Spring 2021 Report

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Penn State provided enhanced flexibility to faculty and students to choose how they wanted to teach and learn during the Spring 2021 semester. While some classes were held in-person, others were entirely online, and many more were hybrid in numerous ways. Due to these changes, the Media Commons, Maker Commons, and Immersive Experiences Lab services had to continue to adapt processes to adjust to the new circumstances. We continued to implement the modified remote and hybrid-adapted resources and instructional methods developed during summer 2020 and Fall 2020 across all services.

As a result, several physically-bound services and technology like the One Button Studios, 3D printing lab, Invention Studio, and the Immersive Experiences Lab’s immersive “pinwheel” theater saw significant adjustments. Media Commons facilities, including One Button Studios, remained closed at the majority of Commonwealth campuses. University Park implemented a new plan that centralized the majority of resources at the Pattee Library location, even relocating VR, 360° video, and 3D scanning resources from the IMEX Lab to Pattee. This approach simplified our staffing needs and we adopted a new work schedule that ensured each consultant worked on campus only once per week on a staggered schedule. While open for appointments, new restrictions and guidelines developed in collaboration with the University’s Environmental Health and Safety group kept the editing rooms and One Button Studios safe for use. This also allowed us to operate the Maker Commons’ 3D printing service, which focused only on printing for approved course assignments and paused personal and exploratory printing for the semester. The partnership with University Libraries allowed us to ship completed 3D prints to students’ homes for those that elected to learn remotely.

Despite the challenges and changes to our service model, the Spring 2021 semester was productive and successful in a number of ways, as outlined in the report below.

Spring 2021 saw 3,315 students and faculty use the Media Commons, Maker Commons, and Immersive Experiences Lab initiatives across the Commonwealth. Much of this use was focused in 120 classes in nearly every discipline offered at Penn State. To facilitate these interactions outside of University Park, traveling consultants offered 124 remote sessions to provide instruction, consultations and support.

While the majority of One Button Studios across the Commonwealth were closed, the two studios located in Pattee Library still helped students and faculty create 384 academic videos, comprising over 7 hours of video. Students across the Commonwealth created 2,035 3D prints in pursuit of their course work. 

The report that follows breaks down our interactions with students and faculty and examines engagement levels with services offered, locations, and by individual colleges. Throughout the report we’ll draw attention to exciting assignments, surprising class partnerships, and interesting observations from the semester – stories that tell the ways in which Penn State faculty and students are pushing the boundaries of education into the future. We also point out usage and technology trends that draw from Media Commons’ proven history in supporting multimedia and emerging technology as well as reflect on challenges and opportunities in the coming semesters.

Adobe Rush workshops became a popular choice over iMovie for video editing this past year because Penn State students could access the software for free and also for its collaboration features. One example assignment from the College of Health and Human Development is Bing Pan’s Recreation, Park, & Tourism Management (RPTM 410) at University Park requirement to interview a local State College resident to tell a “Happy Valley” story and work collaboratively to create a video with attention-grabbing “viral” potential, including interesting, funny, relevant, emotional, or surprising elements. Judges from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau selected a winning video out of the eight entries based on quality and viral potential and shared it on their social media outlets. A second video assignment example comes from Derek Lewis’ assignment for his CAS 415 class at University Park in which students were tasked to work collaboratively on a short, rough horror production and to incorporate the essential material taught in class: script, video, and key. 

Working with Randall McEntaffer, TLT faculty fellow from the Eberly College of Science at University Park, Media Commons hosted a VR research station for participants to view the VR experience Titans of Space with the goal to “overcome the physical limitations of engaging with astronomy course materials” and to enhance learning in the Astro 001 course.

Adobe Spark was a great fit for our English 15 at University Park Infographics workshops. These three excellent student submission examples, 1, 2, 3, fulfill Sierra Miller’s and Nanami Kobayashi’s requests to present a simple, focused message about a compelling issue in a visual format that included an original data visualization to express complex ideas concisely and accurately. 

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