What is the PCS lab?

The EDMS Psychometric Computation and Simulation (PCS) lab was established in the spring of 2009 from monies acquired through a University of Maryland grant sponsored by the Campus Student Technology Advisory. It officially opened at the start of the 2009-2010 academic year. The PCS lab is housed in suite 0108N of the education wing in Cole Field House adjacent to Benjamin Building on the College Park campus.

The PCS lab provides:

• EDMS students with state-of-the-art technological resources to conduct advanced cutting-edge simulation and computational research;
• EDMS faculty with computers and software to conduct highly specialized training sessions for our students, as well as for students and researchers from across our campus and from other institutions seeking high level methodological training;
• an active and vital intellectual atmosphere for its faculty and students so as to facilitate a high level of scholarly effort and interaction.

What hardware and software are in the PCS lab?

• Eight Dell Vostro 410 Towers, dual core desktop computers
• Statistical software:
• SAS 9.2
• SPSS 17.0
• LISREL 8.80
• Mplus 5.2
• HLM 6.0
• R 1.9.2
• WinBugs
• Measurement software:
• BILOG MG-3
• MULTILOG 7
• PARSCALE 4
• TESTFACT 4
• DIFPACK
• WinSTEPS
• ConQuest
• FACETS
• General software:
• Microsoft Office
• LaTeX
• Adobe Professional

Who can use the PCS lab?

The PCS lab is primarily for the use of EDMS students and faculty. However, through its service course offerings, the EDMS Department supports and trains more than 200 students each semester from across the College of Education, as well as across campus. It therefore makes sense to use the PCS lab for tutorials and training to College- and University-wide students enrolled in our courses.

Do I have to sign up to use the PCS lab?

Only if you are working on a research project in which you must commandeer one or more computers for an extended period of time (in which case you should contact Dr. Harring to make arrangements). Otherwise, the lab is open for general EDMS student use.

Conduct in the lab:

The lab is meant for engaging academic-oriented activities in a serious manner, and as such, we insist that use of the computers be restricted to research or class work only. In addition, we expect those who use the facility will take care of the electronic equipment and furniture, and keep the facility tidy.

Questions?

Contact Dr. Jeffrey Harring, Director of the EDMS PCS lab: harring@umd.edu