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.

We want the ATE Central Connection to be a valuable tool; please e-mail [email protected] 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

– CAEL International Conference Washington, DC
Digital Forensics Challenge 2012 Springfield, IL
SCME Microsystems Workshops Nashville, TN
Transitioning Adults Education Bridges Online
– An International Summit on Excellence in CTE Atlanta, GA
SCME Microsystems Webinar Series - Problem Solving for Technicians – How to teach a critical manufacturing skill Online
– CareerTech VISION 2012 Atlanta, GA
Adult Education Career Pathways Online
Global Education & Technology Online
– Security + Palos Hills, IL
– NETLAB+ User Community Workshop Jacksonville, FL
– Information Storage and Management Palos Hills, IL
– VMware vSphere: Install, Configure & Manage Palos Hills, IL

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 [email protected].

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

Featured Resources in Information Security

From CSSIA:

From Teachers Domain:

Careers in Information and Security Technologies

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ate10.sci.engin.systems.istcareers/

This interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain investigates three possible career paths in information and security technologies: administration, development, and integration. Explore each path to learn more about the education and experience required for particular jobs such as computer support specialist, network and systems administrator, computer security specialist, database administrator, computer technician, computer hardware engineer, computer software engineer, computer training specialist, computer systems analyst, and network engineer. The interactive is accompanied by a background essay, standards alignment, and discussion questions.

From the National CyberWatch Center:

Model Course: Ethics and the Information Age

http://www.cyberwatchcenter.org/...

This site includes a model course from the National CyberWatch Center. The site does not currently include any educational materials, but does provide a model framework for structuring a course on this topic. Such a class would help students gain a better understanding of the ethical issues in information technology as well as learning to apply ethical theory to class discussions. A detailed course outline is included. Users must register to view the model course, but registration is free and easy.

Social Media Tip of the Month

Using Video for Your ATE Project

Video Camera If you're looking for a new, vibrant, and affordable way to share your project's work, look no further than video. In the digital age, cameras that shoot with professional quality are available for very reasonable prices. Most editing software now comes free on Macs (iMovie) and PCs (Windows Live Movie Maker). Many ATE projects and centers are taking advantage of the new perks of video technology, and, with a short introduction to the basics of planning, filming, and editing, you can too.

There are several types of video you can create for your project. Informational videos, which include lectures, speeches, interviews, and career tips, are the easiest. In many cases, you can simply record an event, like a lecture by an expert in a specific field, which would typically only be available to those who attended the event. Posting this video online allows many more people to have access to this information. For examples, look at ATETV's YouTube channel, which includes interviews and tips on getting hired.

Instructional videos include how-to guides, tutorials, training, simulations, and labs. These videos are useful because they can teach viewers how to do something from virtually any location. For examples, look at the Advanced Technology, Environmental, and Energy Center's YouTube channel, which provides viewers with an inside-the-laboratory experience. WindTechTV also provides video training materials and lessons to colleges around the country.

Inspirational Videos include success stories, special opportunities, role models, and student work samples. These videos are great at creating enthusiasm for your project. For examples, check out the YouTube channels of: the AIM Institute, which shows career success stories; the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center, which documents STEM youth camps; and the Institute for Women in Trades, Technology, and Science, which posts videos of positive female role models in technological industries.

If you haven't jumped on the video bandwagon yet, or aren't sure where to start, don't worry! Most colleges have their own A/V equipment available for checkout. Many local PBS stations offer video training courses and equipment rentals for those who ask. In addition, there are great resources available online to assist the beginning filmmaker. The Vimeo Video School: Video 101 provides a series of videos on videomaking, from choosing a camera to shooting to editing. Each short video introduces watchers to a short, manageable piece of information on video production, breaking the process into discrete chunks.

The Stanford University Tutorial on Video Production Basics provides 50 5-10 minute videos on composition, stabilization, audio, shooting and editing, and conducting interviews. This website would be most useful to filmmakers who are just getting started, or those who have some of the basics down, but want to improve the quality or clarity of their videos. These videos also provide tips, like the rule of thirds and lead space, which are taught in film classes at universities around the country, but can be useful to self-taught filmmakers.

Check out NoFilmSchool, a site for DIY filmmakers and independent creatives, which was Total Film's 2011 Best Creative Blog. By subscribing, you get a free eBook copy of The DSLR Cinematography Guide and newsletters with tips and suggestions.

Some other recommended sites with tips on creating your own video include MediaCollege's How to Make a Video, and Mashable's How To Make a Great How-To Video.

Creating high quality video is now feasible for any newcomer with the need or desire. Video equipment is reasonably priced or available through your college, basic editing software is usually free, and websites provide a wealth of information on what steps the beginning filmmaker needs to take. Don't be afraid to experiment, and be sure to check out the videos from other ATE projects and centers for inspiration!

Community Connection

Using ATE Student Success Stories to Promote Your Project or Center

Student Success Stories What do an alternative energy technician, a chemist, and a system administrator have in common? They’re all student successes, made possible by ATE-funded programs. ATE Central, in collaboration with WBGH Boston, has created a series of shorts called ATE Student Success Stories that depicts how ATE-funded projects and centers are bridging the gap between success in the classroom and a successful career. If you stopped by our showcase at the PI Conference, you may have seen some of the videos already.

This series profiles a wide range of diverse students from different locales across the country sharing their stories about how a technological education found in community colleges have helped to mold their lives and careers in definitive and productive ways. The profiled students span ages, interests, origins, locations, and more, representing a mere sampling of what our technological future looks like.

It can be difficult to talk about your project or center before you’ve collected data about your results. We hope that Student Success Stories can help by establishing a visual support for what you want, or have, accomplished with your ATE funding through parallels with the successes of others. Through the diverse range of videos in the series, you can target several different demographics in ways that provide a relevant and intriguing connection to your audience. We encourage you to use the videos in whole or in part, pull quotes from the videos, or direct interested parties to the videos in the ways that best support your goals.

The video series can also be a great addition to your recruitment pitches in local school systems as well as adult education to demonstrate how ATE and community college programs are a valuable and effective option to receive an education regardless of age. This is also an accessible tool for school counselors and advisers at the high school and college levels in showing how your project or center can help a student’s goals and dreams to flourish in an ATE field.

Please feel free to contact ATE Central at [email protected] if you have any questions or would like the videos in alternative formats.

Did you know?

According to Paul Davidson, in his article for USA Today, Employment for Americans with an associate's degree or some college has increased by 578,000 the past six months to 35.2 million.

News & Reminders

We enjoyed meeting you at the PI Conference!

Thank you to all attendees for making this year's PI Conference another great event. Watch for a quick survey about the PI Conference app, which is designed to make the app even better for 2013. Please let us know if there are any events you'd like us to add to the ATE events calendar, any upcoming publications we can help you feature, or anything else we can do for you. We're here to help and answer all your questions about the ATE community, so please feel free to use us as an ongoing resource and support. We look forward to seeing many of you next year!

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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!

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. We'd be happy to provide you with more information about CWIS and give you a quick tour of its features — please e-mail [email protected] to get started!

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