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The Ohio Aspire Professional Development Network (PDN) is a collaboration of content experts, trainers, and researchers who deliver and support evidence-based, high-quality, and effective in‐service professional development in areas of importance to nearly 1,000 Ohio Aspire professionals.

In March and April of 2017, our CETE Assessment Services staff conducted three workshops, serving 95 career-technical education teachers and administrators. These workshops were part of a professional development series offered through a partnership with the Office of Career-Technical Education at the Ohio Department of Education. CETE staff developed and delivered this customized training on how to implement quality classroom-assessment practices and use WebXam reports effectively. This highly interactive workshop involved a mix of instruction and hands-on activity. CETE is currently developing additional workshops and e-learning modules as part of their partnership with the Ohio Department of Education. These workshops and modules will help teachers and administrators effectively align and use assessment-related tools in the classroom.

CETE Instructional Development Specialist Cara North is a guest on Episode #9 of the learning and development podcast “5 Trainers in a Car.” This podcast, which focuses on learning and development issues in an informal environment, is accessible via the website http://5trainersinacar.thebackstoryproject.com/ or can be downloaded in Itunes. The participants shared information about what they learned during the Central Ohio Association for Talent and Development (COATD) Learning Technology Day while driving around the parking lot of the conference center.

CETE Assessment Services staff completed work in the first quarter of 2017 on testing projects involving different configurations of the test development cycle. Collaborative work with the DACUM International Training Center supported the revision of professional development and certification systems for two different organizations.

CETE staff member Greg Nagy and OSU Professor Belinda Gimbert have been exploring new virtual reality technology over the past few months, and have begun sharing their knowledge in a series of demonstrations for groups on campus. So far, Greg has done demonstrations about the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Equipment for the Exploring Learning Technologies group (http://u.osu.edu/eltosu/) along with CETE staff, Wexner Medical Center doctors, the Office of Distance Education and eLearning, and Dr. Andrew Richmond's advanced English class. Greg is enthusiastic about the potential of partnering with many more groups to explore uses of this technology. The next step for Greg is to take his show on the road. In June, he will travel to Beijing, China to begin work on a pilot project to teach students English in a virtual reality classroom.

On March 30, 2017, CETE Staff Member Dr. David Julian led a workshop on Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods to an engaged group of students, staff, and community members in OSU's Ramseyer Hall College Commons. Joining him were other members of CETE's Results Management Team (Melissa Ross, Meredith Wellman, and Carolyn Vesely) and a community partner, Tyrone Smith, from the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio. During the workshop, participants heard about CBPR best practices, research, and examples of how community input has enriched our project outcomes at CETE.

CETE Instructional Development Specialist Cara North, along with EHE learning technology student Vicki Simmerman and John Glenn College of Public Affairs Training Manager Natalie Gintert, presented at Ohio University’s Educational Technologies Conference on April 8 in Athens, Ohio.

For the past three years, CETE staff have shared their knowledge with graduate students in school counseling at Ohio State in a series of guest lectures. This is an exciting collaboration occurring between CETE and the College of Education and Human Ecology. This year, two CETE staff members (Dr. Barbara Boone and Dr. David Julian) taught a series of six class sessions for students, covering a range of topics such as collaborative community problem solving and family engagement.

CETE staff attended the Ohio Educational Technology Conference (OETC) (http://oetc.ohio.gov) held in Columbus on February 15-16. OETC is an opportunity for Ohio educators to explore new education technologies and emerging trends to enrich students’ learning experience.

Two CETE Staff (Dr. David Julian and Dr. Meredith Wellman) will visit Albuquerque, NM for 3 days in March to attend a SAMHSA grantee meeting linked to two current CETE evaluation projects (the Hoh Tribe and Makah Tribe Circles of Care evaluations).