Monday, May 12, 2008

ICT, Semiconductors, Photonics and The Bats of Austin

On July 28-31 we'll be holding our annual National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (NCTT) summer Information and Communications Technology (ICT) conference in Austin, TX. Our National Science Foundation sponsored conference will run as it always has, with lots of great technical ICT sessions and the opportunity for faculty, staff and industry people to connect, learn from each other and have some fun. We are currently formatting the agenda, but here is teaser describing a few of this year's ICT sessions:

ICT Education: International Collaboration
The CNIT department of City College of San Francisco has been approached by several sister educational institutions in foreign countries (Brazil, France and the Netherlands) to establish collaborations at the level of students and faculty. One project has been implemented, while the others are still at the planning stage. The presentation will draw lessons from these pilots and show how these exchanges can bring benefits to both parties.

Ethical Hacking: Hijacking GMail Accounts
Gmail and other online services require a login, but how secure is it? Students will perform two attacks against Gmail--stealing authentication cookies with Hamster, and stealing passwords with a man-in-the-middle attack.

Computer Forensics Advanced Technology Education
View the crime and review the evidence. Connect the pieces.

It's All Fun and Games...And Then Students Learn
This engaging presentation will demonstrate games for learning from simple games for teaching topics like algebra to first-person games teaching algebra and other topics. Games and simulations for teaching math, science and other STEM disciplines will be explored.

Our conferences have always offered opportunities to participate in and learn about leading efforts to advance ICT technical training in the US - this summer it will be even better. In addition, NCTT attendees will have the opportunity to connect and attend technical sessions with two of our sister National Science Foundation centers - MATEC Networks and OPTEC. Here's more info on these Centers:

MATEC Networks, another National Science Foundation Resource Center like NCTT, is focused on the advancement of semiconductor, automated manufacturing, and electronics education.

OP-TEC (The National Center for Optics and Photonics Education) is a National Science Foundation Center that is building a secondary-to-post-secondary “pipeline” of highly qualified and strongly motivated students and empowering community colleges to meet the urgent need for technicians in optics and photonics.

We'll also have a little time to see Austin in the evenings and will definitely get downtown to see the 1 million (or so) bats come out from under the Congress Bridge at sundown:



We're almost full so - if you want to go - you will have to move fast - register here. Join us in Austin if you can!

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