Category: Uncategorized

We had a lot of great feedback on our changes made last summer, so there aren’t any big changes to report for this summer’s version. Though we will be analyzing faculty/staff and student feedback to see if there are any adjustments needed for Fall 2025!

We’ve updated our AI section and Data Privacy sections, along with the instruction videos to match changes made to Microsoft 365.  You can see the full content outline on the About Tech Academy page.

We are able to continue our completion incentives due to the  Tech Academy Endowment. Students at campuses who are implementing Tech Academy during NSO, and complete ALL of Tech Academy and receive full credit, will be entered into a giveaway for Penn State themed technology items, a prize pack worth over $250!

Interested in learning more about Tech Academy or using it you courses? You can email L-techacademy@lists.psu.edu or fill out the Tech Academy adoption form to receive the most up-to-date version of Tech Academy to use at your campus!

Welcome to Tech Academy!

This “mini-course” is designed to be an introduction to the basic technology skills incoming students will need to succeed at Penn State University. Housed in Canvas, Penn State’s learning management system, it is easy to incorporate into New Student Orientation, First-Year Seminar, or other courses and programs designed for first-year students.

If you have questions about Tech Academy, or would like more information on how you may incorporate the mini-course at your location, please email the Tech Academy Working Group at L-TECHACADEMY@LISTS.PSU.EDU

Each year, the Working Group reviews feedback from facilitators and students, and makes changes to Tech Academy’s content. We also add any updates to the apps and technologies covered. This year we updated a number of the sections in order to make the content more streamline for students. This changes included:

• Updated videos for Outlook and PSU Sites
• Added more content on navigating Canvas and viewing grades
• Adjusted the order of the sections for better flow
• Redesigned surveys to better collection students’ previous experience with technology

Remember to fill out the Tech Academy adoption form to receive the most up-to-date version of Tech Academy to use at your campus!

You must sign in with your PSU ID to access the Adoption Form.