This project extends the earlier work of the PIs with the Advanced Technological Education Television (ATETV), an interactive weekly web-based video series that provides the ATE community with a vital resource connecting on-line users from a variety of fields and backgrounds and promotes awareness and dissemination. Forty new Video on Demand videos generate new understandings and address knowledge gaps identified by Season 1 participants.
While focusing on evidence of usage, the new videos contain a 101 Series to delve deeper into educational and career pathways with more in-depth looks at industry, and Technicians Tips. The project advances knowledge and understanding across the ATE disciplines and bridges users, information and resources for audiences that include students, technicians, parents, educators, high school guidance counselors, industry leaders and policy makers.
Advanced Technological Education Television (ATETV) is a Web-based video series that was created by the Association for Interactive Media Education (AIME) and Pellet Productions, Inc. to support the existing work of community colleges, educators and STEM professionals of the ATE Community and beyond by maximizing modern, mainstream methods of communication for sharing up-to-the minute information regarding STEM fields and practices. Many audiences today are engaged in the current cultural phenomenon of using videos to communicate. This understanding is the underlying principle of ATETV. By using high-quality videos to deliver information on the latest technology updates, showcase interviews with content experts and industry leaders, profile careers and companies, issue reports from the field, and present case studies and other ATE-related news, information and events, the ATETV network educates and informs audiences of all ages. Both formative and summative evaluations have documented that across the country, counselors, educators, parents and government officials alike have downloaded the ATETV videos to share some piece of vital information regarding Advanced Technology careers, content and opportunities. ATETV then extends across the ATE disciplines by bridging users, information and resources. It has successfully increased awareness to the enormous potential of ATE projects, and helped to provide pathways to two and four year degree programs. The site has demonstrated value as a National resource and a Cyberlearning community with applications for individuals from a variety of backgrounds, geographic locations and demographics. This is evident by the diversity of people downloading the videos and their reported intent for content use. This includes cable access stations that service a variety of communities from rural Maine to San Francisco, educators and students themselves. From the beginning, this project was built from multiple areas of influence. To be successful, it had to not only focus on the content featured but also on the user experience. What information did someone either watching or sharing this material need? How would he/she access the Site and the videos? What are the restrictions/ challenges that may inhibit use? What are the personal characteristics of the audience, like social and developmental traits, that would affect the experience? What motivates them to keep coming back? All of these questions and more were fundamental to the planning and execution of this work. To date, ATETV has an audience of well over 300,000 viewers and has been downloaded and shared with audiences in 42 states. By taking this more holistic approach to development and delivery, ATETV stretched across both formal and informal environments with experiences that intertwine everyday life with communication technologies to promote and maintain a universal vision of current workforce developments, trends, opportunities, understandings and common content in a timely and efficient manner.
