Behrend Briefs
COMMENCEMENT
Commencement for summer and fait 1996
graduates is scheduled for Sunday;
December 15,1996 at 12:00 noon in Erie Hal!
(snow date - December 16). Orders for caps
and gowns must be placed at the Bookstore
no later than October 11,1996.
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ETHERNET CARDS NOW AVAILABLE!
Ethernet cards for IBM-Compatible and
Pentium computers (including laptops) are
now available at the Bookstore. The cables to
connect your computer to the Penn State
backbone are available at the Housing Office
(Dobbins Hall). The cards may still be rented
from the Microcomputer Order Center (MQC)
at University Park.
PERSONAL COUNSELING SERVICES
This semester make it a point to take better
care of yourself. Support is waiting at the
Counseling and Advising Office (Ist Floor
Reed Union Building). All Personal
Counseling records are strictly confidential.
Contact Sue Daley at 898-6164.
ASTRONOMY LE
Dr. Alexander Wolszczan will present "Planets
Around Neutron Stars and Elsewhere” at the
Penn State - Behrend Astronomy Open House
September 5 at 7:30 p,m. in the Reed Lecture
Hall. Reservations are requested, 898-6105.
BOOKSTORE HOURS
The bookstore will be open Monday through
Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturdays
from 8:00 am. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from
12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. until August 23.
THINKING ABOUT DRINKING?
(A LITTLE MORE THAN. YOU LIKE?)
Moderation is possible. Confidential Alcohol /
Moderation Group. Every Friday at Noon at
the Health A Wellness Center. For more info
call Sue Daley at 896-6164.
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VOICE MAIL
All Penn State-Behrend residents now have
voice mall. An information booklet was placed
in your room with specific details. For more
Information call the Housing Office at 898-
Want to get involved?
Participate in
DAY OF CARING
Saturday, September 7
Special Behrend projects include landscaping and painting at the
Gertrude Barber Center and the Florence'Crittenton Home .
For more details contact
Student Activities at 898*617!
Faculty develop interactive
teaching software
In the past members of the
psychology faculty at Penn State
Erie- Behrend, have relied upon
visits to the local zoo to teach
students animal behavior
observation techniques.
If the animals were asleep, the
students were out of luck.
Now, thanks to new software
designed by those same faculty,
students will soon be able to
learn scientific observational
techniques more conveniently
using interactive multimedia
software in psychology
classrooms and labs.
This teaching enhancement is
the result of a Faculty
Technology Initiative grant
received from the Penn State
Center for Academic Computing
by Dr. Dawn G. Blasko, assistant
professor of psychology, Dr.
Victoria A. Kazmerski, assistant
MAILROOM NEWS!
Postal Booklet & Stamp Machine
located across from the Mailroom!
Featuring:
• Stamp Booklets
• Individual Stamps
• Postcard Stamp Booklets
MAILROOM SERVICES:
The mailroom will weigh , transport and advise the sender
of the most effective method to send mail.
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professor of psychology, Dr. Carl
A. Kallgren, associate professor
of psychology, and Dr. Eric
Corty, assistant professor of
psychology.
Their project involves the
development, testing, and
evaluation of software that will
support the observational part of
Penn State’s basic research
methods course in psychology.
“The teaching of scientific
methods of observation presents
challenges,” said Blasko. “The
techniques cannot be mastered
without hands-on experience, but
we know from experience that
animal behavior is very
unreliable. The proposed project
will solve that problem by using
carefully selected and edited
digitized video clips of various
species.”
NOW ACCEPTING
$l, $5, $lO, $2O & Coins
Thursday, August 22,1996
“In addition,” she noted, “this
project is highly interactive and
goes well beyond traditional
lecture-type. teaching. Students
will be able to try different
behavior coding schemes and
receive immediate feedback.”
Development of the
observational methods software
has already begun and will
continue through the fall 1996
semester. Blasko plans to pilot
test the software in her research
methods class in the spring of
1997, and the project is expected
to be completed and fully
integrated into the classroom by
fall of 1997.
Blasko indicated that “after
discussions with faculty at other
institutions, we believe that the
software may be commercially
viable, especially if produced on
CD-ROM for student and faculty
use.”