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Media plays a huge role in most educational and training settings so it's important to make sure that everyone, including students, staff and faculty with disabilities, can easily access and use the media you create. Whether you are posting informative photos and diagrams or creating a short video, there are tools and techniques that can help support making accessible media for use in a variety of settings. 

Join partners from the NSF funded AccessATE project on Tuesday, October 8, 1:00 pm EDT for a free one-hour webinar to learn more about captioning tools, image description, and audio description.  Presenters Madeleine Rothberg from WGBH's National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) and Rachael Bower from AccessATE will focus on practical tips and techniques with plenty of time for questions and comments from participants. 

Click here to sign up for the Making Your Media More Accessible webinar!

Illustration of a diverse group of women above text reading "BREAK THE CYCLE of Low Female Enrollment Numbers in STEM/CTE."

Those in search of an assessment tool focused on gender equity may be interested in the WomenTech Gender Equity Self-Assessment Tool, developed by the National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology, and Science to help schools see “the gap between their current practices and potential evidence-based strategies proven to broaden participation.”

The assessment is free, easy to complete in 20 minutes, and allows institutions to assess their "readiness to recruit and retain women in your STEM/CTE career pathways." Those interested in filling out the form gradually can also save their progress and return to complete it at a later time.

The EvaluATE center has also contributed to refining the assessment and is partnering to disseminate the tool.

Some big takeaways from the tool's evaluation results to date include:

• 93% of respondents have rated the assessment as “Excellent” or “Very Good”
• 80% have reported this tool raised their awareness of factors that affect gender equity in STEM/CTE programs and helped them understand what their school could do to improve
• 53% said that taking the assessment significantly helped them see the gap between what their schools are...

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Sign up now and join ATE Central on Tuesday September 17, from 1:00-2:00 pm EDT for a free webinar on archiving with ATE Central's Kendra Bouda and Rachael Bower. Presenters will share tips on organizing your materials for archiving, using the archive submission form, and tracking your submissions online. See what happens with your submissions behind the scenes, as ATE Central staff process your materials, add metadata, and make your resources discoverable to the ATE community and beyond. Participants are encouraged to come prepared with archiving questions and seek advice on navigating the archiving process.

Voluntary Framework Accountability (VFA) logo

Community colleges in search of a method to assess student progress and outcomes, as well as the effectiveness of institutional procedures may be interested in participating in the Voluntary Framework of Accountability (VFA). This accountability framework, developed by community college leaders, “gauges student progress and outcomes including pre-collegiate participation (such as developmental education and Adult Basic Education), academic progress and momentum, completion and transfer measures, and workforce outcomes for career and technical education.”

Those interested in contributing to the on-going development of the VFA can select from two tiers of participation. The first tier is free with 2019 AACC membership. A second tier, providing additional data and reports, is also available for $1,000.

Institutions that would like to register to participate can do so here.

ATE PI Conference 2019 Banner

The Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators’ Conference, co-sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), is a national professional development and networking event for ATE project and center grantees and their project partners. The conference is by invitation only and brings together approximately 850 people—representing NSF ATE grants from across the country—to focus on the critical issues related to STEM technician education.

This webinar serves as an orientation to the conference and highlights why you and your ATE grant team should attend, what you can expect, how you can best prepare to participate in the required showcase sessions, and how you can maximize your time to get the most out of the conference and its many networking opportunities. It will be presented by Elaine Craft, principal investigator, Mentor-Connect and Ellen Hause, program director for academic and student success, AACC.

The webinar will take place on Friday, September 6, 1:00 - 2:30 pm EDT. Those interested in participating can register here.

Opening Pathways to Technical Careers conference banner

Instructors of deaf students teaching biology curriculum may benefit from attending the October 13-15, 2019 Opening the Pathways to Technical Careers conference offered by DeafTEC and BioQUEST. This event is aimed at secondary and postsecondary instructors, as well as interpreters, and will center on “using case studies, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, and teaching in ASL to enhance student success in biology.”

Registrants can attend the conference for free and can get travel expenses covered by the NSF ATE grant money. To receive these benefits, participants must apply by the September 6, 2019 deadline and receive an offer to attend. 

More information about the conference and a link to the application are available here.

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The showcase sessions are a highlight of the PI conference, with opportunities for projects and centers to share and display their work and learn about what others in the community are doing. It's also a great opportunity to connect with NSF program officers.

This year, showcases will take place in two sessions, the first on Wednesday, October 23, and the second on Thursday October 24. When reserving their slot, participants can select their preferred session. Showcase booths will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

First-time ATE grantees will share a booth with other new grantees and are asked to prepare a poster and/or one-page handout for display and sharing purposes. Other ATE projects and centers, whose funding is not new as of the FY19, will each be assigned their own booth. Booths will have electrical access and non-new grantees can also request a flat screen monitor.

All projects and centers are required to have a display at the showcase sessions, so don't forget to fill out your showcase submission before the September 19th deadline! 

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This year’s ATE PI Conference is fast approaching! This year’s theme is Innovation and Impact: ATE for the Future, centering on “the significant role that ATE projects and centers play in creating and implementing successful and impactful career pathways resulting in a highly skilled U.S. workforce.”

In this vein, conference organizers are accepting session proposals demonstrating “how the ATE community has successfully broadened impact through partnerships and collaboration with key stakeholders.” These proposals can be formatted in several ways, including as a forum, demonstration, discussion session, breakfast roundtable, high impact practice workshop, or synergy meeting.

Any of the following criteria may also be addressed: evidence-based project or center impact in one of the six session track topic areas, focus on multi-discipline-relevant learning experiences and strategies, interactive learning activities with take-away resources, or collaborative efforts among multiple ATE centers or projects. 

Those interested in submitting session proposals before the August 28 deadline can do so here.

HI-TEC Conference Banner 2019

It’s hard to believe summer is going by so quickly! HI-TEC is almost here and we are so excited to join members of the ATE Community in St. Louis. If you are planning to attend the conference July 22-25, stop by Booth #404 and say hello to ATE Central PI Rachael Bower, or participate in ATE’s special session on July 26 from 8:30-11:00 am CDT to give feedback on the current program solicitation and outreach efforts. See you there!

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If you are interested in developing your mentoring skills and giving back to the ATE community, apply to the Mentor Fellows internship program offered by Mentor-Connect. While shadowing experienced Mentor-Connect mentors and attending Mentor-Connect workshops and webinars, Mentor Fellows learn how to guide new-to-ATE college faculty as they prepare competitive ATE grant proposals through Mentor-Connect. Mentor Fellows receive a stipend and travel support. Applications are due September 27. Those interested in applying can learn more here.