As professional technology educators in a world that
is undergoing rapid technological changes , it is challenging,
to say the least, to stay abreast of the changes in technology,
to distill out those changes that may potentially impact our young
students as the citizens and workforce of tomorrow and to find
the resources to locate, convert and/or create corresponding instructional
materials. The Midwest Center for Advanced Technology Education
(MCATE), established by Purdue University in partnership with
Cincinnati State and Technical Community College, St. Louis Community
College, Parkland Community College, Vincennes University, Triton
Community College and Macomb Community College via funding from
the National Science Foundation, will exist to serve this need.
The MCATE mission is to provide unparalleled faculty and curriculum
development opportunities to technology educators thereby affecting
the educational experiences and opportunities of students preparing
for careers in manufacturing and distribution. Through regional
workshops, printed publications, the world wide web and telecommunications,
MCATE will promote, provide and support faculty and curriculum
development by sharing new and innovative technologies and student-oriented
instructional strategies and by strengthening educator's understanding
and application of technology.
The operational staff responsible for getting the
Center up and running includes Dennis Depew, head of the Department
of Industrial Technology and director of the Center at Purdue
University, Melissa Dark, Assistant Director of the Center and
Cynthia Dalton, the Center secretary. In addition, the site coordinators
at each partnering institutions are Larry Ruess at Cincinnati
State and Technical Community College, Bill Mason at St. Louis
Community College, Dean Eavey at Vincennes University, Bill Laursen
at Parkland Community College, Al Check at Triton Community College
and Al Manore at Macomb Community College.
Dennis Depew, head of the Department of Industrial
Technology and director of the center, sees the new grant project
as a beginning. "Our goal is to build this into a national
resource that serves the needs of industry and technology-based
organizations throughout the nation" said Depew. "It
is imperative that we strengthen teachers' understanding and
application of technology. If we can produce the most highly
trained educators in technology education, that expertise will
be passed on to produce the most highly trained graduates and
industry professionals in the world."
In MCATE's inaugural year, eight professional development workshops are planned. A $500.00 scholarship will be available to 20 participants per workshop. The scholarship, made possible through the NSF funding, will help defray the expense of travel, overnight accommodations and meals. Each workshop is a total of 4 days. The first three days will consist of content presentation and practice. Attendees will be asked to integrate what they learn into the classroom. . The fourth day, date to be determined by the presenters and participants, will cover debriefing, discussion of integration and sharing or curricular materials developed as a result of the workshop. The slated 1997 workshops are as follows:
A workshop brochure and registration form is scheduled
to be mailed in late January - early February to technology educators
in the Midwest. We invite you to become involved in the early
stages with the development of MCATE. Our goal is to create a
center that serves the needs of technology educators and in order
to do that we need to communicate with and listen to the needs
of technology educators.
For more information or feedback, please contact
Melissa Dark at MCATE, Purdue University, 378 Knoy Hall, West
Lafayette, IN 47907, (317) 494-4252, mjdark@tech.purdue.edu.
The future world wide web address will be http://www.tech.purdue.edu/mcate.
Check us out!