Advanced Technological Education · February 2012

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.

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 to suggest any information you would like to see in an upcoming issue.

Upcoming Events

February 1 - May 15 OP-TEC Hybrid, Online Professional Development Course: Fundamentals of Light and Lasers Online
February 6 CyberWatch: Second Life Island Training Online
February 8 Trumf Company Visit for Students Farmington, CT
February 9-10 STEM Summit Bellevue, WA
February 10 MATEC Networks Webinar: Entrepreneurial Development Online
February 13-15 Educating for Careers Conference Sacramento, CA
February 16 HSPI Webinar: Course Structure and Alignment with Standards Online
February 21 National Science Foundation (NSF): Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Proposal Preparation Workshop Washington, DC
February 24 How is Nanotechnology Changing the Electronics Industry? Online
February 26 FOSS4G Workshop @ AAG in NYC New York, NY
February 28 AAG Panel: Gateway GIS Courses Using GTCM New York, NY
February 28 Micro and Nano Machining for High Aspect Ratio Structures Ann Arbor, MI
February 29 Supporting the Students of the Future: Retention of Vulnerable & Tentative Students Online
March 2 MEMS 201: Topics on Microsystems (MEMS) Materials – Crystal Structures Online
March 3 Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL): 1 Day Public Workshop Parsippany, NJ
March 4-7 23rd Annual National Youth-At-Risk Conference Statesboro, GA
March 4-7 League for Innovations Conference Philadelphia, PA
March 8 National Agriculture Day Washington, DC
March 9 Cyber Defense and Disaster Recovery Conference Springfield, IL
March 9 Innovative Manufacturing Online

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 send them to info@atecentral.net.

Featured ATE Resources

Here is a sample of the valuable resources in ATE Central that focus on Micro and Nanotechnologies:

From the Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization (CNEU):

From the National Center for Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge (NACK Center):

A Brief History of Nanotechnology

http://nano4me.live.subhub.com/downloads/20090506

This module is provided by Nano4Me.org, a product of the National Center for Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge (NACK Center) which is based at the Penn State College of Engineering and is funded through the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. The module, which is available for download in PDF format, includes a brief history of nanotechnology. The module was designed to be used by instructors in post-secondary education and would be useful in workshops, courses or lectures; it provides a brief background for students beginning to study nanotechnology. Access to this resource, along with other materials from the NACK Center, requires a fast, easy, and free log-in.

Basic Nanotechnology Processes

http://nano4me.live.subhub.com/categories/esc212

The National Center for Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge (NACK) Center is an organization committed to supporting two–year degree programs in micro and nanotechnology. The center offers online educational material for curriculum enhancement in this subject field. One of these courses focuses on basic nanotechnology processes. The material is a "hands-on introduction to the processing involved in 'top down', 'bottom up', and hybrid nanofabrication." Downloadable features include topics such as introductions to basic pattern transfer, wet etching and uses of plasmas in processing. Additionally, resources on chemical vapor and physical deposition are available in this unit. The site requires a free log-in for access to the material.

News & Reminders

Follow ATE Central on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all things new at ATE Central and in the ATE Community as well as in the world of STEM Education

Want to know which ATE Projects and Centers and ATE partners and collaborators are using Social Media? Check out our ATE Social Media Directory and follow them too!

ATE Central has an Outreach Kit to help with Your Project or Center's Dissemination and Outreach Plan

Are you interested in designing a more effective dissemination and marketing plan for your project or center? If so, then check out ATE Central's Outreach Kit at atecentral.net/outreach. This online toolkit includes a Planning Guide to show you, step by step, how to build and execute a realistic and achievable outreach plan. Learn new and innovative ways to reach your audience and connect with the ATE community and beyond with the Social Media Guide. Use the Communications Guide to craft your project or center's message, discover new dissemination paths, and learn to build your own media kit. In addition, you will find a Resources section which will direct you to some best practices within NSF and ATE, other free and low-cost outreach tools, further helpful links, and some suggested reading. If you're ready to show Broader Impacts and ensure your NSF mission, then get started with the ATE Outreach Kit.

Application Deadline for IWITTS WomenTech Educators Online Training is February 15th

The Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & Science presents a "Proven System for Increasing the Number of Women and Girls in Your Science, Technology & Engineering Classes" in this ten-week online training program. Apply by February 15th to participate and learn about an easy-to-implement recruitment plan that will greatly increase the number of women and girls in your STEM classroom and a retention plan for your school that will increase the completion rate of your female (and male) students that you can implement and use immediately. Apply here or read more about the program.

Digitally Enhancing America's Community Colleges: Strategic Opportunities for Computing Education

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) recently released a report that addresses a fundamental question about community colleges: why are so many of them unable to successfully secure federal funding for computing programs? The report, Digitally Enhancing America's Community Colleges, offers recommendations designed to spur new grant proposals, inventive initiatives, and dynamic partnerships that infuse innovation into community college computing courses and programs. The full 24-page report is available online here: http://www.capspace.org/.... NSF's release about the summit, ACM, and the report is available here: http://www.nsf.gov/news/.... Printed copies of the report along with a strategic planning template are available for free via an online request form at http://www.capspace.org/contactus/.

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 — click here to check out a few of the sites running CWIS. We'd be happy to provide you with more information about CWIS and give you a quick tour of its features — please e-mail cwis@scout.wisc.edu to get started!

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