The Kentucky Academy of Technology Education (KATE)

Brenda C. Nix - Director

The Kentucky Academy of Technology Education (KATE) was created in 1996 as a collaborative effort designed to improve instruction and learning in Kentucky.  Initial efforts focused on use of the new Kentucky Tele-linking Network as a delivery medium and to proactively facilitate its use by Kentucky classroom teachers. The collaborating partners were Murray State University (MSU); the MSU College of Education, MSU Education and Academic Outreach, and MSU Information Systems; partnering with Bell South, Rural Telecommunications Research Center (RTRC), Kentucky Department of Education, PRISM, the Region One Service Center and the West Kentucky Coop. Funding was initially a grant awarded by the Kentucky Department of Education. Demonstrated success led to funding approved by the Kentucky legislature as well as additional grants from the Kentucky Department of Education.

The mission of KATE is to impact student learning and instruction in Kentucky classrooms by improving the use of technology as an effective teaching and learning tool. KATE is committed to providing visionary leadership and high-level technology resources to ensure that exemplary services are readily available to educators in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Through the Academy, Murray State (KATE) has provided coordination for professional development, training, and collaborative efforts that have been directed toward improved and more active learning by effectively utilizing education technologies.

KATE is committed to:

• Facilitating implementation of state and national standards for the use of technology in instruction
• Identifying and enabling teachers and students to use technology tools to solve problems and make decisions using higher-level thinking skills
• Developing collaborative PD efforts that meet research-based standards of effective professional development and that promote best instructional technology practices in the classroom
• Working with state and regional organizations to provide leadership and support for high-impact initiatives
• Identifying and utilizing all available mediums for improvement of instructional technology

KATE web resources are strongly representative of the standards-based goals and objectives of Kentucky teachers and are available free of charge to all educators. The newest resource is a database of units, activities, lessons, etc. that incorporate technology and are tied to Kentucky curriculum. This resource named Technology in Classrooms of Kentucky (TICK) as well as many other materials for educators can be found on the KATE Web Page.