Penn State Intercom......February 22, 2001
Web Fair clicks
with undergraduates
By Heather Herzog
Computer and Information Systems
Early this month, more
than 300 students anxiously waited to learn if they were chosen as the
winners of the University's first Undergraduate Web Fair -- a contest
showcasing the innovative ways students are using the Web to convey academic
concepts and theories. 
The competition, which opened Nov. 1, resulted in the nomination of 178 Web sites created by undergraduates across the University. To make these selections, faculty members and teaching assistants identified Web sites created in the fall semester by individuals or teams of students that demonstrated sound scholarship and effective design.
A panel of 54 judges, composed of students, faculty and information technology specialists, began reviewing the nominated Web sites in mid-January, and notification was sent to 10 individuals and 11 group winners on Feb. 14. The winning students will attend a luncheon on Feb. 28, where laptops and a variety of other prizes donated by Apple, Compaq, Lockheed Martin and Gateway will be presented by John Cahir, vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Education.
According to John Harwood, senior director of the Center for Education Technology Services, the unit that served as the chief sponsor of the online competition, the contest uniquely recognizes how the Web has permeated the undergraduate curricula in a number of ways.
"Rather than being consumers of Web resources," he said, "students are now expected to be producers -- not of simple personal Web pages, but much more sophisticated, semester-long projects either as individuals or as teams."
While many institutions hold graduate research fairs, the University is singular in having been host to an undergraduate Web fair, Harwood added.
A wide selection of Web sites from University Park and other University locations were submitted for the contest. Entries included Web sites designed to communicate information about such diverse topics as language acquisition, soil erosion, retail marketing, aerodynamics and traumatic brain injury.
The diverse representation of academic disciplines among the entries was a welcome outcome of the competition, according to its organizers.
Undergraduates report that participating in the Web Fair has helped to give them a range of new skills, such as knowing how to convey complex information in a way that can be understood by large audiences.
"It took hours to develop some of the features in my Web site," remarked Anne Lenox, a senior majoring in forest science, who submitted an entry she developed for an agriculture education course, "but in the end I felt I created a very aesthetically pleasing site with important information that anyone can access. I know this will reach many more people than a pamphlet about forestry could."
Lenox's Web site, which offers information about the student chapter of the Society of American Foresters at Penn State, has recently been linked to the School of Forest Resources Web page at http://www.sfr.cas.psu.edu/SAF/saf.htm. Consequently, she anticipates that her site will be accessible to a wide variety of people each year, including potential forest science majors.
"With the tools that are available, it's true that anyone can create a Web page," said Susan Monk, assistant professor of kinesiology, "but designing a meaningful experience for the user is a more sophisticated process. A competition gives the student the experience of extracting important concepts and then planning and implementing the dissemination of those concepts. These are skills that will serve students throughout their lives."
As one of the judges in the competition, Monk carefully reviewed 10 students' Web sites for qualities such as appropriate integration of multimedia, use of effective navigation strategies, awareness of the audience -- as well as sensitivity to access issues for people with disabilities.
The judges' selections will soon be on display for all University community members, since contest organizers plan to create a "virtual museum" that will showcase the winning Web sites.
"The ingenuity evident in students' online work makes all our related activities worthwhile," said Harwood. "The Web Fair is an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to share in these significant experiences."
To learn more about the Undergraduate Web Fair, e-mail webfair@psu.edu, or check the Web at http://www.psu.edu/webfair/.