WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER TO LEAD WORKSHOP, PRESENTATION MARCH 10

HATTIESBURG - Students and faculty interested in the latest educational technologies for the classroom can find them at The University of Southern Mississippi's "Technology Tea" on April 25.

Sponsored by the Office of Technology Resources, the tea will be held from noon until 3 p.m. in rooms A, B and C of the union and will feature the most up-to-date versions of instructional support technologies.

Both students and educators alike can benefit from the tech tea, said Dr. Lin Harper, coordinator of the Center for Education and Learning Technology.

"More and more students are coming to us to use high-tech methods in the classroom," Harper said, "so educators must be fluent in the methods available."

On display will be examples of instructional technology initiatives like the "Highly Visible Undergraduate Classrooms," a series of 38 classrooms that will be renovated over the next three years to include equipment allowing faculty and students to interact in new and innovative ways. Equipment included in those rooms will be available for demonstration.

Participants in the tech tea will also have the opportunity to "test drive" the new PeopleSoft 8.0 software program, demonstrated by OTR's administrative support team. The team will be on hand to answer questions about term activation and transcript printing, among others.

Another popular feature of the tech tea, now in its third year, is the "vendor showcase." In it, local and regional vendors bring their newest and most popular technologies to demonstrate and discuss with faculty and administrators. Those present will include Apple, Gateway, Dell and Howard Computers, MISSCO, Daniel Communication, Inc., Comcast Cable and MCSI.

"The tea provides visitors an opportunity to network with people who are eager to share their experience and to identify resources that can be used to help make education more effective and successful," said Bonnie Cooper, trainer for the Center for Education and Learning Technology.

Southern Miss faculty will also demonstrate technologies they are currently using in the classroom. Dr. Steve Yuen, professor of technology education, and Dr. Thelma Robertson, assistant professor of education leadership and research, will discuss the use of PDAs; Dr. Mary Nell McNeese, assistant professor of education leadership and research, and Dr. Taralynn Hartsell, assistant professor of technology education, will discuss and demonstrate the use of electronic SMARTBoards; and Dr. Anita Davis, assistant professor in the School of Music, and Dr. Ben Velasquez, associate professor in the School of Human Performance and program director for Athletic Training, will discuss the use of video in online education.

Information on security awareness and the Southern Miss Web site redesign project will be available, in addition to the latest on Southern Miss online and the Office of Research and Special Projects. W-Southern Miss will provide music and entertainment and light refreshments will be served.

For more information, visit www.usm.edu/celt/technologytea.htm or call Bonnie Cooper at (601) 266-6899.

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Award-winning wildlife photographer Tom Ulrich will lead two photographic events at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory on Wednesday, March 10.

He will present a nature photography workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and then a talk and slide show called "Wildlife Images 2003" at 7 p.m., both at The University of Southern Mississippi GCRL.

Admission to the evening event is free and will be held in the Caylor Auditorium at GCRL. The veteran photographer will feature photos from his 2003 photographic safaris abroad and in North America. He will answer questions and sign his books during the reception following his slide show.

The registration fee for the all-day workshop is $50 per person, payable to GCRL. Registration includes a continental breakfast, light lunch and snacks. Participation is limited to 20. Though the workshop is geared toward beginners, Ulrich tailors the experience to meet needs for all degrees of skill.

"The beginners will definitely benefit from the workshop, but I always help the more advanced get something out of it also," Ulrich said. "I lead many photo trips and always find a wide range of levels."

Ulrich said participants do not need to bring their photographic equipment unless they need an explanation about some aspect of their equipment.

Topics include a brief review of the principles of photography, relationships between shutter and aperture settings, fundamental elements of composition, use and timing of fill-in flash, digital versus film photography, techniques of close-up photography, and a brief discussion of slide etiquette, the photography business and marketing.

Ulrich grew up in South Chicago, graduated with a degree in biology from Southern Illinois University and taught for four years before launching his career as a freelance photographer. He has supported himself with nature photography for the past 29 years.

His library of more than 300,000 transparencies includes birds and mammals from all over the world. His photographs have been featured in publications such as National Wildlife, Audubon, National Geographic, Montana Outdoors and Life.

He has published six nature books, including Mammals of the Rockies, Birds of the Northern Rockies, Once Upon a Frame and his 2002 release, Photo Pantanal. Dr. William E. Hawkins, GCRL executive director, said Ulrich brings the scientific and artistic worlds together.

"Tom earns his living photographing wildlife all over the world," Hawkins sad. "He is an outstanding observer and a biologist. His approach to photography is to capture his subjects exhibiting their natural behavior."

The GCRL is home to the university's Department of Coastal Sciences, the Center for Fisheries Research and Development, and the Gulf Coast Geospatial Center. The J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium is also a unit of the laboratory. The GCRL is part of the Southern Miss College of Science and Technology. For more information, call the laboratory at (228) 872-4200.

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