4/3/2020 Update:
Link to handouts: bit.ly/PennDOTwebinar
Info on Facebook banner images and correct sizing: https://blog.snappa.com/facebook-cover-photo-size/
3/27/2020 Update:
Thank you all for your patience during the travel restrictions. The Pennsylvania Highway Safety Office is excited to announce that we will still be able to host the Pennsylvania State University's Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications speakers as they provide technical guidance and training designed to enhance your skills and abilities when connecting with social media audiences and the public via an online webinar on Friday, April 3 from 9:00 am – 11:30 am. PennDOT Digital Director, Larissa Newton will provide a welcome to our attendees and the presentations will be moderated by PennDOT Crash Reporting Unit business IT personnel, Tom Cash.
Webinar details will be sent today via email. The workshop descriptions below may be slightly altered due to the modified presentation platform.
Workshop Descriptions
Making Compelling Photos with Your Smartphone
Will Yurman, Norman Eberly Professor of Practice in Journalism
There are billions of photographs added to our collective consciousness every day. How many do you remember? What makes a photo standout and capture someone’s interest? How can you use your smartphone to make the most interesting photos possible? The workshop will cover basic smartphone camera apps and skills using an iPhone as well as photography tips and tricks on using light, composition and moment to make compelling photos.
A New Roadmap: Student Insights & Industry Findings to Get the Most Mileage out of Social Media
Bill Zimmerman, Lecturer
What happens when 80+ communications students evaluate your social media platforms? You get a dose of honest feedback and solutions to pressing challenges. Lecturer Bill Zimmerman, along with a group of students, will present the results from SWOT analyses of Community Traffic Safety Partners accounts and a deep-dive into the @pennsylvaniadot Instagram account, focused on strategy, visuals, engagement and emerging technology.
TIKTOK: A place for creativity and expression. Is it a place for government?
Renea Nichols, Assistant Teaching Professor
TIKTOK is a place for creativity and expression. But, what exactly is TIKTOK and is it a place for PennDOT to begin engaging with its target audience, especially those that do not have much love for PennDOT and pot holes. Penn State PR students will offer some suggestions on how PennDOT can use this popular social media platform to effectively communicate safety messages.
Speaker Bios (alphabetical)
Renea Nichols, Assistant Teaching Professor
Renea Nichols joined the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communication faculty in 2004 semester after spending eight years as a lecturer at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University.
Her abundance of practical public relations experience includes public relations positions with the City of Phoenix, U-Haul International, Arizona Special Olympics and the ASU Alumni Association. She has served as a public relations consultant to organizations such as the National Kidney Foundation, the Maricopa Association of Governments, HEINEKEN, PA Department of Health and many top public relations agencies in Arizona.
Her students at both ASU and Penn State have received national awards from PRSA, IABC, NODAC-PRSSA and Rolling Stone magazine for their public relations campaigns completed as part of her writing and campaign courses. In the spring 2019, her students worked with FOX SPORTS University and Girls Inc. to create a campaign televised during the Women’s World Cup. Nichols has authored four books on interracial dating and multi-racial populations and appeared in national news media discussing the subjects. She spends her free time working in the community. She sits on the advisory board of the Centre County Youth and Children Services and Interfaith Human Services. She is also strong advocate for Alzheimer's awareness and diversity, spending a lot of her time educating others and/or teaching in this area.
Renea is active on social media, tweeting and blogging about issues in public relations, diversity, Alzheimer's and fitness.
In May 2017, Renea became a grandmother and looks forward to her daily FACE TIME and spending holiday breaks with her new grandson, Quinn, and daughter, Danni.
Will Yurman, Norman Eberly Professor of Practice in Journalism
Will Yurman is the Eberly Professor of Professional Practice in the journalism department in the Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State where he teaches multimedia storytelling and photojournalism.
Before coming to Penn State, he worked in journalism for more than 20 years as a still photographer and multimedia producer. Will was a staff photographer at the (Rochester N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle. He also spent three years based in Jerusalem covering the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
His still photography and multimedia work have been recognized in the Best of Photography, and Picture of the Year International contests and exhibited at The George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film.
His obsessive-compulsive nature has allowed him to extend his photo a day project to more than sixteen years. Not to jinx it, but he has taken a photo every day since December 31, 2003.
Bill Zimmerman, Lecturer
Bill Zimmerman is a lecturer in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, specializing in digital public relations. He’s also the supervisor of the Social Media Solutions division of CommAgency, a creative agency within the college that puts students with real clients from campus and the community. He worked for nearly a decade as a newspaper reporter in Western Pennsylvania before working in Penn State's Office of Strategic Communications, where he was social media manager before becoming a full-time faculty member. While in Penn State’s central communications office, he assisted in the management of social media accounts with 1 million+ followers, drove an initiative to get the Nittany Lion mascot recognized by the Mascot Hall of Fame (Class of 2017!!) and hosted a YouTube series called “This is Penn State,” offering a slice of life look at the diverse parts that keep the University moving. In January 2018 he launched "Happy Valley Hustle," a podcast celebrating entrepreneurship and innovation.
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Important Update!
The 2020 Pennsylvania Traffic Safety Conference, scheduled for March 31 through April 3 in State College, PA, has been cancelled due to health and safety concerns about COVID-19 (coronavirus) and associated travel restrictions placed on event participants.
Attendees should immediately cancel overnight room reservations at the Days Inn Penn State accordingly.
The Pennsylvania Highway Safety Office will provide additional information soon regarding plans to share handouts, presentations, and other important information included on the agenda. At this time, we are asking conference participants to keep the week of March 30th blocked on calendars as originally planned, as we are exploring offering some presentations remotely during the originally scheduled date/time.
We appreciate your patience, understanding, and support at this time.
Tom Glass, Manager, PennDOT Highway Safety Office
Please join us for the 2020 PA Traffic Safety Conference, April 1st – April 3rd, 2020. We will be meeting at the Days Inn Penn State. Sessions will cover a wide variety of topics, including outreach best practices, both general and topical trainings and communication strategies. Child Passenger Safety CEUs will be offered as a Pre-Conference Workshop on Tuesday, March 31st.
Hotel reservation, parking, and Grantee reimbursement information is located on the "Get There" page.
Updates to the agenda (below) will be posted as they are made available for the workshop descriptions and conference details. Please continue to check back for these changes.
** A formal agenda will be provided to registered participants prior to the conference**
2020 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE (TENTATIVE)
Last Updated 2/11/2020
**Updates to the agenda will be posted as they are made available for the workshop descriptions and conference details. Please continue to check back for these changes.**
Registration table will be open (additional times may be added, based on registrations):
- Tuesday, March 31st 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Wednesday, April 1st 7:30 am - 1:00 pm
- Thursday, April 2nd 7:30 am - 1:00 pm
TUESDAY, MARCH 31ST
9:00 am - 11:00 am CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY INSTRUCTOR MEETING Bob Wall
*Pre-Registration required* Workshop is limited to current CPS Instructors. Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technician Instructors were sent the 2020 National Child Passenger Safety Certification Training Instructor Guide in January. The CPS instructor meeting will highlight changes made to the curriculum and provide the opportunity to discuss techniques and challenges that occur before, during, and after a CPS certification class.
*Attendees will meet the CPS community education recertification requirement.
12:30 pm - 4:30 pm CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY TECHNICAL UPDATE Bob Wall
*Pre-Registration required*
Energy Management This session will discuss how child restraints are designed to manage the energy in a crash, reducing the likelihood of injury and death. Child restraint energy management designs include stability/load legs, European shoulder belt routing, anti-rebound features, impact-absorbing crushable frames, internal side-impact protection, external side impact protection and more.
How Tight is Tight This session will discuss the importance of following manufacturer’s instructions in achieving a “tight” installation. Installation techniques will be discussed and the importance of demonstrating proper techniques to parents and caregivers when teaching them how to secure their car seat.
Tethers Make a Difference This session will discuss the importance of using the tether when securing a forward-facing car seat and the benefit provided to the child occupant. A review of the tether anchor locations and vehicle hardware that may impact their ease of use.
4 CPS CEUs will be offered for attendees who provide their certification number during registration.
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm PA LAW ENFORCEMENT LIAISON ROUNDTABLE
*By invitation only* The LEL's will gather to discuss any topics relating to the PTS transition.
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm SAFE KIDS WORLDWIDE MEETING
This session is for Safe Kids Pennsylvania (SKPA) Coalitions and Partners only. The session will review state and local updates from PA DOH, SKPA and local leads in the field. There will be discussions exploring the needs in the state, partnerships that can be developed to support those needs, current state initiatives that SKPA can participate in to build stronger partnerships, and how the connection with Safe Kids Worldwide can enhance our state mission.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1ST
7:00 am – 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
8:30 am – 12:00 pm OPENING SESSION, KEYNOTE SPEAKER AND RECOGNITION CEREMONY
Opening Remarks NHTSA and PennDOT representatives will provide remarks followed by our Keynote Speaker, Steve Fitzhugh.
The Value of Inspired Personal Leadership Steve Fitzhugh Company success is built on strong personal leadership. Mr. Fitzhugh’s keynote address will challenge, enlighten, and inspire individuals to achieve personal success by cultivating their individual leadership skills. Mr. Fitzhugh draws upon lessons learned en route to a Super Bowl season with the Denver Broncos, along with national and international effectiveness achieved in deploying precepts and anecdotes for professional accomplishment.
Recognition Ceremony Tom Glass Annually, the Pennsylvania Highway Safety Office recognizes outstanding individuals, groups, and projects in our traffic safety network. These award recipients, nominated by their peers, will be honored for their efforts that exemplify extraordinary commitments to traffic safety and realizing the collective goal of zero deaths.
12:00 pm – 1:15 pm Lunch
1:15 pm – 4:00 pm GENERAL OUTREACH BEST PRACTICES
Coffee With the Chief Lori Aguilera Coffee with the Chief events are growing in our area. More and more LEA’s are getting involved with this program because it promotes positive community policing, it allows the public to interact and ask questions to law enforcement about their community and what is happening as far as crime and traffic is concerned, it builds trust within the community and it’s a great way for our LEA’s to raise awareness on certain issues that might be happening in their respective jurisdictions. It’s a chance for CTSP’s to let the LEA’s know exactly what we do in the County, the programs we offer and the programs we can train their officers to do in their schools. We also discuss CPS Certification, the Law Enforcement Seminar, seat belt surveys at high schools and we let them know we are a resource for them. This is also a great way for local businesses to support our LEA’s by hosting the event.
Teens - Do They Hear Us? Colleen Lantz, Jay Ofsanik, Terri Rae Anthony We all agree that teen drivers need information on safe driving practices, but the methods we have used in the past are sometimes not effective in this digital age. How we convey this message has become difficult, time consuming and at times ineffective. Teens need to be convinced that crashes and the resulting tragedies are real. In the last several years, our project has reached out to select groups of students through Focus Groups. In this workshop, we will address what we have learned and share the thoughts of these students and what they say will make a difference in their driving habits.
Being a Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor Tracy Fox We will discuss how to become a Merit Badge Counselor for the Boy Scouts and the requirements for the Traffic Safety Merit Badge.
Amplifying Your Outreach Through Partnerships Pam Fischer A common ingredient of effective public outreach is partnerships. Partners can add credibility to your traffic safety program and help you deliver messages and information to key audiences that may be hard to reach or unwilling to listen to “unauthentic” voices. Explore what it means to effectively partner by examining how states are working with non- and/or for-profit organizations to address a variety of traffic safety issues ranging from the effects of cannabis on driving and the danger of texting behind the wheel and driving drowsy, to safe walking practices and teen seat belt use. Resources that discuss how to develop and nurture partnerships will also be identified to help you learn more about this proven strategy.
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm NETWORKING SESSION
Meet your colleagues and peers, interact with our vendors and enjoy a snack at the networking session immediately following the last breakout session. Have a drink, grab a snack and see what the vendors have to offer while interacting with other participants. It’s a great way to see what’s going on in various aspects of traffic safety throughout the state.
Light refreshments will be provided, and a cash bar will be available.
THURSDAY, APRIL 2ND
7:00 am – 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
8:30 am – 12:00 pm MEANINGFUL PRESENTATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS
Dynamic Classroom PowerPoint Cpl. Wayne Moyer The presentation will deal with the pitfalls and advantages of using PowerPoint. He will demonstrate various advanced PowerPoint techniques to allow the instructor to better impart their instruction. He will also be discussing his personal approach and fundamental instructor tactics in the classroom.
Tips for Creating Engaging Presentations Deborah Andreoli Discussing ideas to create presentations that will increase audience participation and cognitive involvement. Gain access to simple tools to take a dull, statistically driven message to a personal and relevant experience your audience will remember.
Cultural Competency Sgt. William Slaton This presentation will address how to engage with minority and underserved communities.
Panel Discussion At the end of the Meaningful Presentations and Partnerships workshop block, Cpl. Wayne Moyer, Deborah Andreoli and Sgt. William Slaton will participate in a Q&A panel discussion with the audience.
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm – 4:30 pm TOPICAL TRAININGS
Case Law for Civilians/ DUI Arrest Details Examined Jerry Spangler An introduction to current and emerging issues related to the investigation, arrest and prosecution of impaired driving offenses. Topics covered will include the elements of driving under the influence, special considerations regarding drug-impaired driving, both illicit drugs and prescription medications, and constitutional issues related to traffic stops, arrests, searches and seizures.
The Universe of Micromobility Roy Gothie, Ngani Ndimbie A brief exploration of the taxonomy and classification; legal status, safety considerations, and open research questions for the expanding universe of powered micromobility vehicles.
Driving Drugged Legally? (The IACP/DRE Program in PA and Medical MJ Overview) Craig Amos We will discuss the challenges presented to highway safety by individuals impaired by prescription medications. Drug impaired driving is becoming more and more prevalent on Pennsylvania’s highways and illicit drugs comprise only part of the problem; prescription drugs and medical marijuana contribute greatly to the issue.
We will look at the seven (7) established drug categories and focus on the four (4) categories to which most prescription medications belong. Basic signs and symptoms for each of the drug categories are addressed. There is an overview of the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program and lastly, the issue of drug impaired senior drivers is examined as this is a growing problem in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has an aging population and seniors are prescribed and are taking more medications now than at any time in our history.
At the end of this workshop, attendees should have a solid grasp of the drugged driving problem, the role prescription medications play, the DEC program and the challenge of drugged driving by our seniors.
FRIDAY, APRIL 3RD
7:00 am – 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
8:30 am – 11:30 am STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
Join social media experts from PennDOT's Central Press Office and Pennsylvania State University's Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications as they provide technical guidance and training designed to enhance your skills and abilities when connecting with social media audiences and the public.
Creating Compelling and Accessible Videos for Social Media Larissa Newton Learn tips and tricks for creating a compelling video to be used on your social media channels. We’ll go over how to shoot video with your smartphone, various tools for editing the video, and how to make your video accessible for all audiences.
Making Compelling Photos with Your Smartphone Will Yurman There are billions of photographs added to our collective consciousness every day. How many do you remember? What makes a photo standout and capture someone’s interest? How can you use your smartphone to make the most interesting photos possible? The workshop will cover basic smartphone camera apps and skills using an iPhone as well as photography tips and tricks on using light, composition and moment to make compelling photos.
A New Roadmap: Student Insights & Industry Findings to Get the Most Mileage out of Social Media Bill Zimmerman What happens when 80+ communications students evaluate your social media platforms? You get a dose of honest feedback and solutions to pressing challenges. Lecturer Bill Zimmerman, along with a group of students, will present the results from SWOT analyses of Community Traffic Safety Partners accounts and a deep-dive into the @pennsylvaniadot Instagram account, focused on strategy, visuals, engagement and emerging technology.
TIKTOK: A place for creativity and expression. Is it a place for government? Renea Nichols TIKTOK is a place for creativity and expression. But, what exactly is TIKTOK and is it a place for PennDOT to begin engaging with its target audience, especially those that do not have much love for PennDOT and pot holes. Penn State PR students will offer some suggestions on how PennDOT can use this popular social media platform to effectively communicate safety messages.
Additional questions or requests should be directed to PennDOT Regional Program Managers or Emily Bremer at [email protected].