ERIE, Pa. — Consider the following: Less than 10 years ago, there were no iPhones, Androids or tablets. Hashtag was not yet a word. Tweets were sounds reserved for birds.
Technology has forever changed the way we learn, work and interact. That theme will be emphasized during Penn State Behrend’s first-ever Digital Media Festival later this month.
The three-day festival will be held Wednesday, March 30, through Friday, April 1, in the campus' Reed Union Building. All festival events are free and open to the public, and reserved parking for attendees will be available in the Reed lot.
“Equipping students with the necessary skill set for the ‘21st century global economy’ has become one of the college’s top priorities,” said Heather Cole, the lecturer in digital arts who helped coordinate the festival. “To this end, a collaborative team from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and beyond came together to provide this unique interdisciplinary experience for the Greater Erie community.”
Presentations on photography, video game development and public relations, as well as musical performances, will all be part of festival. The complete schedule, including speakers and room locations, is as follows:
March 30
- 4 p.m., Kris Wheaton, “Skills Beyond Your Craft,” 113 Reed
- 5 p.m., Todd Scalise, “Visual Public Relations,” 113 Reed
- 7 p.m., David Watkins, “Music Performance: Dulcet Tones and Ardent Drones,” 117 Reed
March 31
- 4 p.m., RendrFX, 77 Kochel
- 5:30 p.m., Christopher Via, “Psychology Within Video Game Design,” 117 Reed
- 7 p.m., Charlie Roberts, “Music Performance: Live Coding Music,” 117 Reed
April 1
- 5 p.m., Game Developers Conference Post-Mortem, 114 Reed
- 6 p.m., Richard Sayer, “The Camera in Your Hand,” 114 Reed
- 7 p.m., “Ethics in Digital Media” Panel, 114 Reed
- 8 p.m., Student Digital Concert and Screening of Works, 117 Reed
Penn State Behrend’s Digital Media Festival is sponsored by the campus' digital media, arts, and technology bachelor’s degree program. Abbreviated DIGIT, it 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.
For more information on the Digital Media Festival or DIGIT, contact Cole at htm2@psu.edu or call 814-898-6420.