IT Education
Where are the women in STEM?
If it hasn’t already passed through your e-mail in-box, a recent, lengthy New York Times article on the lack of women in science is worth a look. It’s a detailed exploration of a topic many STEM educators know well, written by Eileen Pollack, one of the first women to earn a B.S. in Physics from Yale…
Read MoreWalking in a Winter-Working-Connections-Land
Next month, the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) will be hosting its fourth Winter Working Connections training event for IT/convergence faculty. The event will run December 16-18, 2013. If you haven’t yet registered, there is still time to book your seat. We’d love to have you join us. Winter Working Connections is a smaller cousin…
Read MoreHow to build a lab on $5 a day
At our summer CCN meeting, Bill Saichek of Orange Coast College, shared some of his secrets on how he was able to get a lot of equipment for his lab, without spending a lot of money. Some of his main strategies include: Acquiring the college’s older hardware Repurposing hardware to do things the manufacturers say…
Read MoreIs Teaching Wireless Networking in Your Future?
Bill Saichek and Karl Dietrich, both Co-PIs on our grant, recently presented a session at the 2013 HI-TEC conference “Is Teaching Wireless Networking in Your Future?” This session covered the basics of wireless networking, the latest WiFi technology; 802.11n, the future 802.11ac (Gigabit WiFi), teaching tips/tricks/hints for wireless, hands-on exercises and CWNA certification, and the Achilles…
Read MoreGraduates on the job
All of the hard work the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) undertakes is designed for one single end goal: give students the skills they need to land good jobs in an IT industry in dire need of qualified workers. We asked some of our Convergence College Network (CCN) partners to connect us with recent graduates. …
Read MoreCamp Android
An unusual program for teenagers was running simultaneous to the National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) annual Summer Working Connections professional training event this summer. In an out-of-the-way, second-floor classroom at Collin College’s Preston Ridge campus in Frisco, Texas, 20 teen girls spent five days learning app-programming basics during “Android App Camp.” The Collin College camp…
Read MoreTop 3 ATE/NSF Information, Geospatial, and Security Technologies Blogs
The 39 centers of the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program lead dynamic, productive partnerships among industry, community colleges, and other education sectors. The National Convergence Technology Center in Frisco, Texas is one of eight centers that fall under the “Information, Geospatial, and Security Technologies” focus. All of the centers’ core functions include…
Read MoreA closer look at the HI-TEC student posters
“Student posters” are a common element of STEM conferences. For the uninitiated, it’s a kind of science fair like what you may remember from middle school with plants on record players and celery in colored water. But “student posters” at STEM conferences, of course, offer far more sophisticated and advanced technical thinking than the brightest…
Read MoreSTEM summer camps for kids
For those who agree that students need to get involved and invested in STEM early, the University of North Texas Department of Computer Science and Engineering’s long-running Engineering Summer Camps offer an interesting model for success. These summer camps are hands-on and immersive, but still offer the fun associated with a camp-like atmosphere. Students engage…
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