Multiple online sites to provide streaming coverage of THON

University Park, Pa. -- For the second year in a row, students from the College of Communications plan to take a classroom assignment from conception to reality and provide live streaming audio and video coverage of the 2006 IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

In addition, Penn State Public Broadcasting will stream its THON coverage from 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, through 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at both its home site of http://www.wpsu.org and on Penn State Live at http://live.psu.edu/ online.

WPSU also will air its video feed on Penn State University Park campus' cable Channel 9 for those who receive the campus cable system.

The 48-hour event, known to most simply as "THON," is believed to be the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. This year's marathon runs from 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, until 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, in Rec Hall on the University Park campus.

Members of the Comm 487: Telecommunications Administration class taught by Kerrie Aman Carfagno plan to spearhead the students' Web-streaming effort. They hope to improve upon a blueprint for success crafted by members of last year's class.

During THON last year, the student Webcast attracted nearly 10,000 users in 27 countries and sparked an 83 percent increase in online donations, generating $23,648.

Established in 1973, THON has raised more than $30 million for The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Medical Center to benefit children with cancer. Coordinators of the student Webcast hope their effort draws even more attention and support for THON as well as an increase in online donations.

Still, providing a link to THON for cancer-stricken children who cannot attend remains the primary goal of the Webcast. By visiting http://www.thon.org or http://www.comm.psu.edu online, visitors can get a sense of the emotion and energy of THON weekend.

"We want to give the students at (Penn State) Hershey Medical Center who cannot make it up to State College the chance to experience THON in some way," said Julio Negron, the student Webcast team leader and a senior majoring in telecommunications and informations sciences and technology. "The added global exposure of an online Webcast just helps THON's mission of fighting pediatric cancer."

Along with the effort and energy of the students, the Webcast relies on the assistance of several Penn State departments, specifically the College of Communications, the College of Information Sciences and Technology and Information Technology Services.

"It's an exciting process. From the students' initial idea in class to its implementation, everyone involved has been supportive," said Carfagno, a 1994 graduate of Penn State who danced in THON while she was a student. "That level of commitment -- especially because we've been able to carry it from one year to the next -- makes such a big project really enjoyable and exciting."

To read about THON over the years, go to http://live.psu.edu/story/16127