UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries’ Teaching and Learning with Technology, (TLT) has revised the Faculty Tech Academy for 2026-2027 in the Learning Resource Network (LRN) for faculty and staff to explore the current opportunities for teaching with Penn State-provided technologies.
The Faculty Tech Academy is an asynchronous experience that can be completed from start to finish in under two hours or searched based on personal interests to connect with support resources throughout the University. The course provides context for more than 170 Penn State technology resources, categorizes them into nine modules and wraps them with applied learning activities to increase comfort with using new technologies that further support student success.
The course, updated this year, includes the following changes:
1. A new ninth module: “AI Basics,” points people to recommended AI tools, guidelines and resources.
2. Penn State Go now has a web application.
3. Microsoft 365 storage has been reduced. There is a Knowledge Base article to determine your available space.
4. Faculty interested in Media Commons collaboration now have an appointment self-scheduler.
5. A Provost Endorsement is being offered for OER integration in courses.
6. Canvas Analytics was renamed to Course Analytics.
7. The Pathways to Pedagogy URL was updated to https://pathwaystopedagogy.psu.edu/.
Dozens of faculty and staff completed the Faculty Tech Academy in the 2025-26 academic year, and feedback provided was positive about the amount of technology information available in the course. The current version will remain published until August 2027 and will retain users’ progress when logging out and returning for spaced learning.
The Faculty Tech Academy can be accessed by logging into the Learning Resource Network and searching “Tech Academy” or by accessing the Faculty Tech Academy directly.