Web & Communication Services
Web accessibility is a topic of growing importance to Penn State in a general sense but is of particular importance to those who develop or produce content for Web sites or Web applications.
With that in mind, Web & Communication Services (W&CS), at the request of Senior Director Ron Rash, will host a session on Web accessibility for Administrative Information Services (AIS) Web developers this month. W&CS (Team Lead Diane Weller and Multimedia Specialist Pete Yezukevich) will share information gained from their participation with the University AD69 Web Liaisons community. Other activities for this session are being planned as well. AD69 is Penn State's Web Accessibility Policy.
For those who are not familiar: Web accessibility means making sites that are able to be perceived, understood, navigated, and interacted with by people with disabilities. Accessibility also has the benefit of helping older people with changing abilities. For more information, please see the October 2011 W&CS article.
Based on initial discussions with AIS developers (conducted via e-mail in February), there is need for a wide-ranging discussion on the topic of accessibility, including tools that can help Web developers assess the accessibility of their sites and applications and how W&CS might be able to help with accessibility needs of AIS units.
The specific date and time of the session, along with the agenda, will be passed along to developers shortly (if it hasn't already). In the meantime, if you have any questions (including those who are not developers but are interested in the topic or the session), please contact Diane Weller.
AIS Training Resources
Administrative Computing Courses
Administrative computing courses are offered at no charge.
In an effort to make training more accessible, funding has been secured to provide free training for the administrative tools that you use every day. If you haven’t already, then come and check us out!
Courses in Administrative Computing at Penn State are joint offerings of Administrative Information Services (AIS) and Information Technology Services (ITS) Training Services.
To register for Administrative Computing courses or to obtain additional information, go to the registration page of ITS Training Services or call (814) 863-9522.
| Course | Date |
|---|---|
| Penn State Financial: Intro to IBIS Electronic Forms Processing (IBIS) | March 1 |
| Data Warehouse: Introduction to Queries Using MS Access 2010 | March 12-14 |
| Penn State Financial: IBIS Financial on the Mainframe (CCOM) | March 13-14 |
| Introduction to iTwo (via Meeting@PennState powered by Adobe Connect) | March 14 |
| Penn State Financial: The Financial Information Tool (FIT) | March 26-27 |
| Data Warehouse: Advanced Queries Using MS Access 2010 | March 27-28 |
| IBISFIN Data Training (Hands-On) at University Park | March 28 |
Online Tutorial for PAWS Available
Learn about the Penn State Administrative Web Suite (PAWS) through an online tutorial located on the ITS Training Services PAWS page.
Free Online Video Tutorials
Your one-stop shop for video tutorials on Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and hundreds of more topics--all free to active Penn State faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students.
With the recent enhancements, now you can:
- Manage information in your personal profile
- Keep track of your course history and recent activity
- Bookmark your favorite courses, tutorials, and specific points within movies
- Earn certificates of course completion
To learn more, go to the lynda.com at Penn State page.
Did You Know?
Pegula Ice Rink
Twice-per-day blasts will continue to be felt inside of Shields Building into April, an obvious indication that the construction of the new Pegula Ice Arena is well underway. Since AIS employees working in the basement will not be able to forget about the construction for a while, we may as well take a look into the future and see what the state-of-the-art facility will look like when it's been completed.
The images were taken from a blog called Thank You Terry, so thank you, Kyle. (Kyle wrote the post to thank Terry Pegula, the project benefactor.)
We know generally where the building is going, but this first image shows where the ice rink will be in relation to other important landmarks (such as Shields Building).
This artist rendition of the interior shows the game rink, the practice/public rink, and the seating area.
This image is an approximation of what the arena will look like on a game night. Am I the only one concerned about the green foliage for a winter sport?
Don't worry--it will always be winter on the inside. This is what it will look like from the main lobby.
Pegula Ice Arena Notes
- Arena size: 200,000 square feet
- Arena capacity: 6,000 and 16 suites
- Levels: event level, concourse level, and suite level
- Opening: estimated completion date of September 2013
- Funding: $88 million dollar gift from Terry Pegula
- Teams: men's and women's division 1 hockey
- Environmental: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) certified
- Facilities: a cyber cafe, a press and media area, concessions, locker rooms, management offices, and Nittany Room (room with ice view)
Now, back to your regularly scheduled blasts.