Advanced Technological Education ·

Welcome to the ATE Central Connection! Published the first Monday of each month, the ATE Central Connection is meant to disseminate information to and about ATE centers and projects, providing you with up-to-date ATE news, events, reminders, as well as highlighting new centers, projects, and resources. In addition, we will also highlight an educational topic with complementary resources found within ATE Central to help illustrate how ATE resources can be used in the classroom.

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In This Issue

Featured Resources in Automotive Technology

From From the Center for Advanced Automotive Technology (CAAT):

2017 WSU Advanced Automotive Technology Professional Development Course

atecentral.net/downloads/1583/Cooperative_Connected_Vehicles.pdf

atecentral.net/downloads/1584/Fundamentals_of_Fuel_Cell_Systems_for_Vehicles.pdf

atecentral.net/downloads/1585/Lightweight_Materials_for_Automotive.pdf

This collection is provided by the Center for Advanced Automotive Technology (CAAT) and includes three PDF presentations that were given at the 2017 Advanced Automotive Technology workshop. The workshop was held at the Wayne State University (WSU) Advanced Technology Education Center (ATEC). These resources were created by WSU to familiarize high school, community college, and university instructors on current industry developments that have created new jobs in the field of automotive technology. These resources cover the following topics: Fundamentals of Fuel-Cell Systems for Vehicles, Cooperative Connected Vehicles, and Lightweight Materials for Automotive Applications.

From From Consortium for Alabama Regional Center for Automotive Manufacturing (CARCAM):

Typical Automotive Manufacturing Technology Degree Requirements

images.pcmac.org/Uploads/CARCAM/CARCAM/Divisions/DocumentsCategories/Documents/AUT%20General%20Degree%20Plan.pdf

This document from the Consortium for Alabama Regional Center for Automotive Manufacturing (CARCAM) provides the typical automotive manufacturing technology degree requirements. Actual classes will vary by institution. The requirements include general education classes as well as specialized automotive manufacturing coursework.

From The CalWomenTech Scale Up Project:

Evergreen Valley College Increases Retention of both Female and Male Automotive Students by over 25%

www.iwitts.org/proven-practices/topics/recruitment/254-evergreen-valley-college-increases-retention-of-both-female-and-male-automotive-students-by-over-25

This website provides the results of a case study on Evergreen Valley College's (EVC) student retention strategies. In 2008, EVC joined the CalWomenTech Project to ensure women would be included and successful in EVC's Automotive Technology program. This resource includes background information about the Automotive Technology program, EVC's key retention strategies, retention results, recruitment strategies and results, and retention sustainability. Some of the key retention strategies implemented include changing the culture in introductory courses from "weeding out" students to a culture focused on "screening in" students and using a "modeling" teaching method in the classroom. After implementing these retention strategies, retention rates increased and the recruitment of women increased by 45-percent.

Community Connection

Tech Adoption Climbs Among Older Adults

The ATE community may find this recent Pew Research Center report interesting, which details the trends in technology usage among older Americans age 65 and above. Broadband internet usage and smartphone adoption have dramatically increased within the last five years, making the current generation of seniors the most digitally-connected in history. Although there is a definite uptick in technology adoption, there still seems to be a digital divide among seniors with lower levels of education and income.

Approximately four-in-ten (42%) of senior adults report owning smartphones and 67% of seniors report using the internet, which marks a 55-percentage-point increase in about 20 years. Despite the increase, one-third of seniors report never using the internet, while 49% report not having broadband internet in their homes.

Technology adoptions rates differ dramatically when also evaluating education and income. 87% of seniors who earn $75,000 and above report having broadband internet in their homes, in comparison with just 27% of seniors earning $30,000 or below. Around two-thirds of seniors with bachelor’s or advanced degrees report owning smartphones (65%), compared with 45% of those who have some college experience and 27% of those who have high school diplomas or less.

These findings are based on several nationally representative Pew Research Center surveys. The main findings on technology adoption are from a phone survey of 3,015 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 29-Nov. 6, 2016.

Visit the Pew Research Center for the full report.

ATE Success Tips: Social Media

It’s likely that your project or center uses some form of social media – but do you regularly share images with posts? Photos have been shown to be the most popular type of social media content for engagement. They get the most shares on Facebook and re-tweets on Twitter.

For ideas on different strategies to employ when doing social media marketing, visit the ATE Central Outreach Kit.

Additionally, new additions to the ATE community may find the ATE Audience Social Media Survey to be of interest. In 2015, ATE Central, in collaboration with EvaluATE and members of the ATE community, conducted a survey to provide a snapshot for projects and centers of how their individual audiences use social media and technology as well as an aggregate picture of the community as a whole. To view the results, view the full-page report.

Did You Know?

Twenty-six states use performance-based funding to allocate funds to their public two-year colleges.

Select STEM Education Resources

A few online STEM resources from outside of ATE, that you may find of interest:

Impact: Earth!

www.purdue.edu/impactearth

What would happen if a large meteorite or other object hit the Earth? It's something that has engaged the minds and talents of astrophysicists (and students of all ages) for decades. Now the generally curious can create their own simulated impact with Purdue University's "Impact Earth" website. Visitors can browse the Famous Craters area to get started. This part includes some "classics," such as the Ries Crater and the Tunguska Fireball. Of course, visitors really must use the handy interface to craft their own impact, projectile, and target parameters to get the full effect on how such an event plays out. Also, the site includes a complete documentation file (a peer-reviewed article) and a detailed glossary.

Interactivate

www.shodor.org/interactivate

Interactivate is a website created and maintained by Shodor, a North Carolina-based non-profit organization dedicated to developing resources that help students engage with computational science. Interactivate contains dozens of interactive online activities to aid in mathematics instruction. Activities include interactive probability games, graphing tools, and statistical analysis. Mathematics instructors can search for interactive courseware by mathematic subject (including fractions, statistics, algebra, and calculus) or by student grade level. Resources are available for instructors teaching all levels of mathematics; activities range from those that can be used in a 3rd grade classroom all the way up to activities for the undergraduate college classroom. While much of this resource consists of stand-alone activities, Interactivate also provides numerous detailed lesson plans that allow instructors to integrate courseware into their curriculum with ease. The website also identifies how each activity aligns with a number of national mathematics education standards, including the Common Core.

MicroMatters: Microbiology

www.bioedonline.org/lessons-and-more/resource-collections/micromatters-microbiology

The BioEdOnline website provides those persons with a penchant for biology and medicine access to dozens of lesson plans, videos, and other activities. This particular set of materials is part of the thematic Resource Collections area, and it includes two curricular units from the MicroMatters project. The units are "The Science of Microbes" and "The Science of HIV/AIDS." The resources were funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and they offer complete teacher guides, digital slides, video presentations, and other content. Visitors can scroll down to access each individual lesson and other piece of content, or search through the materials for specific items. Additionally, the Nature News Stories area contains current biology and life science news from Nature News, such as "How Microbes Train Our Immune System," and "Friendly Bacteria Fight the Flu."

ATE Events

Upcoming Events
Gen Project Access Workshop Jacksonville, FL
Gen Writing in the Disciplines Workshop Jacksonville, FL
Gen Project Access Workshop, North Campus Jacksonville, FL
Gen CareerTech Teacher Academy Session 2 Oklahoma City, OK
Gen Recruiting Students for Photonics Enabled Technology Programs Online
Gen Writing in the Disciplines Workshop, Kent Campus Jacksonville, FL
Info 2030: Building a Diverse Cybersecurity Workforce Online
– Eng SPIE Photonics West 2018 San Francisco, CA
– Eng AACC Workforce Development Institute (WDI) Conference New Orleans, LA
Gen Project Access Workshop, South Campus Jacksonville, FL
Nano Introduction to Nanotechnology for Educators Online
Gen Writing in the Disciplines Workshop, North Campus Jacksonville, FL
Eng Artificial Intelligence Applications to Driver Assistance and Vehicle Automation Livonia, MI
– Gen AAAS Annual Meeting Austin, Texas
– Ag/Env Wine Sensory Analysis Workshop - EWE 2018 Lancaster, PA
– Gen SXSW EDU 2018 Conference & Festival Austin, TX
– Gen 8th National Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (LAK 18) Sydney,
– Ag/Env Wine Sensory Analysis Workshop - St. Charles, MO St Charles, MO
Gen NSTA 2018 National Conference: Science on My Mind Atlanta, GA
– Gen NSTA National Conference Atlanta, GA
– Eng League for Innovation Convention Oxon Hill, MD

For more events, please visit the ATE Central Events page or, if you have any upcoming events that you would like posted on ATE Central or in the ATE Central Connection, please submit them online.

To add a continuously-updated list of ATE and STEM education events to your website, use the ATE Event Widget.

News & Reminders

STEM for All Video Showcase: Transforming the Educational Landscape

If you are engaged in a federally-funded project to improve Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and computer science education, we invite you to submit a video to the showcase and discuss it with researchers, practitioners, policy makers and the general public during an interactive week-long event.

Videos that address any of the following are invited:

  • Partnerships that advance education
  • Broadening participation & access to high quality STEM experiences
  • Innovative practices transforming education
  • Research informing STEM learning and teaching

If you are not intending to present a video this year, please save the dates anyway! Your participation viewing the videos, discussing them with presenters, and voting for your favorites is very welcome.

For more information: http://stemforall2018.videohall.com

OP-TEC’s Lasers Optics and Photonics Online Course

OP-TEC offers a hybrid, online faculty development course in optics and photonics. This open entry/open exit course has been developed for faculty whose schedules demand a flexible course timeline. It is perfect for busy faculty who might have difficulty keeping up with weekly assignments in a "scheduled" course, but who would have a period or periods of time during the semester or school year that would allow them to complete assignments and exams independently and at their own pace. It is also an excellent opportunity for junior faculty, adjunct faculty, and lab technicians who may need to prepare to teach a college level or dual credit introductory photonics course.

Title: Lasers Optics & Photonics Online Self-Paced Faculty Development Course
Date: 9/1/2017-5/31/2018
Location: Online 9/1/17-5/31/18 (with optional hands-on laboratory 2.5-day capstone in June 2018)

Please visit the course website for more detailed information, including contact information and steps to registering online.

Would you like more copies of the ATE@20 book?

We are sending out one more round of ATE@20: Two Decades of Advancing Technological Education. Book orders and general inquiries can be emailed to info@atecentral.net.

Archiving your deliverables with ATE Central is now easier than ever!

Upload your curriculum, professional development materials, or other deliverables created with ATE funding directly to the ATE Central resource portal via the new archive submission form.

Can CWIS software help support your project goals?

CWIS is open source software, created with NSF funding, that can help your project or center showcase resources online. It's free and very easy to use. The latest version (CWIS 4.0.1) was released on and is available for download on the Scout site. Please email cwis@scout.wisc.edu if you have any questions or would like a quick tour of its features!

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