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 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

Wheat

Featured Resources in Agricultural and Environmental Technologies

From VESTA:

VIN 214 Spring Viticulture Technology

www.mediasitesvr.missouristate.edu/VESTA/Catalog/Full/5c9fb41a0d6c44aeb5bbcecce4560a5e21/5fe0aa7236914d0491cd6c80fe0d4ef914/5c9fb41a0d6c44aeb5bbcecce4560a5e21

This site from the Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance includes lesson presentations and slides from the VIN 214 Spring Viticulture Technology course. Ten presentations are included and cover topics such as Spraying and Calibration, Early Season Canopy Management, Winter Frost and Chilling Injury, Training Grapevines and Pruning, Vineyard Floor Management and Cover Cropping, and more. Videos run from 27:36 to 54:06 minutes in length.

From Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center (ATEEC):

Defining Environmental Technology

www.youtube.com/user/ateeceicc

This document, created by Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, provides a detailed view of the different technician level careers in Environmental Technology. As the document explains, "Environmental Technology is a career field that applies the principles of math, science, technology, engineering, communication, economics, and law to ensure the health and safety of the worker and community, and protection of the environment." Possible careers in this field include Drinking Water Lab Tech, Heavy Equipment Operator, Waste-to-Energy Tech, and Hazardous Materials Tech.

From Teachers’ Domain: Advanced Technological Education:

Agricultural Technology Student: Water Management & GPS/GIS

wimedialab.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ates12.sci.pttenviro/agricultural-technology-student-water-management-gpsgis

In this 4:15 video adapted from Pathways to Technology, learn how one person turned a job-ending injury into an opportunity to build a new career. When Richard Guider lost his arm in an industrial accident, he needed to find new career opportunities. He began by attending community college, where he studied agricultural technology and water management. In school, he learned that a job can be more than just a way to earn a paycheck—it can help make a difference in the world, for example, by keeping the fishing holes he loves free of pollution. The video is accompanied by a background essay, standards alignment, and discussion questions. Users who sign up for a free account can download the video as well.

NVC Handbook

Community Connection

Working with Stakeholders: Sustaining Effective Collaboration

Members of the ATE community devote an incredible amount of time and effort to identifying potential partners, developing contacts and relationships, and cultivating these partnerships to sustain them over the long term. Feedback from key stakeholders, collaborators, industry partners, and colleagues from across the ATE community can provide you with many benefits and perspectives. So whether you are looking for help as you revamp curriculum, cultivating partners to write a new proposal, or considering how to tie your ATE project or center goals more closely to your institution’s mission, it pays to think about how best to engage collaborators in your ATE related work.

ATE centers are required to have a National Visiting Committee (NVC) but any project or center can put together an advisory board or a working group. Even if informal, it's important to consider how you’ll establish and maintain these critical relationships with collaborators:

  • A National Visiting Committee (NVC) is a great way to bring together stakeholders – it provides wonderful opportunities for feedback and support as well as a group of people who will advocate for you and your work. An NVC will offer advice to center staff, assess plans and progress, and enhance the dissemination of the center's products. A great resource if you're new to ATE is the National Visiting Committee Handbook. This helpful resource will provide you with all kinds of useful information about forming and utilizing your NVC. You'll want to work closely with your program officer in setting up your NVC, so double check with them about this important center component.
  • Another option for getting external support and advice might be an advisory board. An advisory board allows projects and centers to receive expert opinions from those "in the know" about how to strengthen and develop their work. It may be that you are looking for very specific help — like increasing participation in faculty development activities — or it may be that you'd like general feedback on areas like outreach or sustainability planning. Either way, a well-picked advisory board might be exactly what you need. Make sure to consider issues related to the make-up of your group (people from your own institution vs. outside, diversity issues, student participation, etc.) and that the people you choose have skills or knowledge that can help you address your most critical issues. Also, consider how often you’d like the group to meet and how you’ll stay in touch as a group between meetings. Some interesting information can be found at the Free Management Library or in this fact sheet from the Department of Education.
  • A working group might be just the ticket if you need advice or feedback on a very specific topic. For example you might pull together a working group to help you redesign your website or to help you examine issues of accessibility for people with disabilities. The nice thing about this approach is that you can have different working groups that focus on key issues and disband once that issue has been dealt with effectively.

Whether you chose a small working group for a specific issue or an advisory group that meets annually, imagine what new insights colleagues from outside of your area of expertise can bring to the table. Consider reaching out to a diverse array of industry representatives (include experts who aren't just in your primary area but in compatible areas as well). If appropriate, connect with K-12, as well as two- and four-year college educators along with students, staff, and administrators who may offer valuable viewpoints. Examine your project or center deliverables and goals with fresh eyes and consider the full range of stakeholders that might be able to help you as you work through project components.

Postcards

ATE Success Tips: Outreach

Are Print Outreach Materials Still Effective?

From postcards to newsletters to one-page handouts, print materials provide a tangible way to promote the work being done by your ATE project or center. In fact, in an increasingly digital world, printed items may still be the best way to reach a diverse audience - as some digital content may be off-putting to less tech-savvy users and many people simply prefer the feel of a printed piece in their hands. Remember, even if your project or center relies heavily on social media or other digital outreach strategies, there's always a place for print materials.

Money

Did You Know?

According to the Community College Research Center, the average student who completes an associate degree at a community college will earn $5,400 more each working year than a student who drops out of community college.

ATE Events

Ongoing Events
Eng AutoRama Student Career Day Detroit, Michigan
Mfg Maintenance and Reliability Conference 2017 Knoxville, TN
Upcoming Events
Info Esri Developer Summit Palm Springs, California
Info SIGCSE 2017 Technical Symposium Seattle, Washington
Info Grant Proposal Resources, Roadmaps, and Timelines Online
Info ASPRS Annual Meeting 2017 Uniting Imagery, GIS, Mapping, and Surveying Baltimore, MD
Nano Innovations Conference 2017 San Francisco, CA
Eng League for Innovation Annual Convention San Francisco, California
Info Second Annual National Conference of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals Northwest Washington, DC,
Info Grant Proposal Resources, Roadmaps, and Timelines Follow-Up Discussion Online
Info 2017 Erich J. Spengler Midwest Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) Palos Hills, Illinois
Nano NEATEC Radio Frequency Technology Workshop Albany, New York
Ag/Env Wine Sensory Analysis Workshop Geneva, Ohio
Gen Wine Sensory Analysis Workshop Syracuse, NY
Ag/Env Wine Sensory Analysis Workshop Syracuse, New York
Eng Explore Your Own Watershed with Underwater ROVs Online
Nano NEATEC Mechatronics Workshop - Faculty Albany, New York
Gen Outcome Evaluation: Step-by-Step Online
Ag/Env New York Council for the Social Studies Conference 2017 Albany, NY
Info Developing Stakeholder Partnerships Internally and Externally for Successful Grants Online
Nano NEATEC Raspberry Pi Workshop Schenectady, New York
Eng 5th Automotive Cyber Security Summit Detroit, Michigan
Gen 2017 Forum on Science and Technology Policy Washington, DC
Eng Coding Bootcamp with Arduino I Course (Monday Evenings) Fort Pierce, Florida
Gen ATE Sustainability: Show me the Money: Is Revenue Generation possible for ATE Projects/Centers Online
Eng IoT North America, Chicago Rosemont, Illinois
Gen Science Diplomacy 2017 Washington, DC
Eng Coding Bootcamp with Arduino II Course (Wednesday Evenings) Fort Pierce, Florida
Info Developing Stakeholder Partnerships Internally and Externally for Successful Grants Follow-Up Online
Eng Coding Bootcamp with Arduino I Course (Thursday Evenings) Fort Pierce, Florida
Ag/Env New York Geographic Bee 2017 Albany, NY
Info National Women in CyberSecurity Conference Tuscon, AZ
Mfg 2017 Automotive News PACE Awards Detroit, MI
Eng Navy League SEA-AIR-SPACE Global Maritime Exposition Oxon Hill, Maryland
Eng WCX17: SAE World Congress Experience Detroit, Michigan
Gen 2017 Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment Conference Washington, DC
Bio/Chem CSO Summit 2.0: Community Colleges as Drivers for Regional Economic Development Austin, Texas
Eng NHMI Marine Education Workshop Big Pine Key, Florida
Ag/Env 4th Annual - Inside Missouri Cooperage Lebanon, Missouri
Gen DeafTEC Math Conference San Antonio, Texas
Info Final Tips for a Competitive Proposal Online
Eng 97th AACC Annual Convention New Orleans, Louisiana
Eng TARDEC Industry Days 2017 Warren, Michigan
Info Final Tips for a Competitive Proposal Follow-Up Discussion Online
Eng 2017 CAAT Conference: Driverless Cars, but What is Driving the Workforce? Warren, Michigan
Gen Preparing Forms for your NSF ATE Proposal Online
Eng NAWDP 2017 Annual Conference New Orleans, Louisiana
Ag/Env 2017 VESTA National Summit Isle of Palms, South Carolina

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

Would you like more copies of the ATE@20 book?

We are sending out one more round of ATE@20: Two Decades of Advancing Technological Education. Book orders and general inquiries can be emailed to info@atecentral.net.

Archiving your deliverables with ATE Central is now easier than ever!

Upload your curriculum, professional development materials, or other deliverables created with ATE funding directly to the ATE Central resource portal via the new archive submission form.

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 3.9.1 beta) was released on and is available for download on the Scout site. Please email cwis@scout.wisc.edu 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.


To unsubscribe to the ATE Central Connection, please reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject field or body of the e-mail, or use your ATE Central account to unsubscribe at atecentral.net. For any other subscription questions, please e-mail info@atecentral.net.