If you need a reminder of how pervasive technology is today, just make a trip to Presque Isle State Park’s historic Perry Monument.
You likely will see hundreds of people, but not for the same reason they might have traveled to the site a year ago. They’re playing Pokemon Go, the wildly popular mobile game that merges the virtual world with the real environment.
“It’s brought augmented reality into the mainstream,” said Heather Cole, a lecturer in digital media arts at Penn State Behrend.
The game is the latest example of how technology changes the way we learn and interact. It’s also a microcosm of a larger trend: fewer than 10 years ago, there were no iPhones, Androids or tablets, and hashtag was not even a word.
Technology and its ability to impact and influence our lives is a theme that will be emphasized this spring during the second-annual Digital Media Festival at Penn State Behrend.
The two-day festival will be held Thursday, March 30, and Friday, March 31, and submissions are now being accepted.
Community members and businesses from Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, as well as faculty members and students from any Erie college or university are invited to submit a proposal for an exhibit, performance, workshop or research presentation for the festival. Proposals are due by Friday, Dec. 2, 2016, and early proposals will be given first priority.
For more information, contact Cole at htm2@psu.edu or visit sites.psu.edu/behrendarts.
Penn State Behrend’s Digital Media Festival is sponsored by the college’s Digital Media, Arts, and Technology bachelor’s degree program. Known as DIGIT, the program is Penn State’s only undergraduate degree in digital humanities and meets the growing employer demand for professionals capable of both critical analysis and creative production of digital media.