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Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have been used to support a wide range of industries.  Code of Federal Regulations Title 14 Part 107 provides the rules that govern most commercial UAS missions.   Section 107.51 of the regulations limits the maximum UAS altitude to 400 feet above the ground or structure and a minimum clearance of 500 feet below clouds.  The required cloud clearance is often easy to comply with as most cloud coverage is thousands of feet above the ground and well above the 400-foot ceiling.  However, many missions require the UAS to fly nearly low-altitude clouds or early morning fog.  In these situations, the pilot must know the altitude of the clouds to maintain the necessary clearance.  Accurately estimating cloud height visually is very difficult to do.  However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has partnered with Leidos Flight Services to develop an SMS text service through the 1800wxbrief.com service to receive real-time Meteorological Aerodrome Report (METARs) weather reports in plain text.  This paper shows how this new tool can be used to determine cloud height and incorporate it into a classroom activity to support Part 107 compliance. 

Biomimicry is the practice of imitating naturally occurring bio‐designs through engineering and invention. For instance,Blue Morphobutterfly wing colors are a result of the reflection and refraction of nanostructures embedded in the wing and have inspired practical applications in nanofabrication and photonics. Interdisciplinary science educational materials have been developed that demonstrate the cross‐disciplinary aspects and biomimetic properties used in designing nano‐based devices. The unique optical properties of theBlue Morphowing provides an excellent source of demonstrating how aspects of chemistry, biology, physics, and nanotechnology relate. Specifically, these educational tools demonstrate concepts including natural selection, chemical and physical properties, structure at the nanoscale, optical, and electromagnetic design. In addition, the engaging activities are correlated to how nanotechnology drives invention and provides students a mechanism to be introduced to the possibilities nanotechnology provides. A comprehensive combination of lab, cleanroom, and classroom activities are suggested to promote remote learning.

 

Research shows formative assessments substantially strengthen learning and support summative assessment/evaluation practices. These practices are not widely applied in ATE's professional development (PD) efforts. This study focuses on participant teachers' assessment involvement to increase student learning and enhance outcome evaluations. We surveyed all principal investigators of ATE projects in 2022 who applied assessments in their 2021 PD efforts (N=70). Findings show that a minority of PD efforts apply formative assessment practices to strengthen PD outcomes or meet ATE's evaluation specifications. Assessment practices were most prevalent for summative purposes at the close of PD activity; a large majority assessed teachers' interest and learning in the PD and their intentions to use and teach what was learned on return to their classrooms. A third or less followed up to assess outcomes in teachers' schools. Similarly, thirty percent or less addressed matters of context at any stage of the PD efforts, and a few, 11 percent, followed up to assess the context in the schools. Concomitantly, the findings show where and how attention to formative assessment in the PD learning process can increase teacher involvement in assessment practices, making PD instruction more effective and strengthening outcome evaluations in participant teachers' home classrooms. 

This study aimed to find how IT-related hobbies and interests impacted students’ educational and career decision-making. Methods: As part of a six-year-long, ATE-funded study of IT students at Ivy Tech Community College, our team conducted semi-structured, phenomenological interviews. These interviews were analyzed using keyword searches and a combined inductive-deductive approach to coding to explore how IT-related hobbies and interests interacted with other personal characteristics to inform student decisionmaking. Findings: Our team identified a potential link between early IT interest, IT-related hobbies, and persistence in IT education and careers. Many participants in the study had a moment of clarity where they realized that their IT hobby could become their career, the “hobby-to-career reckoning.” Contributions: This piece explores the potential connection between IT interests/hobbies and student outcomes within the field of IT while exploring the different social factors that may impact student decision-making and the role of the hobby-to-career reckoning in the decision-making process. This piece will give practitioners and researchers insight into how early interest in IT and IT-related hobbies may impact student decision-making about IT educational programs and careers. 

Manufacturing continues to be a vital component of the Ohio economy. Ohio’s manufacturing sector employs over 600,000 skilled individuals, the third-largest manufacturing workforce in the U.S. [1]. With additional manufacturing industries moving into Ohio, including Intel and its supply chain partners, there is a growing need for industry-ready, skilled engineering technicians. In addition, with the increasing use of automated systems and network connectivity of these systems in manufacturing operations, technicians need to be equipped with skills in the area of smart manufacturing. This article details the development of a Smart Manufacturing Technology (SMT) associate’s degree that is modeled as an earnand- learn program. The program is equipped with various experiential learning opportunities, and additional industry-recognized certifications are embedded within specific courses. Summer camps were designed and delivered to expose middle and high school students to smart manufacturing and to build a pipeline of students into this program. A professional development summit was delivered each year of the grant. The purpose of the summit was to increase high school instructors’ awareness of smart manufacturing so that they can better advise students about this in-demand field and teach courses in the SMT pathway. 

Is it worth the effort for community colleges to pursue NSF ATE grant funds for small enrollment programs? This manuscript describes our experiences with a program that served 11 students and four local employers in a high-need field. This collaborative writing effort is presented as a grant program postmortem review to share our experiences and review pertinent literature so that others, particularly prospective community college grant recipients and evaluators of those grants, may learn from our experiences. We discussed ways we were able to leverage a small program to our advantage and the size-specific issues that we were unable to resolve. 

The National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education (MatEdU) and its continuation program, the MatEdU Online Digital Library, has made major progress in areas related to education, technology training, inter-communication, and networking in materials technology. A significant impact of this National Science Foundation-funded Advanced Technological Education resource center has been implementing materials technology into multiple areas, from technology and electronics education to advanced manufacturing, energy materials, and critical materials utilization. Using its website as its centerpiece, workshops, and educational modules along with opportunities for undergraduate research and faculty mentoring at community colleges are available. Practical examples abound, including guitar building, additive manufacturing, and numerous types of advanced materials and applications. This paper provides the information future programs will need to build follow-up programs to enhance technology education further. 

This study analyzes the first two seasons of the Talking Technicians Podcast, which consists of 24 episodes with working technicians. The study aims to demonstrate that podcasts featuring working technicians provide unique insights into technological education that other methods cannot easily obtain. The themes that emerged from the interviews include the importance of soft skills, teamwork, and when in a large company environment, it pays to be aware of opportunities for professional advancement. While wage and benefit comparisons were not made between the technicians interviewed, the study found that podcasts offer a powerful tool for sharing knowledge and connecting with audiences, enabling listeners to focus on the content and engage with the ideas of presenters and guests. 

Newly announced semiconductor fabrication facilities in Ohio, Arizona, Indiana, New York, and Kansas have led to a need to increase the number of semiconductor workers, including technicians and engineers. The recently signed CHIPS and Science Act provides $52 billion of funding to support the semiconductor industry, with over $5 billion allocated for workforce development. This paper focuses on how community colleges can support technician education and prepare a diverse student population for transfer into semiconductor disciplines at four-year universities. 

Water quality analysis of Philadelphia County surface waters have indicated that storm events alter the concentrations of pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), antibiotics, heavy metals, and other pollutants, which could impact aquatic organisms' diversity as well as human health. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the microbial communities in these environments and their responses to these pollutants. To address this knowledge gap, culturing and analysis of genomes isolated from surface water samples was carried out at two different time points: one under average conditions (SW1) and another three days after a storm event (SW2). Colorimetric water quality assays were also employed to assess the levels of common pollutants in waterways and observe alterations in the relative concentrations of various chemicals in the Schuylkill River after storm events. Gram staining, and culture analysis of isolated colonies from surface waters in Philadelphia County waterways was performed to understand microbial diversity and the principles of bacterial identification. Genomic DNA was extracted from bacteria concentrated via filtration. PCR amplification of the 16s rRNA gene was performed in preparation for genomic sequencing. Genomic sequencing of samples from various waterways was performed and analyzed using bioinformatics software to identify microorganisms and classify taxa. The results demonstrate that storm events influence the diversity of microorganisms in the Delaware River Watershed. Further analysis of pollutant levels and the metagenomic data will be needed to further elucidate the correlation between specific pollutants and potential pathogens as well as the influence of said pollutants on microbial diversity.