Who's KATE?

If you're not familiar with KATE and you work in technology in Kentucky K-12 (or elsewhere, perhaps), then let's take a minute to familiarize everyone with their organization. KATE is the Kentucky Academy of Technology Education. It's housed on the campus of Murray State University and provides resources to educators throughout Kentucky, working to enhance the use of technology as an instructional tool.

There are quite a few resources on the site that may be of interest. They speak often of the TICK database. That database holds many effective lesson plans and activities that are aligned to KY's curriculum standards. You can search for a topic and then refine those results based on grade level or subject. Look closely and you'll find potential ways to win prizes by submitting valid and useful content!

The site features a monthly "In Your Classroom" article, written by area educators. It's always nice to read about what's going on in our own classrooms and there are a couple of really good articles featured there now.

There are links to help with student teaching and the struggles of a new teacher. You can also find information related to Kentucky's Core Content as well as national and state teaching standards.

Brenda Nix, the director at KATE, has her own list of top technology tools and this list, along with many other great professional development resources, are featured on the site as well.

For Kentucky K-12 CIOs, we can't praise the usefulness of the KATE site enough! Make sure your teachers are aware of what's out there. For other readers outside of Kentucky, I encourage you to give this site a look. There are wonderful educational resources available - Brenda and her staff have done an excellent job of turning this site into one of the best instructional resources around!