MATEC NETWORKS Executive Director Kim Grady Interview [17:42]

Short introduction:  Today we're here with Kim Grady. Kim is the  Founding Director and PI for the NetWorks, an NSF online digital  resource center. MATEC NETWORKS is one of 3 ATE manufacturing and  engineering technology centers that offer a collection of resources  online. NETEC, MERC Online, are the other centers. MATEC NETWORKS is  part of MATEC and located in Tempe, Arizona.Gordon: Kim, what exactly is a digital library?Well, our digital library is a convenient and easy way to locate  valuable resources for teaching and learning. It's also a way to  share self-created and favorite classroom ready resources.Mike: Why another digital library, what is the need and mission and  vision?Believe me, being an advocate of not reinventing the wheel, I asked  myself that question many times. What I have come to realize is that  NetWorks and the other online resource centers that are part of the  NSF ATE program are working together to "Beat Google." We are  aggregators of resources in our technology areas. Not only that we  have criteria for the resources that make it into our collections.  How many times have you been disappointed in search results on the  WWW? Either there is just too many to sift through or they are not  the quality or type that you need. With NetWorks you get the  resources you need for instruction. That's why we think we can be a  time-saving tool.Gordon: What types of material do you collect?Well, we focus on material in the Semiconductors, Automated  Manufacturing, and Electronics technology area so you will see  resources that relate to the science of semiconductor processing,  instrumentation and controllers used in automation environments, and  tons of electronics and electricity resources. You heard me use the  term, classroom ready earlier. Classroom ready means it is easily  implementable into a class or training room. You won't find a lot of  research papers for example on our site. We search for and create  material that can be used in an engaging presentation, a lab write  up, or a student activity. We also believe that material that help  faculty learn fits our definition of classroom ready so you will also  see things like reports on emerging technology and tutorials on hot  topics such as rapid prototyping.Mike: How do you build your collection, what programs do you have in  place and what results have you seen so far?Our NetWork and relationships, NetWorks staff of industry and  marketing professionals seek out resources using tools of their trade.Our National Externship Program allows faculty to gain knowledge and  skills in emerging technology areas that can be brought back in to  the classroom and disseminated through NetWorks. To learn more about  the National Externship Program, log on to matecnetworks.org