Penn State Great Valley Library Blog

If you are interested in how high schools are using technology or if you are part of PA’s Classrooms for the Future Project you should consider attending this exciting conference. It is also being offered for Act 48 credit if you are a Pennsylvania teacher.

Classrooms for the Future
Best Practices Institute
When
Thursday, October 30, 2008
9:00 a.m.-3:15 p.m.

Where
Penn State Great Valley
Safeguard Scientifics Building
Musser Auditorium
30 East Swedesford Road
Malvern, PA 19355

Registration Fee
$125
VISA and MasterCard are accepted with online registration.
If you are paying by check, please make checks payable Penn State Great Valley

Two Ways to Register
1. Visit www.gv.psu.edu/education and click on the Classrooms for the Future link on the right
2. Call: 610-648-3274
-Network with colleagues -Learn Best Practices -Earn 5 hours of Act 48 credit
According to the PA Department of Education, the 21st century high school requires new models of teaching and assessment. The Classrooms for the Future initiative is working to ensure that schools take advantage of new technologies in the classroom by providing the appropriate tools for our students and providing extensive training and support for our teachers and administrators.
Teachers and administrators from CFF schools will provide additional support, tips and techniques, and overall information relevant to effectively implementing “Classrooms for the Future” in our schools.
Who should attend?
• Anyone interested in CFF best practices
• High School teachers (grades 9-12)
• Administrators
• Teachers and administrators from comprehensive area vocational technical schools
• Teachers and administrators from career and technical centers
For more information, visit www.gv.psu.edu/education or contact 610-648-3278 or e-mail pqm7@psu.edu

“Tiny Tears,” a compelling and emotional documentary, tells the stories of children affected by HIV/AIDS. Their courage, resilience, and hope are the focus of the film by Director Robert Corna, whose credits include “The Gangs of New York,” HBO’s “Rome,” and “The Passion of The Christ.” The film has received international recognition and premiered this past spring at the United Nations and The Cannes Film Festival.
The film’s local interest centers on Camp Dreamcatcher in Kennett Square, one of only three camps in the United States whose program provides free recreational, educational, and therapeutic services for children affected by HIV/AIDS. Camp Dreamcatcher’s programs include the therapeutic camp session, weekend teen retreats, reunion parties, support groups, HIV/AIDS education and training, and community outreach. Robert Corna spent a week last summer at Camp Dreamcatcher, filming the stories of two campers. Prior to attending the camp, Corna spent time in Thailand, Uganda, and Brazil filming stories of children coping with HIV/AIDS in those countries.
Director Corna will be present for a special screening of the film to take place on October 1 at Penn State Great Valley in Malvern, Pa., in the Warren V. Musser Auditorium, Safeguard Scientifics Building. The program will begin at 5:30 p.m. with light refreshments followed by the film presentation at 6:15 p.m. The community is encouraged to attend this free event. For more information or to reserve your space, kindly RSVP to Cathy O’Neill at 610-725-5324 or cxo10@psu.edu.
This special event is sponsored by The Diversity Action Council, Master of Leadership Development Program, and The Social Entrepreneurship Speaker Series of Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies.

Now that the semester has gotten underway, it’s a good time to answer some commonly asked questions.

Where do I get a library card? If you are a student, staff or faculty, your Penn State ID card is your library card. If you are a Penn State Alumni you can register for an Alumni Card at the library’s circulation desk. If you are Pennsylvania resident or work in Pennsylvania, you can register for a Resident Card.

Will I be charged for printing or copying? No and yes… Printing is free; there’s a 10 cent/copy charge for copying.

How long can I borrow materials? Generally, if you are faculty, staff or student most material can be borrowed for the length of the semester, with an option to self-renew online twice. The exception being audio & video materials and certain materials identifed by professors for class use. All borrowed items are subject to Recall. (Recall will be discussed next.) Penn State Alumni and PA residents can borrow materials up to 30 days (also able to renew online).

What is Recall? If a borrowed item is needed by another library user, that user can place a hold and then the item will be recalled form the borrower. The borrower will receive an email giving him/her 10 days to return the material. Please pay attention to this email; unreturned recalled items are subject to fines. This is the fairest way to ensure every user has access to library materials.

How many item may I borrow at one time? Faculty, staff and graduate students may borrow up to 500 items at any one time. Undergraduate students can borrow up to 200, and Penn State Alumni & PA residents can borrow up to 100 items.

Is it possible to borrow dissertations and theses? Yes, they can be checked out with the same time limit as most printed materials: for the semester for faculty, staff, and students; for 30 days for alumni and residents. As will all library materials they are also subject to Recall.

If you have any other questions regarding library or resource usage, please call the library 610-648-3215.

The library is a great place to meet for your class group projects. Groups of 6 can comfortably sit at any table within the main area of the library, or a conference room can be reserved. As mentioned in a previous posting, two “collaborative workstations” are available, as well as digital, VHS or Hi-8 cameras, tri-pod, Fire wire, video recording equipment and video editing software. All equipment must be reserved ahead of time. For more information or to make a reservation, call The Library 610-648-3215

Also, food and drink are welcome within the library. So grab a pizza and plan on meeting in the library. Have access to all the scholarly information Penn State has to offer with a reference librarian nearby who can answer questions.
Library hours are: Monday – Thursday (9:30am-9:30pm), Friday (9:30am-6pm), and Saturday (8:30am-4:30pm).

A current, popular library book is Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. This New York Times Best Seller has won a few awards: 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year in the Adult Nonfiction category, 2005 Quill award for best business book of the year, and Finalist of the Financial Time/Goldman Sach’s Business Book of the Year. In this book, Levitt and Dubner take a look at society and statistics from a different perspective. For example, Levitt and Dubner evaluate what is more harmful to children: having a pool in their own backyard or having a gun in their house? By comparing fatality rates among children under each of these circumstances, they conclude that a pool is more dangerous since there are more children’s deaths by drowning then by guns. The conclusion is based on annual statistics alone; no moral issues are pulled into the equation. Thus, the book is ideal for raising discussions regarding this and the many other featured topics.

Google is announcing a new open source browser called Google Chrome. It will debut tomorrow but for some advance info go to http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/fresh-take-on-browser.html .
The site also links you to a comic book explaining Google Chrome.