ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION · APRIL 2009

Welcome to the launch of 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.

We want the ATE Central Connection to be a valuable tool; please e-mail info@atecentral.net with any suggestions about how to make the ATE Central Connection more useful for you or with any information you would like to see in an upcoming issue.

Upcoming Events

April 4-7 American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Annual Convention
(Visit ATE Central at the ATE booth #118)
Phoenix, AZ
May 12-14 RAPID Manufacturing Conference and Expo Schaumburg,IL
May 24-27 NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development) Conference
(Visit ATE Central at the AMSER booth #320)
Austin, TX
June 7-9 Society of Manufactoring Engineers Philadelphia, PA
June 9-11 Green Manufacturing Expo New York, NY
June 14-17 American Society for Engineering Education 2009 Annual Conference and Exhibition Austin, TX
June 14-18 2009 Material Handling Teachers Institute (MHTI) Fayetteville, AK
June 15-26 Weld-Ed Workshop for Welding and Materials Joining Education Waco, TX
June 18-19 Manufacturing Education Transformation Summit Austin, TX

If you have any upcoming events that you would like posted on ATE Central or in the ATE Central Connection please send them to info@atecentral.net

Featured ATE Center

Convergence Technology Center (CTC)

http://www.convergencetechnologycenter.org

Launched in 2004, the Convergence Technology Center (CTC) is a regional ATE Center whose mission is "to meet the growing need for skilled specialists in the area of Convergence Technology and Home Technology Integration." CTC accomplishes this mission by pulling together "the strengths of regional and national educational institutions and business and industry partners" in order to develop a pool of qualified convergence technicians who can "design, build, test, secure, and troubleshoot communication infrastructure." The CTC has four primary goals: program improvement to develop convergence technology and curriculum, professional development for educators, recruit and attract underserved populations into the field, and capacity building. Their website provides resources from program development for educators to networking resources associated with various community colleges. A discussion forum, sample course designs, conference announcements, and news section are also available on their site and combine to provide future convergence technicians with the tools they need for the workplace.

If your center or project has been highlighted and you would like to make any changes or updates please go to ATE Central to review your center or project online, then e-mail info@atecentral.net with your updated information.

Featured ATE Resources

Here is a small sample of the valuable resources in ATE Central that focus on Electronics and Manufacturing as well as related cross-disciplinary fields like Mechatronics.

From the National Center for Manufacturing Excellence (NCME) resource collection:

Electromechanical Devices, Systems, and Applications

http://electronics.wisc-online.com

These interactive learning objects focus on concepts that cover a broad-based electromechanical program. The majority of these objects have been created for electronics, but at least 300 more objects will be built that will focus on other topic areas such as hydraulics, pneumatics, mechanical design, and process control. Instructors from Fox Valley Technical College and other colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System are creating these objects. FVTC has partnered with four other colleges throughout the United States that will be contributing to this repository. Learning objects are available to be used at no cost by teachers and students worldwide via the Internet.

Two from the NetWorks resource collection:

Electronics Manufacturing Productivity Facility

http://www.empf.org

The Electronics Manufacturing Productivity Facility (EMPF) was established in 1984 to aid the electronics industry in improving electronics manufacturing processes required in the manufacture of military systems. Today, the EMPF operates as a national electronics manufacturing center of excellence deriving its resources from partners in industry, university and government led by the American Competitiveness Institute (ACI). The EMPF serves as a corporate residence of expertise in electronics manufacturing.

Mechatronics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h2PlDXIo4Y

Mechatronics is a dynamic field that changes daily with the rapid improvements in technology and computer systems. Mechatronics is a new, interdisciplinary field involving mechanical, instrumentation, electronics, robotics/automation, computer components and control systems. Systems are networked together to meet the demands of highly automated manufacturing processes and technicians are trained to master the necessary skills.

For more ATE electronics manufacturing resources please visit:
http://atecentral.net/SPT--AdvancedSearch.php?Q=Y&FK=electronics

News & Reminders

If you are part of an ATE project or center and would like to learn more about becoming involved in ATE Central, please start by filling out the ATE Central Survey (http://atecentral.net/survey) to provide us with additional information about your project or center and how ATE Central can best serve your needs.

In addition to completing the survey, you may also want to download the ATE Central Handbook at http://atecentral.net/handbook. Here you fill find information about ATE Central and how your project or center may take part and benefit from ATE Central's portal and services.