Academic Technology for Your First Semester

Below are the most popular teaching and learning technologies at Penn State:

*Table of Academic Technologies at Penn State*
*To view Generative AI resources, visit the subpage: Penn State Resources for Generative AI
Technology	Description
Lionpath Links to an external site.	Penn State's student information system. Students use LionPATH to enroll in classes, view financial aid, pay tuition, check grades, and more. Liopath Support for Faculty/Staff Links to an external site.
Canvas Links to an external site.	Penn State’s online learning management system. Course materials for all course modalities can be delivered here, and online courses can be conducted in this space.
Starfish Links to an external site.	Penn State's main system for advising notes, progress reports, and academic reviews.
Zoom Links to an external site.	Zoom video conferencing allows Penn State Faculty/Staff to engage in multi-person video or audio meetings/classes using software installed on individual computers without the need for dedicated video conferencing hardware. Zoom Engagement Tips for teaching and learning Links to an external site.
Kaltura Links to an external site.	Penn State’s tool for storing, publishing and streaming media.
Office 365 Links to an external site.	Empowers faculty/staff to create, collaborate, and innovate through a host of email, calendaring, and premier applications that can be accessed from anywhere, at any time, on any device. Popular Applications: Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Onedrive, Teams, CoPilot
Google Suite Links to an external site.	Google Workspace for Education gives faculty/staff access to tools for teaching, learning, connecting, and sharing.
Penn State Courseware Links to an external site.	This website lists courseware solutions to learning and course design ideas and issues, such as lessons, homework sessions, and quizzes or tests. For courseware to be used in a class, it must be reviewed and authorized by the University to ensure it meets the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and accessibility requirements. *If an instructor is considering the use of a specific application, they should check Courseware to see if it is approved. If it is not approved, faculty can initiate the approval process.
Penn State Software Links to an external site.	As a Penn State student, faculty, or staff member, a variety of software is available to you for no cost or at a reduced cost.
Top Hat Links to an external site.	Top Hat allows instructors and students to communicate and collaborate, create assignments on the fly, and check for knowledge.
Adobe Creative Cloud Links to an external site.	Get everything you need to do great digital storytelling and data visualization with videos, interactive PDFs, games, web content, images, digital drawings, mobile app designs, and more. Popular applications: Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, Express

Educational Technology Support

Teaching and Learning with Technology consultations: Links to an external site. Engage with an instructional designer to discuss or collaborate on teaching, learning, and technology topics.
Virtual Teaching with Technology workshops Links to an external site.
IT Learning and Development: Links to an external site. Provides tailored learning opportunities at Penn State for ongoing technology skill development.

As a new faculty member, you have the opportunity to complete the Faculty Tech Academy Links to an external site.. The Faculty Tech Academy is an asynchronous experience designed to introduce essential academic technologies that faculty have access to for free at Penn State. Tech Academy introduces faculty to the basic tools utilized during a typical workday.