Advanced Technological Education .

Welcome to the ATE Central Connection! Published the first Tuesday 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.

In This Issue

Featured Resources: Information and Security Technologies

From National Convergence Technology Center (CTC):

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

atecentral.net/downloads/13929/Blockchain+crypto+TT+minutes+July+2021.pdf

This 3-page document, published by the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC), summarizes a July 2021 meeting with CTC IT employers, the Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT), to discuss what students need to know about blockchain and cryptocurrency. This meeting was scheduled based on feedback from the larger May 2021 BILT meeting in which these topics were discussed. The meeting minutes cover an overview, the importance of mining, the state of cryptocurrency, and the impact this has on curriculum.

From National Convergence Technology Center (CTC):

Voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) Curriculum Module

atecentral.net/downloads/9625/voiceoverinternetprotocol_module1_12_31.pdf

This 22-page resource, created by Dr. Mona Cherri at North Lake College and published by the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC), provides information on Voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) for telecommunications technology and information systems courses. The resource includes a Table of Contents and the following sections: Background Information, Background Information, Voice over IP versus PSTN, Voice over IP Applications and Services, References, and Useful URLs.

From National Cybersecurity Training and Education (NCyTE) Center:

Introduction to Cyber Supply Chain Attacks and Risk Management (1 of 3)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qk5fEcV9vw

This video, from the National Cybersecurity Training and Education (NCyTE) Center, is the first in a series of three that discuss cyber supply chain attacks and risk management. This video defines the term supply chain and the supply chain problem, describes the phases of the supply chain, and provides an example of a supply chain attack. This video runs 14:07 minutes in length. The other two videos in the series are available to view separately.

Community Connection

AccessATE Case Studies: Highlighting the Work of Three ATE Projects and Centers

AccessATE creates resources and materials designed to help support the ATE community as they work to make their deliverables and activities more accessible. The project has a variety of information and events highlighted on their website including three unique case studies that focus on applying the principles of accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The case studies highlight ATE projects that collaborated with the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), a nonprofit education research and development organization. CAST's specialty is expanding learning opportunities for all through Universal Design for Learning. The case studies range from robotics to biofabrication technology projects. Read our full post about the case studies on the ATE Impacts Blog, explore tip sheets, and pursue more resources on AccessATE's website.

ATE Success Tips: Outreach

Increasing Outreach with Videos

Combining images, dialogue, and music makes video a uniquely powerful medium—one that can capture imaginations and stir emotions. Videos are an excellent tool for boosting engagement with your project or center. Videos can highlight recent materials or resources, interviews with students or PIs, and show the impacts of your work on your community through a new medium. Depending on the available software, most computers have internal video editing software such as Apple iMovie or Window Video Editor. If you have an iPad available, LumaFusion is an award-winning and inexpensive ($30) option, that supports multi-track video editing and offers professional-quality transitions and effects.

Although video production can seem expensive and technically daunting, there are many user-friendly options. Several open-source video editing software programs are available for free download online.

  • Open Shot is an easy-to-use and free program that can be used across Linux, Mac, and Windows.
  • ShotCut is another free, multi-platform video editing program. Shotcut can be easily used by dragging and dropping files into the program.
  • Canva is a free online program for graphic design and video editing. Canva has easy-to-use templates for Youtube, TikTok, and various other types of videos.

Looking for an easy way to start using videos? ATE's Student Success stories are available for use by your organization to engage audiences and boost outreach. These videos highlight how ATE has improved community college students' lives. They can be used as part of your outreach plan to promote your project or center and ATE programs in general. Consider taking the first steps to make videos part of your outreach.

Did You Know?

Associate degrees provide a significant boost to earnings on average—a 26% increase ($7,160) per year for women and an 18% increase ($4,640) per year for men, according to a report from the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia and the Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment (CAPSEE).

The report also found that certificates boost earnings as well. However, certificates add less to earnings on average than associate degrees: $2,960 for women and $2,120 per year for men. Read the full report, Strengthening Community College Workforce Training, for more details.

Select STEM Education Resources

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

Budburst

budburst.org

With the advent of spring in the northern hemisphere, science educators and gardeners alike may be interested in Budburst: a citizen science project from the Chicago Botanic Garden. The project invites observers to collect data about phenology, which is the study of the life phases of living organisms. Today, phenologists are especially interested in identifying how global climate change is impacting the life cycles of plants and animals, and, by extension, reshaping global ecosystems. Visitors can learn more about the study of phenology in the About Budburst section of this website. From here, visitors interested in participating with Budburst are invited to select a plant and region and submit their own observations of where a particular plant is in its lifecycle. Participants have the option of either submitting a one-time report or observing a plant throughout its life cycle. For teachers interested in incorporating Budburst into the classroom, the For Educators section contains grade-appropriate resources for students in kindergarten through college.

USGS: Earthquake Topics for Education

www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/education

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has gathered together this collection of Earthquake Topics for Education, which consists of over a dozen learning links to USGS resources. Popular items include an Animations for Earthquake Terms & Concepts, A Comparison of Two Bay Area Earthquakes: 1989 v. 1906, and This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate Tectonics, among others. While elementary school, middle school, and high school teachers will find excellent enhancers of all kinds for earthquake related lesson plans and activities, general readers will also find much to appreciate. For instance, anyone fascinated by the drama and history of geophysics will find much to admire in the Other Earthquakes Websites link that suggests such sites as the American Geophysical Union, the California Geological Survey, and the Center for Earthquake Research & Information. Readers may also note that the entire collection of resources is easily searchable when using the Search Learning Links function, found at the bottom of the page.

OrgChem101

orgchem101.com

From the University of Ottawa comes OrgChem101, "a set of organic chemistry learning modules that provide structured guidance as you (the student) explore organic chemistry concepts." This resource features three interactive modules: organic chemistry nomenclature, organic reaction mechanisms, and organic acid-base reactions. Each module provides "interactive instructional videos, animations, and interactive activities that promote the mastery of concepts, provide feedback, and link to real-world contexts." Appropriate for use as a supplement to traditional classroom learning or for blended, flipped, or online learning, these modules are designed so that they can stand alone or be completed as a series. OrgChem101 bases its modules on the theory of metacognition, which it defines as "awareness of your knowledge (or lack thereof) and ... the strategies you use to plan and monitor understanding and performance." This valuable study and teaching resource can be accessed with registration for a free account and is available in both English and French. OrgChem101 was created by Alison B. Flynn, an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Ottawa whose research focuses on post-secondary chemistry and science education.

Do you have some great STEM resources you'd like to share with ATE Central? Email us with your ideas at info@atecentral.net.

ATE Events

Upcoming Events
Gen Communicating Climate Change to Diverse Audiences Online
– Eng WCX World Congress Detroit, MI
Eng ADAS Sensors Online
– Eng The Battery Technology Show Online
Mfg People, Pathways, and Technology for the Future Manufacturing Workforce (Webinar #2) Online
Gen Culturally Responsive Technician Education: Asset or Deficit Models Online
Nano Nebraska Research and Innovation Conference Lincoln, NE
Info Cybersecurity Program Development Workshop Online
Eng Grand Farms Space AG Conference Grand Forks, ND
Gen Project Vision Recruitment Meeting Online
Gen Learning in the World: Opportunities for the Students of 2040 Online
Info Cybersecurity Skills Journal Proposal Development Workshop (PDW) Online
Nano The Power to Change the World Online
Mfg NCNGM Lasers Webinar Online
Gen Professional Development and Instructional Resources for the Future of Work Online
– Eng AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2022 Orlando, FL
– Eng NAPE Summit Gap, PA
– Mfg ASEE Industry 4.0 Summit Washington, DC
– Eng Battery & Electrification Summit Online
– Gen 2022 AACC Annual New York, NY
Mfg People, Pathways, and Technology for the Future Manufacturing Workforce (Webinar #3) Online
Mfg NCNGM Industry 4.0 Webinar Online
Gen Future of Work - Integrating Emerging Technologies Online
– Info Community College Cyber Summit (3CS) Dayton, OH
– Eng STRATUS 2022 Conference Syracuse, NY

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

NSF Dear Colleague Letter

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently issued a Dear Colleague letter seeking curriculum development and student engagement proposals for Ocean Technical Workforce Education. Dear Colleague letters (DCLs) are an important category of funding opportunities made available by NSF. Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the program officers prior to submitting proposals.

View the full proposal criteria on the NSF's website.

Inaugural Issue of the Journal of Advanced Technological Education

The Journal of Advanced Technological Education (J ATE) is a peer-reviewed journal for ATE projects and centers and community college faculty and staff who work in technician education. J ATE launched its inaugural issue on Jan 31, 2022.

This introductory issue features articles submitted, peer-reviewed, and published. One of the articles addresses autonomous technologies by Zackary Nicklin. Another highlight to enjoy reading features lessons learned in technician education during the COVID-19 pandemic, by Khalid H. Tantawi.

All articles published in the journal are under a Creative Commons license. Readers are encouraged to share articles and links. J ATE continues to welcome submissions to be published in upcoming issues.

Free Curriculum Pilot: Multi-Level Robotics Courses

The Clemson University Center for Workforce Development has developed a four-track robotics digital learning package to deploy to partner institutions. Through Fall 2022, the center will be piloting robotics curricula for the high school, associate, bachelor, and master levels, including courseware in virtual reality simulations, video lectures, open text, and interactive assessments.

The center is looking for instructors to participate in a free pilot program using the curricula, to provide feedback on the courseware in the form of instructor and student survey responses. The first 25 instructors to register for the pilot program with 10 students or more will receive an honorarium.

There is no deadline to apply. Interested instructors should fill out the course access request form or contact the center for more information about the curricula.

NSF to Invest in Future Manufacturing Through 22 Projects Nationwide

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded more than $30 million in research grants and project seed grants as part of the Future Manufacturing program. These awards are intended to promote U.S. competitiveness in transformational manufacturing, including biomanufacturing, cyber manufacturing, and eco manufacturing.

The research projects, which include four-year colleges and universities, community colleges, and corporations, will "investigate areas to transform the predictability, security, reliability and efficiency" of advanced manufacturing.

Read more about the awards and the grantees in this announcement from NSF.

Google Will Make Four Career Certificates Available to Community Colleges

Google announced recently that it would make its career certificates available for free to community colleges in the U.S. These certificates, which cover information technology, data analytics, project management, and user experience design, are intended to support workforce development of highly in-demand digital skills.

The certificates have been recommended by the American Council on Education as equivalent to 12 credits or 4 full courses at the undergraduate level. The state of Connecticut will offer for-credit courses using Google's IT Support Certification for the Spring 2022 semester.

Read more about the announcement in this article from CNBC.

Microsoft to Support Cybersecurity Training Efforts at Community Colleges

Microsoft recently announced an initiative to support cybersecurity workforce training at community colleges across the country. The software company will reportedly provide scholarships or other financial assistance to 25,000 students over the next 4 years and support instructor professional development at 150 community colleges, in addition to free curriculum materials.

The efforts come in the wake of recent high profile cybersecurity breaches, such as the SolarWinds attack, that have alarmed policymakers and companies.

Read more about the announcement in this article from Reuters.

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