UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Students stressing over software programs required for projects can now take advantage of a new tutoring service offered in select computer labs around University Park campus and upon request. The Tech Tutors service is a student-to-student tutoring program available for students seeking help with class assignments that involve technology.
With the anxiety of mid-term exams and projects coming up, Tech Tutors is a service to utilize for help with these assignments. Well-trained students are available to assist with any problems Penn Staters may come across during the semester.
“Tech tutors will focus on students helping students with projects that involve technology,” said Heather Huntsinger, IT Training Specialist for ITS Training Services. “Part of that help will be provided in scheduled lab hours and we have selected labs spread throughout the University Park campus that we know are populated by students at core hours, usually between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. We have some insight that those are labs students use when working on projects,” added Huntsinger. “The other part of that is, students can also request a time that is not part of those scheduled lab hours, and we’re hoping that that will take off in its own right as well.”
The Tech Tutors service offers help in popular topics for students such as Access, Blogs at Penn State, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, InDesign, and more.
The labs are located in convenient and relevant places around campus. “We’ve chosen three labs that we’ll concentrate on for the spring semester. These are the Redifer commons, 201 Pollock and 15 Sparks,” said Glenna Emel, Instructional Designer for ITS Training Services. “The labs are distributed in three locations across campus where Tech Tutors hold weekly hours. Those hours are listed on the calendar embedded in the Tech Tutors website,” added Emel.
“Each of our tutors has a specialty area or two that they are more comfortable and confident assisting with, and we’ve noted those specialty areas on the calendar,” said Huntsinger.
Tech Tutors are recognizable by their uniformed shirts. “We have dark purple shirts that say Tech Tutors in very large, bright white lettering on the back,” said Emel. “They are wearing these in the labs and should be fairly easy to pick out from the crowd,” she added.
The Tech Tutors service is designed to help students successfully accomplish assignments and projects that require knowledge of specific technologies. With student response and feedback, Tech Tutors will be an asset to ITS on the University Park campus.
“There’s an evaluation process with these Tech Tutors, so students who participate or request assistance from a Tech Tutor will receive a feedback survey. We would like as much student response as possible to make future choices about where the program goes, types of projects, types of topics that are most needed, the most frequent times and locations, etc. We want to go to where the students are that need the help, so getting as much feedback as possible will be beneficial as we move forward,” noted Emel.
This ITS service will help students perform to their highest abilities and is readily available at three labs around campus during the spring 2012 semester. Please visit http://its.psu.edu/training/techtutors/ for available times and locations or to schedule an appointment. Tech Tutors are eager to help all students make the most out of their learning experience at Penn State.