Summer Series events inspire faculty and staff

Summer Series events inspire faculty and staff

Sometimes the best events can become even more remarkable when plans need to readjust during a global pandemic. Over the summer, Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) hosted a series of virtual professional development presentations designed to inspire teaching and learning innovation. The TLT Summer Series was a collective effort to remotely offer the Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology and Canvas Day, two annual events typically held in mid-March.  

Approximately 720 Penn Staters participated in the virtual event, a number almost on par with the previous year’s in-person attendance. The Summer Series kicked off on May 13 and ran through July 22, with typically five presentations held each Wednesday. For its 27th year, the Symposium showcased innovative techniques to transform the classroom through technology, using 3D printing to create impactful learning to engage students with immersive and interactive virtual reality technology. The event also featured various Canvas-related presentations, from making course content accessible to the annual One Cool Thing, where faculty present the unique ways they use Canvas. 

Throughout the fall semester, follow TLT on Facebook or Twitter to catch up on the series’ highlights. Recordings of all TLT Summer Series sessions are available by visiting the Summer Series YouTube channel 

Immersive technology brings environmental field trips to Scranton classrooms

Immersive technology brings environmental field trips to Scranton classrooms

What if you could skip the field trip and virtually transport yourself to any environment? For many, this may be more of a necessary reality amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and Theresa Black, a science lecturer at Penn State Scranton, is ahead of the curve.

“With 360-degree video, you learn different ways to engage your students,” Black said. “Over the last year, I have learned a lot about the various technologies we can use, which has been especially helpful with the campus shut down. I feel comfortable enough to be able to use it again if we end up having a similar situation in the fall.”

In recent years, immersive technology has been an excellent teaching tool for faculty, who can receive support through Media Commons, a Penn State Teaching and Learning with Technology service. Media Commons helps faculty incorporate 360-degree video into their courses in ways that seamlessly integrate into their current curriculum.

“The addition of 360-degree video into a class can be transformative,” said Media Commons campus consultant Carla Seward. “It allows faculty to facilitate experiences to which their students may not otherwise have access. The technology can help students see different parts of the world and explore various climates and cultures; there are almost no limits.”

During spring 2019, inspired by the Biome in a Box project at Penn State Lehigh Valley, Black reached out to Media Commons to discuss how she could incorporate 360-degree video into her Earth 111 Water: Science & Society course. Seward helped her obtain a 360-degree camera, which Black used both with a tripod and mounted to her kayak, to capture a wetland and a variety of locations along the Lehigh River in Eastern Pennsylvania. Using Adobe Premiere Pro, Black edited her videos into a 10-minute tour of the Lehigh River and a 2.5-minute tour of a wetland.

To view these videos, Black’s 30 students worked in pairs and booked 30-minute appointments at the Scranton campus’s Immersive Lab. Working in pairs assists students who are visually impaired, Black explained, and the availability of a video transcript helps students who are auditory impaired. Students completed short-answer questions after using virtual reality headsets to immerse themselves in the wetland and the Lehigh River. The videos supplemented their lessons about the differences between flowing water and standing water ecosystems, in addition to the variances that occur as a stream moves from its headwaters to its mouth.

Even though the course focuses on earth science, it has a social science component, focusing on the human use of water. Overlaying the video clips, Black voiced tidbits about the history of the Lehigh River, which further enhanced students’ learning.

Black’s students were extremely engaged in the project. For many, it was a fascinating experience, since it was the first time they have used a virtual reality headset. They appreciated how the Immersive Lab allowed them to have real-life opportunities only previously afforded by field trips.

“Having a live view that you can move through and manipulate adds to the learning experience,” said Scranton senior Maggie Podunajec. “Apart from this course, using this technology provides students with experiences and knowledge that they may not otherwise have access to.”

Black plans to continue using these videos in the fall and hopes to capture more environments of which would be difficult to take 30 students to and that they otherwise have never seen in person.

“One thing I would like to do in the future—I’m not sure if it will work out this year with travel restrictions—is create a comparative watershed video in the southwest,” Black said. “We talk a lot in this class about the differences in areas like ours where we have tons of water, and there is a lot of overland flow, compared to places out west, where there’s very little. I would love to do a different experience where they can compare the two and visually experience them.”

Penn State faculty interested in incorporating 360-degree video and other immersive technologies in their courses can contact Media Commons. For resources and examples of 360-degree videos made by Penn State faculty, faculty can visit the Immersive Experiences Lab’s Experience Catalog.

Tech Tutors are Penn State students providing technology solutions to the University community

Tech Tutors are Penn State students providing technology solutions to the University community

There are many potential hurdles for Penn State faculty and students as they get into the rhythm of a new academic year. Many aspects of University life are reliant on technology, and there is a group of undergraduate students who can help make sure tech issues do not complicate the start of this year’s classes. 

Those students are Tech Tutors, and they are ready to help any Penn Stater find solutions to daily needs related to University software like Microsoft Office 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, Canvas, and Sites. Part of Penn State IT Learning and Development (ITLD), Tech Tutors offer convenient ways to get assistance.  Walk-ins are taken at Pattee Library and Pollock Computer Lab, online consultations can happen wherever you are, and one-on-one appointments are available to faculty at University Park.  to get assistance.  Walk-ins are taken at Pattee Library and Pollock Computer Lab, online consultations can happen wherever you are, and one-on-one appointments are available to faculty at University Park.  

“Tech Tutors combines the value of helping fellow students, faculty, and staff with tooling up their skills and being an on-campus support team that people can rely on,” said Royce Dsouza, a second-year Tech Tutor and Penn State senior. “Some of my favorite experiences are when I teach a client how to use a tool that transforms the way they work with/think of technology.” 

While Tech Tutors offer support on much of the software students and faculty use to complete coursework, they do not cover everything. For help with software like MatLab and Mathematica, or coding languages like Python and SQL, LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) is the recommended resource. 

“[Our tutors’] goals are to help people solve short-term problems and encourage technical literacy by encouraging self-learning,” said Tech Tutor team lead Dhavani Toprani. “One of the things we emphasize during tutoring sessions is introducing clients to relevant resources to go back to. At a higher level, the goal is to empower the University community to benefit from the technologies available to them.” 

Positions with Tech Tutors may available for the spring 2020 semesterUndergraduate students from any year can apply by inquiring at itld@psu.eduApplicants are required to have prior technical or tutoring experience. 

The Tech Tutors can be contacted online or via email at techtutors@psu.edu. 

Together faculty develop relationships advancing innovative technologies

Together faculty develop relationships advancing innovative technologies

A diverse group of faculty members at Penn State Berks have come together to collaborate on creative ways to use technology to transform the classroom. Founded in spring 2018, the Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) Faculty Learning Community (FLC) for Innovative Instructional Technology in the Classroom has been looking critically at how they can help foster innovative strategies for teaching and learning. 

The FLC launched as a kind of book group, but some of the richest collaborative moments for me have spun out of digressions into our own teaching challenges and solutions,” said Bryan Wang, an FLC member and assistant teaching professor of biology. 

The FLC, part of an initiative started by Penn State TLT and one of eight FLCs formed during the 2018-19 academic year, was founded by Dawn Pfeifer Reitz, lecturer in communication arts and sciences and Communication, Arts and Sciences 100: Effective Speech coordinator, to increase interdepartmental collaboration while using innovative technologies that enhance teaching and learning. After brainstorming with campus instructional and multimedia designer Mary Ann Mengel, the Innovative Instructional Technologies in the Classroom FLC was born, and the plan is to continue it through the 2019-20 academic year for existing members and broaden the reach for additional interested faculty. 

“I am enthusiastic about incorporating technology into my classroom,” Pfeifer Reitz said. “My goal was to meet faculty across our campus and talk with likeminded folks interested in incorporating tech into teaching.” 

Since September 2018, the FLC group of 11 members would meet every three weeks to talk about an assigned book and lessons learned. At the end of each meeting, a member volunteered to write a blog post about what they discussed. 

“One theme that we discussed early on focused on the challenge of designing courses that provide students space to exercise creativity,” Wang said. In Wang’s senior-level laboratory in molecular genetics course in the spring, his students created final projects using a variety of media, from a Facebook page for a fictional researcher to a whodunit graphic novella, all of which were based upon a molecular cloning and phylogeny project. Students showed an increased interest when creating and crafting their projects, and a rise in engagement was exhibited through the final week of classes. 

Jenifer Shannon, a lecturer in electrical engineering, is another FLC member who has seen success from applying ideas discussed during the group’s meetings. She began developing strategies to incorporate interactive online materials to her lecture content including using Kaltura for video editing, interactive video quizzes, and providing students with more time in the lab. 

“The diversity of our members’ academic backgrounds contributes to an exciting and fruitful FLC group,” Shannon said. “We bounce our ideas off each other and offer encouragement and suggestions.” 

Thanks to the FLC and support from Mengel, Pfeifer Reitz has implemented a more formal way for students to use Zoom to enhance their listening skills. She has introduced a “persuasive Zoom review” into her classes, where students deliver persuasive speeches, watch each other’s speeches, then hold recorded meetings through Zoom to give each other feedback. 

Afterward, Pfeifer Reitz evaluates their Zoom reviews based upon how well they met the requirements of the assignment. Each student is required to provide feedback on their partner’s speech, consider the feedback and ask two to three follow-up questions, and the entire Zoom meeting should be four to five minutes, with two to two and a half minutes allocated per student. 

Pfeifer Reitz said, “FLC groups like these are invaluable. The concept of the ‘critical friend’—developing collegial relationships, encouraging reflective practice, and rethinking process together—helps make all of us better at what we do in our own classrooms. 

For more information about the Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) Faculty Learning Community (FLC) for Innovative Instructional Technology in the Classroom, contact Dawn Pfeifer Reitz. 

Harrisburg leads OER innovation in geology courses

Harrisburg leads OER innovation in geology courses

Open educational resources (OER) are transforming the landscape of higher education, allowing for more accessible and affordable learning. At Penn State Harrisburg, geology students are using digital rock kits and an open-access textbook in place of traditional rock packages and text, a change that has fueled student engagement.

Through a partnership between Penn State Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) and the Penn State University Libraries, the ACT@PSU program revolutionizes faculty use of the traditional textbook. ACT@PSU supports instructors who want to teach courses through OER. With the assistance of Julie Lang, OER coordinator for TLT, and Dan Poeschl, multimedia specialist for The Center for Teaching Excellence at Penn State Harrisburg, the transformation of geology classes at the Harrisburg campus began in fall 2018.

“When the center purchased the Agisoft PhotoScan software, we created 3D rocks to replace the rock kit ultimately,” said Jennifer Sliko, assistant teaching professor of earth and geosciences at the Harrisburg campus. “In the future, we will have the rock kit as a recommended but not required resource.”

Poeschl photographed rocks from the traditional kit then uploaded them into the software to create 3D models accessible through SketchFab, where people can share 3D models just like they would YouTube videos. “The software’s primary function is to scan and create 3D models of real-life objects quickly. Its most popular use is by game designers. They can quickly and efficiently populate an open world video game without painstakingly creating a bunch of custom objects.”

By the project’s end, Poeschl had created 43 models. Some reflective, transparent rocks like quartz didn’t translate well in the 3D space, but there will be alternative ways Sliko can teach with these rocks in a digital realm.

Initially, Sliko sought out an online replacement for the rock kit to solve the issue of academic integrity. Each year, the campus bookstore bought back the kits from students, and students could pass on the identification of each rock to the next class.

With the 3D rocks, Sliko can change the labeling each year. “In 2018, ‘Rock A’ might be granite, but in 2019, ‘Rock A’ will be a completely different rock specimen. It reduces the burden of the textbook purchase and minimizes cheating from semester to semester.”

Affordability also plays a significant role in switching to OER. By fall 2019, Sliko plans to have her course become completely OER-based. Physical rock kits are costly, with not many used options available. Students in Sliko’s course now have an online textbook they use to reference for rock identification.

Student engagement has significantly increased over previous semesters. Students are researching online and engaging more with their classmates to identify the rocks.

In the 3D space, students can zoom in and out on the rocks and easily manipulate and identify them based on color and individual mineral grains. The effect is the same as though the students were looking at the stones through a hand lens. Plans for improvement include digital representations of other methods to test rocks and minerals, such as reactions to acids and magnets.

The advantages of using digital rock kits and an open-access textbook will extend far beyond the Harrisburg campus. Other instructors can use these models for their online classes as well.

Sliko said, “Having that innovative technology as we move forward becomes more crucial because the students expect it. In online classes, it’s a nice way to enwrap their attention.”