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.

In This Issue

Scuba Diver

Featured Resources in Marine Technology

From MATE:

The Bridge: An Ocean of Free Teacher-Approved Marine Education Resources

http://www2.vims.edu/bridge/

The Bridge, from the Virginia Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program, is a growing collection of the best marine education resources available on-line. It provides educators with a convenient source of accurate and useful information on global, national, and regional marine science topics, and gives researchers a contact point for educational outreach. On the site, visitors will find lesson plans, career information for students, and a resource center of books, links, aquariums and more.

From Teachers’ Domain: Advanced Technological Education:

Marine Technology: Training & Careers

http://wimedialab.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ates12.sci.pttintromarine/marine-technology-training-careers/

In this video from Pathways to Technology, viewers will learn about the field of marine technology. From mapping the ocean floor to tracking fish populations to monitoring pollution, marine technicians help generate and gather information about what’s happening in the ocean for the benefit of those back on land and the organisms that live in the sea. The video runs 1:21 and is accompanied by a background essay, standards alignment, and discussion questions. Users who sign up for a free account can save the resource and download the video as well.

From Southeast Maritime and Transportation (SMART) Center:

Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/longitude/index.html

Corresponding to the PBS NOVA television program, this site covers the story of how humans developed a method for finding our way around the globe. It discusses today's greatest scientific challenges, explores GPS and how it works, and describes how ancient navigators found their way without latitude and longitude. There is an online activity where students find latitude and longitude using time and locations, as well as an activity exploring GPS. A teacher's guide offers ideas for viewing and activities for the classroom, as well as additional resources. The accompanying video is available to order.

Redwood Trees

Community Connection

Introducing the Achieving Sustainability Videos

As 2015 comes to an end, we are happy to introduce Achieving Sustainability, the latest resource in our collection of sustainability services. This five-part video series was a collaborative effort between the American Association of Community Colleges and ATE Central. Featuring members of the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) community, the series was designed to support ATE grantees as they endeavor to sustain their activities and impacts beyond NSF funding. Each 3-5 minute video documents a unique aspect of sustainability. A brief overview of each video can be found below, but make sure to check out the ATE Central Sustainability Services page on the ATE Central portal to view the videos in full.

Sustainability Definition
In this video, two experts define sustainability and discuss the concept of value proposition and why it’s a critical aspect of sustainability planning.

Sustainability Landscape
This video focuses on how ATE grantees interact with their environment, stakeholders, and audiences, and provides real life examples of how these interactions help sustain NSF-funded work.

Sustainability Success
In this video, ATE community experts share their own sustainability success stories and provide useful strategies that have helped them continue the work of their ATE project or center.

Sustainability and Evaluation
This video focuses on the connection between evaluation and sustainability and how evaluation data can play a pivotal role in sustaining ATE project and center work.

Sustainability Advice
In this video, ATE grantees and experts offer constructive practical advice about sustainability planning and practices.

Easily downloadable and free for use in the classroom or other educational settings, the Achieving Sustainability series is a great resource when thinking about what you should be doing to ensure the long-term success of your ATE project or center. We’d love to hear your questions or comments about the series! Please email [email protected] with any queries or feedback.

Camera

ATE Success Tips: Websites

Selecting the Best Images for Your Website

We’ve all heard the phrase time and time again: a picture is worth a thousand words. When it comes to website design, this can be especially true as photos readily capture the interest of users and can convey a great deal of information in a limited space. However, not all images are created equal. When looking for or taking photos to post on your website, keep these pieces of advice in mind:

  • Quality: Quality is crucial! A high-resolution image suggests a professional organization and website, while a low resolution, pixelated image may suggest the opposite. Also, if you plan on increasing the size of an image, make sure that the photo will still retain its original quality.
  • Purpose: The photos on your website should do more than merely add decoration, they should add information. Images have the potential to increase your website's success; therefore, choose an image that will help the viewer learn or understand a concept or attribute you are trying to convey.
  • Powerful: Think National Geographic. The images that NatGeo selects are so intriguing and powerful that they often convince web users to open an article to learn more. While images can strengthen the content on your site, you'll want to make sure the written content is just as powerful. You don't want the photo to overwhelm the text.
  • People: Pictures of people, especially students, are great, as they capture attention and bring a real life touch to your website. However, be careful about using stock photos; if the viewer can tell that a photo is not authentic, your website will lose credibility.

Finally, make sure that you have the legal right to use any photos or graphics that are displayed on your website. Tools like Creative Commons Search and WikiMedia Commons can be invaluable for finding high quality royalty-free images.

Did You Know?

According to the AACC, one out of every fourteen students who attends community college has already obtained his or her bachelor's degree. At some community colleges, the proportion is one out of every five students.

ATE Events

Ongoing Events
– Ag/Env NRGY 241 - Alternative Fuels Missoula, MT
– Ag/Env RCNET Nuclear e-Learning Challenge Online
Upcoming Events
– Info CareerTech Women in Leadership Broken Arrow, OK
Gen Documentary Film Screening: "The Living Disappeared" Washington, DC
– Eng VCCS Hire Education Annual Conference Roanoke, VA
Gen 2 for 1: Retrospective Pre-Post Self-Assessment Online
Gen AAAS-Hitachi Lecture on Science & Society Washington, DC
Gen Ancient History/Modern Destruction: Using Science and Technology to Study Cultural Heritage Loss Washington, DC
Mfg Innovations in Developmental Math: The Role of Khan Academy Bedford, MA
– Info Winter Working Connection Frisco, TX
– Info WomenTech Educators Online Bootcamp Online
Gen Solving the Education Equation: A new model for improving STEM workforce outcomes through academic e Online
Mfg Dream It. Do It. Metro Minnesota VEX Robotics Tournament Osseo, Minnesota
– Gen HICE 2016 Honolulu, HI
– Gen HICSS 2016 Koloa, Hawaii
– Eng BEST Center Annual Institute Oakland, CA
– Info 2016 Winter ICT Educator Conference San Jose, CA
Mfg Dream It. Do It. Northwest Minnesota VEX Robotics Tournament Thief River Falls, Minnesota
Mfg Dream It. Do It. Southern Minnesota VEX Robotics Tournament Austin, Minnesota
– Eng American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Workforce Development Institute (WDI) 2016 Online
– Ag/Env WI Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Conference Wisconsin Dells, WI
– Gen Cyberlearning 2016 Arlington, VA
– Info CareerTech Women in Leadership Norman, OK
– Eng ETEC 213.50 Power System Technology Missoula, MT
– Eng ETEC 214 Renewable Energy Storage and Distribution Missoula, MT
– Eng NRGY 102: Introduction to Sustainable Energy Systems II Missoula, MT
– Eng NRGY 235 / CSTN 283: Building Energy Efficiency Missoula, MT
– Eng NRGY 243: Fundamentals of Photovoltaic Design and Installation Missoula, MT
– Eng NRGY 244: Biorenewable Resources Missoula, MT
– Mfg Dream It. Do It. Minnesota State VEX Robotics Tournament St. Cloud, Minnesota
Gen Project Access Workshop Miami, FL
Gen Writing in the Disciplines Workshop Miami, FL
– Ag/Env Wine Sensory Analysis Workshop - Missouri St. Charles, MO
– Ag/Env Wine Sensory Analysis Workshop - North Carolina Asheville, NC
– Gen 2016 AAAS Annual Meeting Washington, DC
– Eng BiOS Expo 2016 Online
Gen Preparing a Budget and Budget Justification for your NSF ATE Proposal: Live Webinar Online
Gen Project Access Workshop Pensacola Beach, FL
Gen Writing in the Disciplines Workshop Pensacola Beach, FL
– Info GIS/CAMA Technologies Conference Savannah, GA

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

Share your STEM-based solutions with NSF’s Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC).

The National Science Foundation invites teams of community college students to propose innovative STEM-based solutions for real-world problems identified within the theme of “Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems” in the 2016 Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC). All entries must be received during the competition submission window, from October 15, 2015 to February 15, 2016. More information can be found on the challenge website.

Is your project/center on Facebook, Twitter, or another social media site?

If so, please make sure we've found that site and added it to the ATE Social Media Directory. Having your social media presence linked through the directory will help ensure that interested parties can find you online. In addition, if you currently publish a newsletter, please let us know, as we will be adding links to newsletters to the information available on ATE Central.

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. The latest version (CWIS 3.2.0) was released on and is available for download on the Scout site. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or would like a quick tour of its features!

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.


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