Penn State Wilkes-Barre recently unveiled its new Digital Commons studio to students, faculty and staff. Through the use of modern technology and software, Penn Staters now have the ability to create multimedia projects in a state-of-the-art digital production facility. With an estimated price tag of $10,000, the Digital Commons is a one-of-a-kind production suite, consisting of a recording studio and an editing room.
With the explosion of user-created content environments like YouTube and Google Video, the Digital Commons brings together a wide range of resources, which helps students learn about digital media, including editing audio and video projects, podcasts, movies, slideshows and media conversion. The digital studio is designed to enrich the lives of students by creating digital content for their coursework.
A university-wide initiative developed by Penn State's Information Technology Services, the Digital Commons provides all Penn State campuses with a common set of tools like high-end Macintosh computer workstations, professional audio and video equipment, and editing software such as Final Cut Pro and Audacity. "Students who take advantage of the resources offered in the Digital Commons are gaining valuable skills that will transfer over to careers like web design, movies and special effects, multimedia development and television production, " said Susan Hales, an instructional design specialist at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
