printers. As a result, printing resources were consolidated. For example, printers were removed from the Hammermill 139 and 143 labs; the PCs in those labs now print to the Hammermill 135 lab printers. Even with the consolidation, there are still 50 printers available for student printing; this far exceeds the number that are available when compared to our peers in the Commonwealth Campus system.

Reduction of Free Print Threshold

In addition, effective Fall 2022, the free print threshold was reduced from 250 sheets of paper to 100 sheets of paper per semester. (The counter resets during finals week.) After the threshold is reached, you will be billed 5 cents/page (via the Bursar's office). There are strategies to help reduce printing costs. For example, we encourage faculty to minimize printing whenever possible. Or, if you need to print PowerPoint slides, rather than print one slide/page, we suggest printing multiple slides/page.

Expansion of Mobile Print Service

Additionally, the locations served by the Mobile Print service have been expanded. Printers accessible from the site include:

  • AMIC Kiosk
  • Burke 162 color
  • Burke Clark Café
  • Hammermill 135 color
  • Hammermill 135 Laser1
  • Kochel Kiosk
  • Library Laser1
  • Reed Laser 1
  • Junker Center
  • Ohio Hall
  • Trippe Hall
  • Tigress Hall
  • Senat Hall
  • Packet Hall
  • Niagara Hall
  • Lawrence Hall
  • Almy Hall

Global Protect and University Resources

Just a reminder… Students, faculty, and staff must use the Global Protect VPN when accessing certain University resources from their personal devices when off-campus (or not using the PSU WiFi). For example, you'll need to use Global Protect if accessing resources such as WebLabs or SIMBA. However, you don't need it to access Office 365 (including Outlook and Teams), Canvas, or LionPath.

More details about the Global Protect VPN, including download and installation instructions, are available in this knowledgebase article: GlobalProtect Remote Access VPN – Overview.

Computer/Classroom Upgrades

The following locations were upgraded:

  • Witkowski 109, Burke 147, Library 201, Library (main floor) – New Dell Precision 345 computers
  • Burke 15 – New dual monitors
  • Kochel 43 classroom – The room itself received new carpet, paint, movable furnishings, and LED light fixtures. New instructional technology was installed, including whiteboards, portable whiteboards, a podium control system, a full video conference system with dual cameras and high-gain microphones, a short-throw projector, and four 65" TVs to facilitate group study.
  • Various locations – Upgraded podium computers

New Employees

This fall, Kiara Copeland joined the BITS team as an administrative support assistant. (She replaces Michelle Brown, who retired last spring.) Kiara most recently worked as a part-time administrative assistant in Housing and Food Services and is a 2018 alumna of Behrend. She may be contacted at extension 6018 or via email at [email protected].

Spotlight on Office 365 Stream

Stream is one of those applications that sometimes gets overlooked in the Office 365 suite. One reason may be that its name is rather ambiguous—that is, until you know what it can do.

Stream is a web-only application that allows you to create, upload, view, and share videos with others in the Penn State community. You can share recordings of lessons, meetings, presentations, training, and other content. (Currently, you can't share videos with those outside Penn State, but Microsoft has this on their roadmap for the future.)

Here are two reasons why to love Stream:

  • It's easy to create a short video (limited to 15 minutes), especially for those ad hoc needs. Just choose what you want to record (screen only, camera only, or screen and camera) and click the Record button. Once the recording is done, publish the video to Stream. The simplicity of recording a video—you can only record, publish, or trim a video—makes it a breeze to use. But if your needs go beyond the basics or 15-minute time limit, then you'll want to use a more robust application for recording your videos.
  • It can automatically generate captions. This is really useful to ensure that your videos are accessible to people with disabilities. In our experience, the captions have been extremely accurate, and the editor makes it easy to correct any errors.
  • To learn more about Stream, visit ITLD's website for Microsoft 365: Stream. This site provides links on how to use Stream as a video repository. It also has a link to "Learning Microsoft Stream," a LinkedIn video that explains how to record, organize, and share your Stream recordings.

Copy Center

IMPORTANT COPY CENTER INFORMATION

Location: The Copy Center is now located at 23 Fasenmyer, in the back of the room behind Athletics.

Hours of Operation: We are open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We are not open on weekends.

Copy Delivery Times: 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. The Mailroom delivers our copies. They pick them up at the Copy Center at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and start the deliveries after that. If you would prefer to pick up your copies directly from us, please state that on your copy request.

Print Timeframe: Please allow at least two hours once we receive your request for it to be printed. Some print jobs may take longer than two hours. Copy requests submitted after 5:00 p.m. will not be ready until 10:00 a.m. the following day to allow for the two-hour timeframe.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Copy Center at 814-898-6121.

John M. Lilley Library

Library Guide on Engaged Scholarship

If you are looking for resources to promote and support engaged scholarship, a new guide from the University Libraries may be helpful. Titled Engaged Scholarship: Starting an Experience for Your Class, it lists Penn State partners and outside resources.

Remembering Otto Behrend

H. Richard Obermanns, whose ancestors had worked for the Behrends at their original Hammermuhle plant in Prussia and who followed them to America, attended our 150th birthday party for Otto Behrend. He spoke of how the young Ernst and Otto started what became a Fortune 500 company when they were barely older than the students gathered for the event. He was in town to also attend an event at Asbury Woods the night before that also celebrated Otto, who had bequeathed the land to the Millcreek School District. If you've walked past OBS recently, you may have noticed a new walnut sapling. Mr. Obermanns grew it from a walnut he took from a tree that Otto long ago planted on the Hammermill grounds. Stop by the library to see a display about Otto's life and accomplishments.

Lilley Library and LRC to Host Research Party

Partnering with the LRC, the Lilley Library will host a "Research Party" on November 29. The purpose of this event is to promote awareness of services offered by both departments—including writing, tutoring, and research help—and to assist students with research projects at their point of need. Students from all majors are welcome to drop in at their convenience between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Librarians and tutors will be on standby to help with any and all questions related to library research and writing.

Lilley Library, LRC, and Disability Services Host Open House

On September 15, the Lilley Library, in collaboration with the LRC and Disability Services, hosted its annual Open House. The event centered around an educational icebreaker Bingo activity that prompted students to engage with one another as well as library staff. In order to win prizes (Penn State branded blankets, headphones, speakers, tumblers, and gift cards), students were required to visit the library's most useful and popular service points, including the LRC and Disability Services. The event included a meandering mini golf course through the media collection, an interactive station that prompted students to learn about and create videos using the One Button Studio, a Bookface Photo Challenge, and Berkey Creamery ice cream. Other activities highlighted the library's various collections, including their borrowable board game collection. The event was the library's busiest day of the semester, with 100 more visitors than the first day of classes.

Lilley Library Outreach and Student Engagement Committee Invites Feedback and Collaboration

For the past few years, several members of the Lilley Library staff have been working together to improve awareness and use of the library's services, spaces, and resources. The Lilley Library Student Outreach and Student Engagement Committee, charged by the Library Director, Matt Ciszek, has planned many events designed to encourage social engagement among the Behrend community, lifelong learning and curiosity, and awareness and use of the library. The Committee has also focused on strengthening the library's online presence via social media (@behrendlibrary). To improve communication between the library and the Behrend community, the Committee invites feedback and ideas for improvement regarding the library's events, spaces, services, and resources. The Committee is also eager to partner with faculty, staff, and student organizations to collaborate on future projects. For more information, please contact the chair, Reference and Instruction Librarian Stephanie Diaz.

Lilley Library Hosts Day of the Dead Celebration

On Tuesday, November 1, the Lilley Library hosted a Mexican Day of the Dead celebration. Students tried Mexican hot chocolate and authentic Mexican candy. Participants also colored Day of the Dead themed coloring sheets, bookmarks, and painted skulls. The event showcased children's fiction and adult, non-fiction books from the University Libraries' collections focused on the holiday. The highlight of the event was an altar, or ofrenda, which the staff used to display photos in honor of former library employees, family members, the Behrends, and loved ones of other Behrend staff who have died. This event and the library's Mid-Autumn Moon Festival are part of the library's ongoing effort to celebrate various cultures and highlight creative and scholarly contributions from historically underrepresented groups found in the University Libraries' collections.

Learning Resource Center

Outreach and Renovations

This semester, we have strengthened our communication with other campus offices to keep students aware that tutoring is available, free, and positively impacts their academic success. We've communicated this message in two important ways: NSO presentations and class visits.

During the summer, Program Coordinator AnaBella Lassiter discussed tutoring with incoming first-year students. She reviewed productive class and study habits and the normalcy of asking for help in college.

Since NSO, our tutors have presented to over 300 students by visiting classrooms. These visits are typically ten minutes long, during which time a peer tutor discusses all available tutoring services and walks students through a demonstration of scheduling a tutoring appointment.

In conjunction with outreach efforts, the Learning Resource Center has undergone renovations. The office has received a fresh coat of paint and new chairs. Thanks to Behrend's maintenance team, new lighting, partitions, and room signs were also installed in the Roche Hall drop-in center. All updates were made to improve the experience for the tutors and the students who regularly use these areas.