Tag Archives: community

Touring the Energy Innovation Center

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View from the Penn State Center

view from the soon-to-be Penn State Center offices

I had the pleasure and good fortune to be invited along today on a tour of the Energy Innovation Center led by the incredibly informative Thomas Bartnik. My invite was proffered by Deno De Ciantis, director of the Penn State Center, a partner in the project that has been transforming the former Connelly School into a new hub for all things sustainable, forward thinking and transformative in the region. The Penn State Center will be moving offices to a wholly renovated, 11,000 square foot space in what had been teaching work shops for trade students – giving them ample room for their growing menu of programming and community outreach. As you can see above, the views are pretty great, too.

Penn State Center offices

long view of the Penn State Center offices

I was joined on my tour by two instructors from Greater Allegheny’s campus and a dozen STEM program summer students as well as representatives from another local organization interested in sustainable practices. Hard hats were required, as were reflective vests and protective eyewear, so we definitely looked the part as we made our way through a very active construction site. The entire project got started just 18 months ago and, considering the Connelly School covers 180,000 square feet, is moving at a staggering clip. So fast, in fact, that the Penn State Center expects to take control of its space in just a few more weeks.

My own interest in the Penn State Center is two-fold. Many Media Commons projects across the Commonwealth see students taking on service learning-type projects with local community groups. Having a strong ally in the Center would allow for Media Commons to connect faculty assigning these projects with non-profits and other organizations in and around Pittsburgh to create great educational opportunities. Additionally, the Center itself would be a spectacular spot to bring together the campus and wider communities for training, research and traditional teaching – while, at the same time, putting our media production resources in front of a much larger audience.

And this is just from my sphere. Other spaces and amenities coming online will include a 750+ seat auditorium, shared 100+ person conference center, workshare spaces in the PGH Green Innovators offices, sustainable systems teaching opportunities (with exposed, color coded infrastructure) and flexible events spaces throughout. The potential impact of the Penn State Center in Pittsburgh on all areas of Penn State’s mission of bringing education to the Commonwealth is absolutely thrilling.

Check out the rest of the tour photos here and stay tuned for more developments:

Community Really Does Care at Behrend

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Penn State Behrend professor Anne Campbell wanted to find a way to get her students more engaged with the community this Spring as well as boost their public speaking skills for CAS 100H.  So she signed up for the Mobile Media Pilot and received 12 iPod touch devices that her students used to create interviews with both campus and local service organizations, charities and the like.  These interviews were then shown in class as a compliment to persuasive speeches meant to raise awareness about each community group profiled.

And, the results were even better than she’d hoped.  Anne shared her excitement with me by email:

“I think that going into the community and filming the interview made the students more passionate about their organization.  Not only were the speeches more persuasive than previous semesters without the device, but the class collected $200 for the organization of the most persuasive speakers …”

Campbell and her students divided the $200 raised between the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life ($150) and the Therapeutic Riding Equestrian Center ($50), extending the awareness raised by the project through charitable donations.

“I really like[d] it because [the iPod’s] super portable and user-friendly. I wasn’t distracted with the technology and the mobility is good for the type of interview we’re looking to achieve.” – Camille M

Anne plans to continue assigning these video interviews and has already begun mapping out a project for the Fall 2013 semester with me.  I can’t wait to see what her students come up with next.  You can see more student videos and learn more about the project by visiting her Mobile Media Pilot profile page.

Unexpected Classroom Inspiration

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I think there’s a lot to be gleaned from this dim sum focused travel guide for Hong Kong, especially with all the community-based, student storytelling going on across the Commonwealth. What better way to get to the heart of a place than through the stomachs of its residents? With so many food traditions in the ethnic enclaves of Pittsburgh in particular, I could see this being a boon for faculty hoping to get their students out amongst the local business people.

In particular, I really liked the added layer of history attached to the ritual of eating the food in question and the places that the citizens eat that food.  The writing is crisp and concise and imparts all of the information while weaving a story. The only way to achieve such great results is to have a thorough understanding of the background material so the subtle connections can be made. The tie-in with our Scholarly Storytelling workshop does not escape me here…

Another thing I really liked about this clip is that – despite being decidedly high budget – many of the effects and devices are entirely approachable. Making paper cutouts of letters and using stop motion animations are both very accessible to first time filmmakers and add a certain charm to the finished product that would be missing otherwise.