CoSn 2012 will explore the changing world of education.

Mobile devices and Web 2.0 participatory applications have become pervasive, yet our educational system is still based on an outdated industrial age model. The Consortium for School Networking’s (CoSN) 2012 conference, held in Washington, D.C. March 5-7, will reimagine what education can be in a world where learning is no longer confined to four walls and seven bells.

How can we create an educational system that is more participatory, more engaging and – most important – better at enabling each learner to move at their own pace? How do we move entire institutions to leverage mobile devices and transition to digital resources? And, how do we do this in a time of deep economic crisis where the new normal requires us to “do more with less?”

In the recent book, A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change, Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown argue that exploring play, innovation, and the cultivation of the imagination are the cornerstones of learning. They create a vision of learning for the future that is achievable, scalable and grows with the technology that fosters it and the people who engage with it. At the opening plenary, Thomas will frame a new concept of learning and then engage in an interactive conversation moderated by Karen Cator, director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education. Noted superintendent Mark Edwards of Mooresville Graded School District in North Carolina will respond to this vision and how it meets reality in a school system.

On The Horizon: Harnessing Emerging Technologies in Education, will feature the first-ever joint teleconference spotlight session at the CoSN, SITE and SXSWedu conferences.

What have been the most important learning technologies of the past decade, and how do we use them to reimagine learning today and tomorrow?  Join CoSN for a compelling and interactive session that looks back over a decade of findings from the highly influential Horizon reports by the New Media Consortium.  What can we learn from these annual reports on emerging technologies for learning, and how should they inform the actions of teachers, administrators, colleges of education, policymakers and the private sector?

Thanks to Life Size, this session will link audiences at the CoSN Conference (Washington, D.C.) with SITE and SXSWedu (both in Austin, Texas).   Join in this historic conversation that links leading education technology leaders, innovative teacher educators, and cutting edge innovators.

Don’t miss the CoSNx Keynotes, a series of short visionary and action-oriented talks on reimagining learning. John Seely Brown, co-author of A New Culture of Learning, kicks off the conversation. Bailey Mitchell, CoSN’s Chair and Chief Technology and Information Officer of Forsyth County Schools in Georgia, describes the district’s innovative Bring Your Own Technology initiative.

Nichole Pinkard, DePaul University associate professor in Interactive Media, founder of the Digital Youth Network, and co-founder of YOUmedia, explores how technology can link formal and informal learning.

Attendees also will hear from Institute of Play’s Arana Shapiro, Co-Director of School at Quest to Learn in New York City. Shapiro will tell audience members about a dynamic school using challenging, immersive, game-like learning experiences for students.

Ninety-one percent of teachers said they have access to computers in their classrooms.

Despite advances in digital learning tools and efforts to close the ed-tech access gap, school budgets remain one of the biggest barriers to classroom technology access, according to a national PBS LearningMedia survey of preK-12 teachers.

Although ed-tech advocates campaign for technology’s seamless integration into instruction, only 22 percent of teachers surveyed said they have the “right” level of technology in their classrooms.

Sixty-three percent of teachers said budgets continue to be barriers to classroom technology access, and in low-income communities, 70 percent of teachers reported budgets are their main obstacle. Aside from funding, teachers reported that unfamiliarity with technologies (8 percent), a lack of knowledge about where to find proper technologies or a lack of training (8 percent), technologies’ incompatibility with current curriculum (7 percent), slow/poor/no internet connection (6 percent), and other various reasons (9 percent) as barriers to classroom technology use.

Socio-economic status also plays a role in other areas: 38 percent of teachers in affluent school districts reported high levels of parental support, compared with just 14 percent of teachers in low-income communities; and 38 percent of teachers in high-income areas have school board support, compared to 21 percent of teachers in low-income areas.

Computer access is not a problem for the majority of teachers—91 percent have access to computers or laptops in their classroom—but access to “newer” technologies is. Fifty-nine percent have access to interactive whiteboards, and teachers in affluent districts are twice as likely to have access to tablets as teachers in middle- and low-income districts.

CoSN's efforts can help school leaders advocate for educational technology.

One of the nation’s major educational technology advocacy groups has identified five key goals in a new three-year advocacy plan that will help advance new K-12 ed-tech learning opportunities.

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), while celebrating its 20th anniversary, released its Strategic Plan: 2012-2015, which updates CoSN’s advocacy efforts.

“We’re excited to launch our new strategic plan, particularly at a time when CoSN is celebrating two decades of success in school system technology,” said CoSN CEO Keith Krueger. “We undertook this effort to reframe, refocus, and refresh our objectives, as it’s important to ensure that our goals and priorities continue to evolve along with today’s ever-changing technology environment. Our new plan does that, and we look forward to strengthening our organization and thought leadership in the years ahead.”

To execute its mission, CoSN identified the following five external goals:

Close the Access Gap: Increase awareness of requirements to close the technology access gap for learning inside and outside of school.

As educational technology changes at a fast pace, schools and districts must deal with infrastructure requirements made necessary by an increase in online, mobile, and blended learning, as well as use of digital content and tools.

High-speed broadband and wireless connectivity are essential in supporting schools’ missions to provide students with access to high-quality digital and online learning opportunities. Some schools face challenges as they strive to update aging infrastructure.

CoSN plans to offer more resources to help schools navigate the challenges that accompany infrastructure upgrades, deploying broadband networks, and working to close the technology access gap.

AASA 2012: "Big Conversations, Big Solutions."

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) will launch its annual Conference on Education on Feb. 16 in Houston, Texas.

This year’s conference will focus on “Big Conversations, Big Solutions,” as attendees focus on issues such as budget shortfalls, student achievement, and collaboration.

Conference breakout sessions are organized into different focus zones to help attendees make the most out of the conference.

Focus zones include:

• Board/Superintendent Issues – Maybe you are new to the job, new to a district, an aspiring superintendent, or a veteran educator who works with a board of education. This year’s programming will feature panels of your colleagues discussing board/superintendent issues and ways for you to deal with the myriad of issues that come across your desk every day. Learn how to build a great relationship, communicate effectively and deal with problems so there is a win-win solution for everyone.
• Management – Has the economy put a damper on innovations in your school or school system? Learn cost-effective solutions for surviving these turbulent times. Also hear about hot topics such as national standards, effective leadership techniques, using technology for data-driven results, social networking, and current technologies that can improve student achievement.
• Executive Leadership – The leaders of the future require extensive background knowledge and professional development in all aspects of executive leadership. Whether you are a principal, cabinet member, or head of a school system, effective leadership skills are necessary to transform public education. Learn how to build effective teams, use a systems-thinking approach for change, and understand what succession planning really means and how school-level organization increases student achievement.
• Student Achievement – Students of today must be prepared for a global society through innovative instructional practices, curriculum and technology. Sessions will include the hot topics of today coupled with practical application strategies to help school system leaders deal with unions, and pay-for-performance issues, observations and evaluations as they strive to improve student achievement.

Jamie Vollmer, president of Vollmer, Inc., will deliver the opening keynote on Feb. 16 and will focus on building public support for public schools. AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech will interview Vollmer on why schools can’t do it alone.

On Feb. 17, Rick DuFour, a former superintendent and educational author and consultant, will describe the specific strategies high performing districts are using to raise student achievement by developing the capacity of staff throughout the district to function as professional learning communities.

Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address academic leadership and creating a climate of success for all students on Feb. 18.

And on Feb. 19, Dr. Robert Ballard, oceanographer and deep sea explorer, will guide attendees through “education through exploration.” Dr. Ballard will share his visionary leadership in creating The JASON Project, a STEM model for the country, while running the most significant oceanographic exploration effort in the country.

Attendees will explore, engage, and embark on technology-driven adventures.

The Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) kicks off its 32nd Annual Convention and Exposition on Feb. 6 in Austin, Texas.

This year’s conference will focus on five “Es”: Embark, engage, energize, empower, and educate.

Attendees will find a bevy of opportunities in each focus area.

Embark: Meet and network with educators and administrators who love technology and want to learn more about classroom integration and best practices. Meet with like-minded professionals from Texas and beyond and expand personal learning networks.

Engage: Engage in a week full of professional development with hands-on and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, exploration of new trends through interactive learning environments, in-depth presentations from leading educational technology experts, and inspiring keynotes.

Energize: Discover leading-edge products and services in the 900+ booth exhibit hall. Explore leading technology integration products and services and learn more about what products are available for you to innovate learning in the classroom.

Empower: Listen to top-notch, nationally recognized keynote speakers deliver empowering and inspiring educational messages.

Educate: Explore new trends for innovating classroom learning experiences with more than 100 hands-on workshops and 300 presentations on subjects that range from the basics to the latest trends and hot topics in educational technology.

Tory Belleci, who works on the Discovery Channel’s “MythBusters,” will deliver the opening keynote session in which he will focus on engaging students in science and technology.

Kim Komando will deliver Thursday’s keynote address. Kim has built a media legacy driven by her passion for “all things digital.” She does a Digital Minute radio feature five days a week and has written 10 books about life in the digital age.

In a small shed behind a community homeless shelter, Stacey Bess taught kindergarten through sixth grade to children with no homes and little hope, an experience that effected a profound change in the teacher as well as her students. Bess, who delivers the closing keynote, discovered that by teaching and modeling love, self-worth, personal power, and courage she could reach children who had previously been labeled “unteachable.”

A teacher's power as a classroom leader and technology innovator will be a major focus at FETC 2012.

Thousands of educators nationwide will have an opportunity to explore new technologies and an ed-tech marketplace when FETC 2012, one of the largest conferences in the nation devoted entirely to education technology, opens with keynote speaker Tierney Cahill, a Nevada teacher, author, Congressional candidate and subject of the upcoming film, “Class Act.”

As FETC’s opening-session speaker on Jan. 24, Cahill is expected to discuss her experience running for Congress while working as a sixth grade teacher and having her class act as her campaign management. Cahill’s dedicated herself to running for Nevada’s District 2 Congressional seat to show her students that anyone can run for office. Although she lost the election, her experience winning the primaries inspired her to write a book that is being developed into a feature film starring HalleBerry.

Cahill leads an array of distinguished featured speakers, including Michael Wesch, a cultural anthropologist, researcher in digital ethnography, and associate professor at Kansas State University. He will discuss new types of conversation, exchange, and collaboration created by new media. He will explore what is at stake, what is possible, and how to create new learning environments for students and teachers to move beyond simply being knowledgeable to being knowledgeable (able to find, sort, analyze, criticize, create, and collaborate) in new media environments. Other internationally-recognized featured speakers include Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Marc Prensky, Julie Evans, Elliot Soloway, Rushton Hurley, and Meg Ormiston.

FETC’s 32nd annual conference takes place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 23 through Jan. 26, and features dynamic speakers, exhibitors, and events designed to provide K-12 educators and administrators with an unparalleled opportunity to explore different technologies across the curriculum while increasing their familiarity with the latest hardware, software, and successful strategies on student technology use.

FETC 2012 will present more than 210 concurrent and “BYOD” (bring your own device) sessions in addition to 132 ticketed professional development workshops focusing on hot-topic areas, such as digital content, future and emerging technologies, teaching and learning, administration, and accountability.

The FETC Exhibit Hall, a dedicated educators’ marketplace, will enable attendees to see and purchase the latest innovations in classroom technology from more than 300 companies, including education and technology powerhouses like Epson, Edmodo, Insight Systems Exchange, and AVAI. This hands-on, interactive environment is a key component of the FETC experience, allowing conference attendees to access the cutting-edge software and hardware transforming today’s education landscape.

ASCD will announce the 2012 Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA) winners during the annual conference.

ASCD is pleased to announce their 67th Annual Conference and Exhibit Show, “A Collective Call to Action,” will be held in Philadelphia, Pa., March 24–26.

Reed Timmer, Discovery Education’s chief meteorologist and star of Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers series, headlines the conference’s opening general session on March 24 with a powerful presentation, “The Science of Extreme Storm Chasing.”  Discovery Education, provider of high-quality, curriculum-based digital content to U.S. schools, is a lead partner for the 2012 Annual Conference and Exhibit Show.  Also during this session, ASCD will announce the 2012 Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA) winners. The OYEA program recognizes education leaders under the age of 40 for making a profound difference in the lives of their students.

Other conference highlights include Harvard professor and best-selling author Atul Gawande’s March 25 general session, “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right.” During this informative session, Gawande will share a systematic approach to accomplishing and measuring primary goals and will offer educators strategies for balancing mandates, standards, and reform-based assessments. Following this presentation, ASCD will announce the 2012 Vision in Action award-winning school, recognized for schoolwide efforts to ensure that each student is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

Year after year, several thousand educators representing a diverse range of professional roles, countries, and experience levels; leading education experts; hundreds of exhibitors; and journalists and education bloggers turn to ASCD’s Annual Conference and Exhibit Show for an unrivaled, world-class professional development experience. Over the three conference days, attendees will:

• Explore bold, new directions in designing and sustaining dynamic learning environments.
• Discover proven ways to expand great expectations and opportunities for all learners.
• Hear about effective models for redesigning schools for 21st century success.

This year’s conference will include a virtual streaming component intended for off-site attendees and educators interested in viewing select conference sessions live over the Internet or watching them in our archive at a later date. In addition, all nonmembers attending ASCD’s 2012 Annual Conference and Exhibit Show will receive a yearlong complimentary ASCD Basic membership.

On the evening of March 24, ASCD EDge® will sponsor a casual networking opportunity for educators who have turned to social media, specifically Twitter, for professional growth. This ASCD Tweet Up will bring together ASCD authors, important leaders of the online education revolution, the @ASCD Twitter team, attendees who contribute to and follow the Annual Conference conversation online, and those simply interested in expanding their understanding of Twitter as a professional networking and learning tool. The official Twitter hashtag of ASCD’s 2012 Annual Conference is #ascd12.

To preview the event lineup or to register, visit the Annual Conference and Exhibit Show website. To learn more about ASCD and the benefits associated with becoming an ASCD member, visit www.ascd.org.

The number of private universities deploying mobile apps rose to 50 percent from 42 percent in fall 2010.

Colleges and universities have made significant gains in deploying mobile applications over the past year, according to the 2011 Campus Computing Survey, the largest continuing study of higher-education technology use in the United States. But the survey also suggests that colleges have been slow to move key operational and research functions to cloud computing, and budget constraints continue to affect campus ed-tech services.

The 2011 survey shows big gains in the percentage of schools deploying mobile apps, and these gains appear across all types of institutions.

More than half (55 percent) of public universities have activated mobile apps or plan to do so in the coming year, compared to a third (33 percent) in fall 2010. Public four-year colleges also posted good gains (44 percent in 2011, up from 18 percent in fall 2010), while the numbers more than tripled among community colleges (41 percent this year vs. 12 percent last fall).

Private institutions also saw gains in mobile app deployment. The number of private universities deploying mobile apps rose to 50 percent from 42 percent in fall 2010, and among private four-year colleges, the number rose from 25 percent to 44 percent.

“Several factors explain these dramatic gains,” said Kenneth C. Green, founding director of the Campus Computing Project. “Students come to campus expecting to use mobile apps on their smart phones and tablets to navigate campus resources and use campus services. Also important is that compared to a year ago, more firms—both LMS and ERP providers—now offer mobile options for their campus clients.”

Green, who unveiled the 2011 survey’s findings during the EDUCAUSE educational technology conference in Philadelphia, noted that some ed-tech providers now offer free mobile apps, which means the cost of going mobile has changed dramatically in the past year.

Other ed-tech providers have launched services to help colleges and universities create their own campus apps. For instance, AT&T demonstrated a service called MEAP during EDUCAUSE. MEAP, which stands for “Mobile Enterprise Application Platform,” helps colleges tie their back-office systems together and make these services available as a mobile app.

Keynote speakers include include Seth Godin, an author, entrepreneur, and change agent.

EDUCAUSE 2011 takes place Oct. 18-21 in Philadelphia, and this year’s conference will let higher education leaders network, focus, discover, and inspire.

The conference will touch on administration, teaching and learning, information technology infrastructure, information systems, cybersecurity, policy, library systems and information technology leadership.

This year’s domains (formerly tracks) include:
Enterprise information systems and services; information security and privacy protection; infrastructure; leadership, governance, and management; libraries, eResearch, and digital content; support strategies and services; teaching and learning; and web and media development.

More than 34 themes abound this year, including business intelligence, implications of cloud services, data management, and mobile services.

Following the conference theme, users will:

• Network: Engage with peers who share similar interests and challenges.
• Focus: Sort the program by topical themes and domains, speakers, and relevant interest areas to find exactly what you need.
• Discover: Engage in affinity group sessions, special topic discussion sessions, and lightning rounds.
• Inspire: Be inspired by forward-thinking speakers who challenge you to look to the future.

Keynote speakers include Seth Godin, an author, entrepreneur, and change agent; danah boyd, a social scientist with Microsoft Research, and Michael McRobbie, president of Indiana University.

Attendees can find the 2011 program here.

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