Syracuse Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli is one of 27 co-sponsors of a bill that would postpone the impact of the state’s tough new tests on New York’s students and teachers for two years.
The bill, sponsored by Assembly Education Chair Catherine Nolan, would prohibit the use of the Common Core-aligned three- through eighth-grade state exams from being included on students’ permanent records or transcripts.
The bill would also prohibit the state from providing student data to in Bloom and other data management companies until July 1, 2015. And it would give parents the option of refusing to allow their children’s personally identifiable data to be provided to in Bloom or other vendors.
If the bill passes the Assembly, it would still have to be taken up and approved by the state Senate and be signed by Cuomo
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Oswego State’s New Partnership with Virtual Reality
by Jamie Aranoff, WTOP-10 TV
German Virtual Reality Company, Crytek has announced a sponsorship with Oswego State providing virtual reality research opportunities and human-computer interaction graduate programs.
VR [Virtual Reality] First is an initiative to integrate virtual reality and create labs in higher education institutions nationwide. The aim of VR First is to link schools to a global network of virtual knowledge and research.
The need for jobs in the virtual reality market is rapidly opening, said Dr. Jolanda Tromp, a visiting professor at Oswego State. “Experts are needed to help with improvements to the hardware and there are a multitude of application areas opening up, such as big data visualization, explorations of the microbiology world, medical training, health & safety training for hazardous environments, college education programs of all sorts, fashion, journalism, marketing, to name a few,” said Tromp.
Oswego has joined a partnership of schools including Purdue University, Oklahoma State University, University of Florida and many others spanning six countries.
The Academic initiative with Crytek has allowed for the creation of a virtual reality lab in the Shineman center, with five state of the art virtual reality headphones. In addition, all headsets will be complete with Crytek’s software development, CryEngine.
Virtual reality is a computer-generated program that is viewed from specific headgear with a screen securely placed in front of users’ eyes. Virtual reality’s specific draw is that the program allows for users to feel as though they are in a three dimensional location, which is a dynamic shot allowing the image in front of a users eyes to move in sync with a user.
“It’s becoming affordable, the technology is improving and the headsets are smaller and more comfortable to wear,” Tromp said in a press release.
Last Spring, students in Tromp’s graduate virtual reality course divulged into the myriad of opportunities that are presented with the technology. It is applicable not only to the science and technology fields but medical, marketing, psychotherapy, space travel, journalism and more.
“There is a need for software development talent in this field,” said Tromp.
Many students of varying majors and studies are provoked by the new technologies, and their opportunities in the job field.
“It’s becoming cheaper and more common to produce headsets and I really feel as though the ideology of being able to interact with interact with virtual technology paves a way to new technologies I can not even begin to fathom,” said Sophomore computer science student, Joseph McGee.
In addition to the practicalities among many different fields, one Oswego student has taken the technology and applied it to pain management.
Second-year graduate student, Ryan Kikta is using virtual reality to bring patients undergoing medical treatments to feel as though they were in a non-medical location.
“It’s a green technology, it saves resources and time. Its flexibility is incomparable” said Tromp on the ability to use the technologies in different settings.
For students interested in the vast world of virtual reality technology, Tromp is teaching a graduate level virtual reality course again in the upcoming spring semester. The virtual reality lab is available for students to propose projects for, and to collaborate with companies off campus, some even providing opportunities for internships.
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First two positive COVID-19 cases reported at SUNY Oswego
OSWEGO, NY- SUNY Oswego reported it’s first two positive COVID-19 cases today.
As of 5:00 pm Tuesday, Oswego’s COVID-19 dashboard reported two positives out of 5,213 total tests conducted since August 12th.
One case is an on-campus student. The other is a commuter student. One of the students is in on-campus isolation. There are 13 students in Travel Advisory Quarantine.
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Oswego Students Take a Stand Against Anti-Semitism
Several Oswego State students and faculty gathered in front of the peace memorial for a candlelight vigil last Friday in honor of the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack.
The vigil was held shortly after the suspect of the Pittsburgh attack, Robert Bowers, plead not guilty for the 44 criminal charges held against him in court last Thursday.
“We’re here to send a message of love and hope, and that hate is not welcome here,” Oswego Student Association President Omar van Reenen said. “Anti-semitism, gun violence, racism, and marginalization in all forms are not welcome on our campus, in our communities, or in our states.”
Van Reenen worked with the Student Association on campus to organize the vigil. Students and faculty held candles and signed a poster that read “Stronger than Hate.” Students gathered around the peace memorial for statements read by various members of the campus community including Sarah Nehama, vice president of Jewish Life on campus.
“I just want people to realize that anti-semitism is still a big thing,” Nehama said. “We had a 60 percent spike in anti semitism in 2017 which is crazy and this week we also had a synagogue defaced in California.”
The attacks in Pittsburgh and the defacement of a synagogue in California are just part of the growing problem with violence being expressed in America. The issue of gun violence in America continues to grow.
