Search

This report examines ways of providing technician training in the operating principles of robotic devices. The terms "robotics" and "robotic arms" are first defined. Some background information on the principal features of robotic arms is given, including their geometric arrangement, type of actuator used, control method, and software and teaching modes. Three types of problems in implementing courses for technician training in industrial automation are considered: the availability of suitable equipment at acceptable cost, the lack of guidance on suitable teaching material, and the training of teaching staff. Finally, the problem of devising suitable curricula is discussed. Appendixes include a glossary of terms, a bank of suggested objectives intended to provide a suitable technical background for engineers and technicians using robotic devices in industry, outlines of three course units/modules prepared by selecting from the objectives banks, and a list of references. (YLB)

To ensure that students have access to the full range of financial aid they may need to succeed, colleges must be able to confidently and responsibly offer federal student loans. The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) and the California Community Colleges Student Financial Aid Administrators' Association (CCCSFAAA) support colleges in this goal. However, to date, there has been very little independent research or analysis of loan program practices, particularly at community colleges. To help fill that void, TICAS and CCCSFAAA have come together to highlight practices that colleges are pursuing to encourage responsible borrowing. The size and diversity of the California community college system make it a particularly interesting and useful focus for this study. California's 112 community colleges enrolled about 2.5 million students in 2010-119--more than one in five community college students nationally, and about one out of every ten undergraduate students at all colleges combined. The community college system also enrolls the vast majority of low-income and underrepresented students within California. Interviews with a dozen community college financial aid officials in California, supplemented by research at the national level, revealed a range of ways that colleges are promoting responsible borrowing. Interviews for this report were conducted in late 2011, and practices described in this report reflect college practices for the 2011-12 academic year. In summary, TICAS & CCCSFAAA encourage colleges to: (1) Ensure students know that loans are available; (2) Provide guidance to help students understand the implications of their borrowing decisions; (3) Coordinate with other student services professionals and faculty to make students' academic success the top priority; (4) Require additional counseling for students who may be at risk; (5) Deny individual loans when appropriate; (6) Automate processes to maximize staff time with students and identify students needing outreach; and (7) Help students avoid default, but keep concerns about default rates in perspective. Appended are: (1) Santa Rosa Junior College's "Worksheet for Student Borrowers," 2011-12; (2) Northern Virginia Community College's "Student Loan Policies and Procedures at NOVA," 2011-12; and (3) Federal Financial Aid and Enrollment Data by Race/Ethnicity at California Community Colleges, 2010-11. (Contains 19 footnotes.) [This paper was commissioned by the California Community Colleges Student Financial Aid Administrators Association (CCCSFAAA).]

ETS has recently instituted the Cognitively Based Assessments of, for, and as Learning (CBAL) research initiative to create a new generation of assessment designed from the ground up to enhance learning. It is intended as a general approach, covering multiple subject areas including reading, writing, and math. This paper is concerned with the writing assessment being developed within the CBAL framework, and in particular, with the potential for using automated scoring techniques effectively within such an assessment to support learning. Appended are: (1) Feature Sources; (2) Additional Tables (e-rater Microfeatures); and (3) Existing and Proposed Scoring Rubrics for Cognitively Based Assessments of, for, and as Learning (CBAL) Writing Strands I and II (as Used in the Pilot and Proposed Revision). (Contains 48 tables, 1 figure and 30 notes.)

This guide is one of three developed to provide guidelines, information, and resources useful in planning and developing postsecondary technician training programs in high technology. It is specifically intended for program planners and developers in the initial stages of planning a new program or specialized option in robotics. (Two companion guides offer a set of generalizable procedures for systematic program development in high technology and curricular information for planning a computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing training program.) The first part reviews the problem, objectives, methods, and outcomes of the project. Information is presented in the second part on industry trends in robotic technology, current projects in industry and education, and the need for training. Part 3 presents curriculum planning guidelines and specifications. Lists of technician-level competencies and sample course titles and course descriptions are provided. Other factors that must be considered in developing and implementing a new program are discussed, including special training for application processes, equipment requirements, faculty capabilities, and future trends. Appendixes include a compilation of site visits by project staff, a list of robot manufacturers and postsecondary programs, a bibliography of robotic technical papers, and a paper on robotics training. (YLB)

This paper was designed to assist educators and employers as they plan curricula in language and communication skills for students and employees entering, or experiencing a transition to, automated work settings. The strategies presented in this paper may be adaptable to secondary school business skills and basic English courses, pre-employment training programs, and employee training and retraining departments within corporations and public agencies. The four sections of the paper discuss the following topics: the automating workplace and the knowledge worker; communication as a means of production in the information economy, including automation tools and techniques; the automated workplace: literacy in evolution; and literacy training for workplace automation. This last section includes information on training for functional competence, functional literacy skills, topics for functional literacy training, and training delivery models. A bibliography completes the paper. (KC)

This report documents progress at the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) on the feasibility of scoring concept maps using technology. CRESST, in its integrated simulation approach to assessment, has assembled a suite of performance assessment tasks (the integrated simulation) onto which they have mapped the types of learning expected of students. One element of the integrated simulation is an online concept mapping construction and scoring system. A concept map is a graphical representation of information consisting of nodes and labeled lines. The nodes correspond to concepts in a subject area or domain, and lines indicate a relationship between pairs of concepts. Concept mapping software has been developed to permit students to construct concept maps and to provide real-time scoring and feedback to students based on an expert's map. An expert criterion map is used to score students' concept maps. CRESST has also studied the viability of using collaborative concept mapping in a networked computer environment as an assessment tool. Ongoing research suggests that both types of concept map use are promising. A feasible solution for schools without extensive computer resources is suggested through computerized scoring of paper-and-pencil administered concept maps. Several technologies for this purpose that CRESST has explored are described. (Contains 2 tables, 3 figures, and 12 references.) (SLD)

This publication is part of the study materials for the distance education course, Adults Learning: The Changing Workplace B, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University. The first part of the document analyzes the relationship between technology, skill, and work within the context of the debates concerning deskilling and managerial control strategies and the significance of technology and the organization of work. The following topics are discussed: technology and the organization of work; the deskilling debate (the upgrading, deskilling, and social construction theses; the Touraine and mixed-effects hypotheses; and the agnostic position); the origins of technology; and the flexible specialization thesis (the relationship between the flexible specialization thesis and skills and the limits of flexibility). Contains 56 references. The following papers constitute approximately 85% of the document: "New Technologies, New Skills" (P. Adler); "Technology and Deskilling: The Case of Five Principal Trade Areas in New South Wales" (D. J. Davis); "Intersphere Automation--The 'Factory of the Future'" (R. Kaplinsky); "Information Technologies, the Service Sector and the Restructuring of Consumption" (P. Blackburn, R. Coombs, K. Green); and "The End of Mass Production?" (K. Williams, T. Cutler, J. Williams, C. Haslam). Concluding the document is a 79-item annotated bibliography. (MN)

To maximize efficiency and minimize cost, purchasing departments are using computers to issue purchase orders, expedite orders, and control inventory. In order to familiarize prospective users, explanations of some of the terminology, equipment, and other pertinent facts associated with automation are supplied. Six pages, in outline form, explain computer systems, hardware, software, components, and how the computer works. General information (configuration, capabilities, applications, maintenance, operation, equipment availability, cost, and vendors) is presented about microcomputers, minicomputers, and maxicomputers. (MLF)

Residential Wiring, the second publication in a series of three wiring publications, prepares students for entry-level employment in the residential wiring trade. Instructional materials include a teacher edition, student guide, and student workbook. The teacher edition begins with introductory pages, including a training and competency profile, duty-task crosswalk, instructional/task analysis, basic skills icons and classifications, basic skills matrix, and a tools, equipment, and materials list. Each of six units consists of some or all of these components: suggested activities (instructional plan, teaching suggestions, references used in unit development, suggested supplemental resources); assignment sheet answer keys; written test; test key; teacher supplements; and transparency masters. The student guide provides some or all of these for each unit: learning activities sheet; objective sheet; information sheet; and student supplements. The student workbook contains these pen-and-paper exercises and skill tests necessary for student mastery of the course: focus assignment (provides students with an opportunity to explore topics presented in a unit and practice their reading, language skills, and critical thinking skills); assignment sheets; and job sheets. The six units are blueprint reading and load calculations; service; rough-in; trim out and troubleshooting; low voltage wiring; and home automation. (YLB)

This document contains 12 outlines that forecast the office of the future. The outlines cover the following topics: (1) office automation definition and objectives; (2) functional categories of office automation software packages for mini and mainframe computers; (3) office automation-related software for microcomputers; (4) office automation architecture top-down design; (5) office automation architecture bottom-up design; (6) office automation architecture departmental design; (7) telecommunications--wide area networks; (8) a sampling of public databases; (9) electronic mail/message/voice systems; (10) electronic document-based filing systems; (11) a comparison of optical disk technologies for office automation applications; and (12) the office in the year 2000. Most outlines are one to two pages in length. (KC)

This guide, which was written as an initial step in the development of a systemwide articulated curriculum sequence for all vocational programs within the Metropolitan Nashville Public School System, outlines the suggested scope and sequence of a 2-year program in accounting. The guide consists of a course description; general course objectives; course content outlines for each of the two years of the accounting program; and lists of recommended textbooks, working papers, simulation sets, curriculum guides, and other supplementary materials. Included in the course content outline for the first-year course are specific objectives and lesson topics addressing the following skills: calculator use; accounting cycles for businesses organized as a sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation accounting cycles; automated accounting systems; payroll systems; procedures in accounting for uncollectible accounts, plant assets and depreciation, notes and interest, and end-of-fiscal-period work; and accounting control systems. The outline for the second-year course covers the following skill areas: accounting careers and the complete accounting cycle; partnership accounting; accounting clerks and junior accountants (departmentalized accounting and general accounting adjustments); and corporation, cost, and management accounting; job interviews; development of calculator skills; and use of a computer to process accounting problems. (MN)

While the computer is commonly viewed as a tool for simplifying and enriching lives, many individuals react to this technology with feelings of anxiety, paranoia, and alienation. These reactions may have potentially serious career and educational consequences. Fear of computers reflects a generalized fear of current technology and is most prevalent in already-anxious individuals who are forced to deal with computers, especially in subordinate roles. External locus of control has also been identified as a predictor of computer anxiety. Teaching strategies relevant to alleviating students' computer anxiety might include the following: explanation of the logistics and functions of computer components; teaching the function of computers by using a set of rules; using several strategies to lower students' frustration levels; having the beginner adopt a computer mentality, in which orderliness, sequencing, and attention to detail are paramount to successful human/computer interactions; and insuring that early assignments incorporate tasks that are relevant to students' educational goals. Seventeen references are listed. (LMM)

Developed under a contract with the International Council on Archives, these guidelines are designed to emphasize the role of automation techniques in archives and records services, provide an indication of existing computer systems used in different archives services and of specific computer applications at various stages of archives administration, and discuss the current status of information retrieval technology. General principles including infrastructure and training are presented; the functions of input, processing, output, and evaluation are discussed; and systems specification and the systems analysis stages of data capture, data entry, and data structure are considered. In addition, examples of specific applications are given, including records management, accessions registration, the construction of finding aids, user services, and automation in support of management. Problems centering on hardware, software, staffing, costs, systems planning, and small archives are also considered along with their solutions. A 55-item bibliography is provided. (KM)