CTE Resources

Overview

Career and Technical Education Resources

STEM and career and technical education teachers need to be able to offer hands-on learning experiences in a virtual format. Below is a list of resources compiled by various organizations, including the Technical College System of Georgia, the Association for Career and Technical Education, SREB staff and educator participants in SREB’s CTE in a Virtual Setting workshops and webinars.  This list includes virtual labs, simulations and interactive learning objects that allow STEM and CTE students to engage with and explore the world of science and technology in an online setting.

General

  • Merlot virtual labs (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science, Engineering, Math)
  • PHET simulations  (Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, Math, Biology) from the University of Colorado Boulder
  • EdPuzzle* integrates with learning management systems and can be used to host teacher videos as well as external videos for instruction
  • CTE teachers who participated in SREB’s CTE workshops recommend Screencastify as a tool for capturing teacher videos
  • Commonlit offers a large library of free non-fiction and disciplinary texts as well as lessons and assessment tools
  • Newsela takes authentic content from the world’s most trusted providers and turns it into learning materials that are classroom-ready
  • KnowItAll.org from the South Carolina ETV Commission offers curricular materials and videos for grades K-13+ in all areas, including CTE. KnowItAll’s Let’s Go series offers 3D VR tours and field trips.
  • DitchThatTextbook offers free e-resources, tools and templates for teachers
  • GetEpic offers a digital library of books and reading resources for educators
  • Wisc-Online is a repository of high-quality free educational learning materials, organized by Career Cluster, that were created by subject matter experts from the Wisconsin Technical College System and Fox Valley Technical College.
  • Google’s Applied Digital Skills curriculum

Introduction to Biology

Chemistry of Life

Chemistry

  • The Virtual Lab is an online simulation of a chemistry lab. It is designed to help students link chemical computations with authentic lab chemistry. Students select from hundreds of standard reagents and manipulate them as in a real lab.
  • Phet chemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder:
  • Virtual chemistry from the University of Oxford
  • Virtual Chemistry Experiments is a collection of interactive web-based chemistry tutorials from Davidson College. The current generation of tutorials (currently in development) are based upon HTML5 and run on most modern web browsers.

Computer Science

  • Cisco Networking Academy
    • CCNA R&S Curriculum
    • CCNA Security
    • Cybersecurity Essentials
    • Introduction to IoT
    • Introduction to Packet Tracer
    • IoT Fundamentals
    • IT Essentials
    • Mobility Fundamentals
    • Networking Essentials
  • DevNet Sandbox makes Cisco’s free spread of technology available to developers and engineers by providing packaged labs we call Sandboxes. There are two types of sandboxes, Always-On and Reservation. Each sandbox typically highlights one Cisco product. Sandboxes can be used for development, testing APIs, learning how to configure a product, training, hack-a-thons, etc.
  • Girls Who Code has just released FREE weekly Girls Who Code at Home for 3rd-12th grade students. Girls Who Code is making CS educational activities available for download free of charge, to anyone who wants to access them.

Environmental Science and Natural Resources

Geology

Human Anatomy

Oceanography

Physics

Electronics, Mechatronics, Robotics and Manufacturing

Welding

  • Video from Dunwoody College of Technology

Agriculture

Business and Marketing

Engineering and Technology and STEM

Family and Consumer Sciences and Culinary/Hospitality Education

 

Health Sciences 

Heavy Equipment, Trade, Industrial and Manufacturing

  • Contact local, regional or national heavy equipment companies and inquire about training materials. Many are working closely with educators to provide support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Caterpillar publishes safety videos
  • How It’s Made has a playlist of heavy machinery and construction videos
  • National Geographic’s Megafactories brings manufacturing giants to life
  • Construction trades online lesson plan from the National Association of Home Builders.  See the directions below for joining the sharing site on Google.
    • 1. Go to classroom.google.com and click “Sign In.” Sign in with your Google Account. 2. At the top of the page, click “Add” (or +), then “Join class.” 3. Enter the class code — 7zqbfqb — and click “Join.”
    • To add lesson plans, go to the “Classwork” tab, click “+Create,” select “Material,” and begin to upload your lesson plan and description.
  • Construction design 3-D modeling software from SketchUp

Cross-Disciplinary Resources, Safety and Career Exploration

Note: Some of the resources below are free and others have offered free access through a certain date.

  • Free resources from the Association for Career and Technical Education, including CTE Learn Workplace Skills Tutorials and the Career Ed Lounge for communicating with your peers.
  • SkillsUSA Career Essentials -This fundamental experiences course provides a comprehensive structure for supporting secondary students in exploring, developing and practicing essential career-readiness skills. This can be accomplished as an online course or a hybrid experience.
  • Skills to Succeed Academy online multimedia experience for student career planning and exploration from Accenture. To access free modules, visit http://s2sacademy.org and register with ACTE Student Code 04ATgl and ACTE Staff Code 04ATgl9999 (this provides additional resources just for teachers and advisers)
  • Career planning tools about career pathways and the employability skills required for success in the global economy from the Center for Global Education at Asia Society, ACTE and Advance CTE.  All materials are available completely free-of-charge thanks to generous support from PMIEF. For more information, contact Heather Singmaster (hsingmaster@asiasociety.org) with any questions.
  • Nepris offers virtual field trips and other real-world career exploratory experiences as well as a skills-based volunteering platform for organizations to extend education outreach and build a future workforce.
  • O*Net’s Interest Profiler helps students decide what kinds of careers they might want to explore
  • Talking Safety online workplace safety curriculum from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and NOCTI
  • OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) offers online training materials
  • CareerSafeOnline provides resources and support to teachers in ensuring all students have a chance to earn their OSHA 10-Hour cards
  • SkillsUSA CareerSafe online safety training
  • S/P2 provides industry-specific online training in safety, environmental, ethics, HR and soft skills for businesses and career tech schools
  • Fundamentals of Project Management online assessment from Project Management Institute Educational Foundation and NOCTI
  • Integrate Ethics into Your Classroom materials from MBA Research 
  • Pearson CTE digital access request for spring 2020 - If you currently use a CTE title, but do not have digital access to the eText, you can request access through June 30, 2020 by completing the Google form linked above.
  • https://www.cengage.com/covid-19-support. for U.S. colleges experiencing unplanned, mid-semester impacts due to COVID-19, Cengage is offering students free access to all our digital platforms and 14,000 eBooks through Cengage Unlimited, for the remainder of this semester.
  • Goodheart-Wilcox Learning Companion digital curriculum and activities
  • Today’s Class online curriculum in agriculture, automotive/diesel technology, barbering, cosmetology, health science and workplace readiness:  Today’s Class is allowing access free of charge until May 1, 2020. Contact dboyes@todaysclass.com to set up an account.
  • NOCTI Study Guides, Digital Study Guides and Credentialing Assessments: Contact nocti@nocti.org for information on these resources.
    • Study Guides: Customers who have ordered paper-based study guides can convert them to digital study guides at no cost. This offer is valid through May 1, 2020.
    • Digital Study Guides: Two options are available to assist customers. 1. All expiration dates will be extended to June 30, 2021 for orders that have already been placed this school year. 2. New no-cost order options are available for digital study guides to assist with at-home student learning for customers who have already ordered assessments. Orders must be placed by May 1 and access will be available through June 30, 2020.
    • Credentialing Assessments: All expiration dates for assessments on existing orders will be extended to June 30, 2021 at no charge.

  • Overcoming Obstacles’ Life Skills Lessons for Remote Learning offers educators engaging activities they can use with their secondary school students while they are learning from home. Activities will help students identify their strengths, make better decisions, achieve their goals, develop a positive attitude, respect themselves as well as others, and handle the stress in their lives. To download the free handbook, click here.

  • Learning Styles Inventories from SREB’s Social-Emotional Learning Webinar
  • Interest Inventories and Aptitude Tests from SREB’s Social-Emotional Learning Webinar

* SREB does not endorse specific service or technology providers or products.

Blog post Linda Floyd, SREB program directorDebra Cullen, educational consultant

CTE Centers: Answering the Call for Care Amid COVID-19

Fred Rogers said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.’” In this unprecedented time of crisis, many are rising to be helpers. All across the United States, healthcare workers are leaving their families and risking their lives to take care of all who are suffering with the coronavirus. Schools and career and technology centers are also coming together to donate much-needed resources and use their equipment to make face masks for those on the front line. 

Blog post Scott WarrenSREB division director
scott warren headshot

Virtual Labs for STEM and CTE Teachers and Students

We know that this is a challenging time for teachers across the country. Many of you have been plunged into the world of virtual learning without a lot of time to prepare. Following sudden school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve had to move quickly to shift your carefully planned lessons online so your students can continue learning at home.  And those of you who are STEM and career and technical education teachers in particular face unique challenges as you work to adapt hands-on learning experiences to a virtual format.