The College of Communications is extending its outreach into high schools this year with the Penn State Institute for High School Journalists.
The institute will be held July 30 to Aug. 3 at University Park. The goal is to make both the professional and high school institutes annual events.
Students attending the institute will learn page design; Web search skills; broadcast writing and production; headline writing; feature, profile and editorial writing; yearbook design and themes; still and video photography; and information on advertising and legal issues concerning high school publications. Members of the college's advertising, film, telecommunications and journalism faculty will do most of the teaching.
The recent renovation of a physics laboratory has revolutionized the way Penn State DuBois students are learning about the study of motion.
Just before the start of this spring semester, a new top-of-the-line technology system was installed in the physics lab to allow for computer-enhanced experimentation and an emphasis on collaborative learning.
The new system features eight high-end computers, and a Pasco interface with multiple sensors, which has been promoted as the best system available at recent international education conferences, said John Farr, assistant professor of physics at the campus.
Total cost of the renovation was approximately $71,000, with $50,000 funded by a grant from the University Committee on Instructional Facilities and $21,000 coming from the DuBois campus.
Before the equipment update, students were taught in calculator-based physics lab, with computers used merely as a means to interface with the calculator, said Farr. With the new equipment, computers are now an integral part of each lab and students do all of their experimentation on them, including collecting data, creating graphs and models, and writing lab reports. The equipment also brings new video capabilities to the lab.
This is the second lab Penn State DuBois has upgraded in the past 18 months. In fall 1998, the campus unveiled a new $100,000 computer-aided drafting lab for its mechanical engineering technology program.