Part of ISTE’s future, Lewis said, involves finding other organizations with similar mission objectives.

Strong leadership to guide policy, and a voice to speak for education stakeholders nationwide, are essential to discussions about school reform, according to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)—and this fall, ISTE will turn to a new leader for these in Brian Lewis.

Lewis, who will take over as CEO of the ed-tech advocacy group for long-time CEO Don Knezek in September, has a 25-year career in both the public and private sectors as an association leader for a number of nonprofit organizations, an education advocate and reformer, and an elected school board member.

“[ISTE’s] unique work spans the entire education landscape, touching everyone who cares about, works in, or volunteers in education,” said Lewis in an interview with eSchool News. “Most importantly, ISTE is focused on the right thing: serving students. Because of all this, ISTE is well poised for its next chapter. That’s very attractive to a lifelong education advocate like me.”

ISTE board president Holly Jobe told eSchool News that the organization wanted a CEO with association experience, who knew education, and who was an “entrepreneurial visionary and strategic leader.”

Because ISTE is currently transitioning to a new strategic plan that will drive the organization’s work, the board also wanted a leader who had business acumen, who was collaborative, and who could lead the organization “to the next level,” she said.

See also:

ISTE 2012: Educators seek the brass ring of student engagement

Lewis said that as the organization transitions to the future, its board of directors has set a number of goals, including an introspective look at governance, how it advocates, how it listens to and communicates with members and stakeholders, and how it partners with other organizations.

“I’ll be working to position the organization for the future it sees for itself,” said Lewis.

Part of that future, he said, involves finding other organizations with similar mission objectives, while keeping the focus (resources, volunteerism, staff, and money) on students.

“The need to … work collaboratively to achieve common goals couldn’t be more pronounced,” said Lewis. “We’re living in a new world where education nonprofits know they can’t do it alone. So we have to ask our fellow organizations and ourselves how we can collectively be wiser, thriftier, and more strategic in how we fulfill our unique, but aligned, commitments to students.”

ISTE’s board is currently focused on best practices in nonprofit governance, and Lewis says this is noteworthy because pursuing these changes in nonprofits is difficult, often controversial work.

Robinson pushes for more personalized education.

“Redefining horizons: Encouraging students’ passion to achieve” is the theme for this year’s International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference—but in what looked like a scene that was more appropriate for a rock concert than an ed-tech show, it was educators’ passion that was evident in the overflowing crowd that appeared for the opening general session on June 24.

Though ISTE traditionally has been the largest educational technology conference in the U.S., with dwindling school budgets and the growth of online options, attendance has been down at national education trade shows in recent years.

But at ISTE’s 33^rd annual conference, held in San Diego, the surging crowd and squished-in volunteers holding signs reading “Hey, it’s crowded” outside the opening general session suggested that educators are eager for new ideas in their classrooms.

And from the Spanish flamenco music beating from the ballroom to the bright red flames on the signage next to the ISTE stage, it seemed educators were ready to take student engagement by the horns.

“It’s investing in these professional learning opportunities now that means you’re investing in the future,” said Holly Jobe, ISTE president. “21^st century education excellence is a race, and the only way we can win this race is by holding hands.”

The night’s main attraction was provided by Sir Ken Robinson, a world-renowned expert in creativity and innovation, and author of the book Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative (one of many), who argued that education is at a crossroads as one of the most hotly-debated issues in the world. In the U.S., specifically, the future of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is one of the country’s most contested topics.

“Before I moved to the states [from the U.K.], I was told that Americans don’t understand irony. But that’s not true. And I found that out as soon as I heard about NCLB,” joked Robinson.

Robinson argued that school reform is never going to work through more impersonalization and standardization of education, because “humanity is based on the principle of diversity. For example, if you have two or more children, you know this to be true. You don’t say to one of them, ‘Wait, remind me who you are again? I can’t tell you apart.’”

One of the most important steps in making education more personalized and successful is to create a systemic shift that focuses on student engagement, Robinson said.

 Watch Robinson discuss education:

“I urge educators and those in Congress to really think about: What does it take to truly engage students in their own learning? What is the role of technology in engagement? And, what are the implications for practice and policy?” he said.

In an effort to explain student engagement from a cognitive angle, Marc Prensky, the author of two works on digital natives, discussed a concept from his new book that he calls “digital wisdom.”

“There’s a balance between what we keep in our heads versus what we can delegate to the machines,” explained Prensky. “We should connect our brains to the technology, but only in a wise way. This is called digital wisdom.”

ISTE expects 18,000 attendees at its 33rd annual show in June 2012.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) will hold its 33rd annual conference and exposition, with a theme of “Expanding Horizons,” June 24-27, 2012, at the San Diego Convention Center.

Presented by ISTE in cooperation with Computer-Using Educators (CUE), the annual conference and exposition is one of the world’s most comprehensive education technology event. Last year’s conference in Philadelphia, Pa., attracted more than 18,000 participants and nearly 500 exhibiting companies. This year, ISTE expects 18,000 educators, tech coordinators, teacher educators, administrators, and industry and government representatives to attend from all over the world.

“We’re pleased to return to this lively, innovative, and beautiful city for our 2012 event,” said Leslie Conery, ISTE deputy CEO and conference chair. “San Diego offers an inspiring backdrop for the engaged, thought-leading educators who converge at ISTE’s annual conference and exposition.”

“With a theme of ‘Expanding Horizons,’ our objective is to create a conference experience that focuses on how educators can fuel students’ passion to learn,” said Conery. “We believe that a comprehensive, digital-age education expands students’ horizons and better prepares them to succeed in college, career, and civic life.”

General registration is open now. Prospective attendees, especially those traveling to San Diego from other regions, should register soon to take advantage of early-bird discounts and because housing tends to fill up quickly. Housing, registration, and travel information are available on the ISTE 2012 website.

International inquiries should be directed to (541) 346-3537 or to eMail at conf-reg@iste.org.

The full conference program, searchable database, and conference planner have recently been posted and special registration for ticketed workshops, sessions, and events is now available. Keynotes and program highlights will be announced in the coming months. ISTE 2012 includes nearly 300 formal sessions, 400 informal sessions, and hundreds of opportunities for networking and over-the-shoulder learning. Get details at www.isteconference.org/2012.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not finished," Knezek said when discussing his future in education advocacy.

When things are going well, it might seem like a strange time for a leader to step aside—but according to one of educational technology’s most notable figures, that’s exactly the best time to give others a chance to take the helm.

Recently, two big names in education circles announced they’re stepping down: Donald G. Knezek, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and Anne Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Association (NSBA).

Both Knezek and Bryant will leave their positions in September this year.

“Even before I decided to compete for the CEO position in 2002, I held a strong belief that approximately a decade is the right time period for an individual to lead an organization … as long as things are going well,” said Knezek in an interview with eSchool News. “I’m very proud of what the ISTE family has achieved for learners around the world during my tenure of growth and stewardship, and I will have been in the position a decade this month.”

Don Knezek

During Knezek’s tenure as ISTE’s CEO, he:

• Completed a merger with the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), which helped to strengthen both ISTE and this annual conference, says the organization;
• Established a headquarters office in Washington, D.C., where he became a voice and authority on educational technology issues and positioned ISTE as a policy and advocacy champion for digital-age learning, teaching, and education leadership in the halls of U.S. Congress, the White House, and other parts of government;
• Increased global collaborations and partnerships. Knezek currently serves on the governing board of the Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE), part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The governing board of IITE consists of only 11 members chosen for their eminence in the field;
• Refreshed and expanded ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)—a framework for global digital-age learning, teaching, and leadership.

“When there is as much talent and leadership capacity as there is in the ed-tech community, it makes no sense for one individual to think about hoarding a leadership position or staying longer than feels right,” explained Knezek. “I sense there are family, friends, and other loved ones that I’ve neglected at times … and I think I’m ready to move into a role with just a bit less intensity. There hasn’t been a lot of time for anything other than ISTE over the last several years.”

The HP TouchPad was the company’s primary showpiece during ISTE's ed-tech trade show in late June.

In a dramatic reshuffling, Hewlett-Packard Co. is discontinuing its tablet computer and smart-phone products and might sell or spin off its PC division.

The surprise move comes a year after HP purchased mobile device maker Palm Inc. for $1.2 billion—and just seven weeks after HP touted its new TouchPad tablet as a competitor to Apple’s iPad at the nation’s largest ed-tech industry trade show.

HP’s Aug. 18 announcement is one of the most striking makeovers in the company’s 72-year history and signals new CEO Leo Apotheker’s most transparent move to date to make HP look more like longtime rival IBM Corp.

A decade ago, HP emerged from a bitter fight to spend more than $24 billion on Compaq Computer, setting the stage for HP to become the world’s No. 1 maker of personal computers. Now, three CEOs later, HP is changing course—hard.

The PC division is HP’s biggest revenue generator, but its least profitable division. The move has long been rumored, but just six months ago HP dismissed reports of the possibility as “irresponsible reporting” and said that PCs are “core to HP’s strategy for the connected world.”

The PC industry is under pressure from hot-selling smart phones and tablet computers, which have contributed to already weak consumer demand for PCs in the U.S. and Europe.

Even more striking is that HP plans to shutter its fledgling smart-phone and tablet business just a little more than a year after spending $1.2 billion on smart-phone maker Palm, which gave HP the webOS software that has been praised by critics but largely been ignored by the marketplace. While iPads, iPhones, and devices running Google’s Android software have been hot sellers, HP devices largely have languished.

HP thought it could turn that around with its HP TouchPad tablet, introduced in February and available starting last month. The TouchPad had security and manageability from the cloud—it pulled applications down from the web based on the user’s profile, rather than having apps reside on the device itself. The HP TouchPad was the company’s primary showpiece during the International Society for Technology in Education’s ed-tech trade show in late June.

More than 40 percent of students now designate online classes as an essential component of their learning experience.

In just three years, the number of high school students who have access to online learning has tripled, while twice as many middle school students are now learning online, according to a new report.

These figures come from the nonprofit group Project Tomorrow and its most recent Speak Up survey on school technology use. Project Tomorrow first released data from its this survey earlier this spring, but the organization has teamed up with learning management system provider Blackboard Inc. to dig deeper into the results that pertain to online learning.

Project Tomorrow and Blackboard issued a report on these findings during the International Society for Technology in Education’s annual conference June 28.

More than 40 percent of students now designate online classes as an essential component of their learning experience, with administrators and parents also becoming more supportive of this vision, the report says. In two years’ time, 39 percent more administrators and five times as many parents have incorporated online classes into their vision for the ultimate school.

While support for online learning has grown, so, too, has the untapped student demand for online learning as part of their ultimate school. One-third of middle and high school students say they are interested in taking an online course but have not yet, and 30 percent of third through fifth grade students say they’d like to take an online course, according to the survey.

“Online learning is transformative. We are just starting to see a generation rising through middle schools that demand online learning and have a clear insight into how it can change the future of education,” said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow. “These students are moving online learning beyond the basic learning paradigm and taking ownership in their learning process—creating an engaging, personalized, and collaborative learning environment.”

ISTE attendees connected through social networking, as well as in person.

What better place to use social networking technologies to connect with fellow educators and school leaders than at the nation’s largest ed-tech conference? That’s what was happening at the International Society for Technology in Education conference in Philadelphia this week.

Websites, blogs, Twitter accounts, and other social networking platforms were abuzz with the latest news, reactions, and updates from the show floor and from conference breakout sessions.

The isteconnects Twitter feed organized an #edchat that explored topics such as science instruction, textbooks vs. technology in the classroom, and project-based learning.

web20education shared a link to 99 must-have Twitter tools and applications, while KTVee noted that “teaching kids science only from a textbook is like looking at a travel brochure and calling that a vacation.”

briankotts tweeted a link describing 10 ways that Wikipedia has changed education.  Some of those 10 ways include forcing students to be more selective about the online sources they use for information and research, as well as encouraging “casual learning” outside of the classroom.

Developing communities of practice can help the National Ed-Tech plan become a reality.

The second day of the International Society for Technology in Education’s annual conference featured an hour-long presentation and Q&A session with Karen Cator, director of educational technology for the federal Education Department (ED).

Cator reviewed the nation’s progress toward implementing ed-tech projects and highlighted some of the plan’s top priorities.

“It really is a national education technology plan,” Cator said June 27. “How do people learn in the 21st century?”

The plan focuses on:

•    Learning: Personalized learning and true engagement can make for a powerful learning environment, the plan says.
•    Teaching: Technology has the opportunity to really augment teaching capacity in every single classroom, it says.
•    Assessment: For feedback and better understanding, educators must understand how people learn, and they should be able to take that feedback and improve teaching and learning.

The plan includes “the vision to transform American education and power up learning with the best tech tools of today,” Cator said.

But to execute the plan, several essential components must be in place, she said—such as broadband internet access, devices in all places where learning can occur (including school, homes, and libraries), and the human infrastructure necessary to support such a system.

“How do we make sure that every person who is learning is doing … what is the most productive for the student at any given time?” Cator asked.

Brain research could help improve teaching and learning.

The 32nd annual International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference kicked off June 26 with a lesson relating brain function to teaching and learning, and attendees explored how brain sciences might influence how educators deliver instruction.

Educators must “help today’s students prepare for tomorrow’s complexities,” said new ISTE President Holly Jobe in opening remarks. This includes helping students learn to love learning, and simply helping students learn how to learn.

“Technology does, and can, provide a gateway” to a vast array of learning experiences, Jobe said. “The walls of the classrooms are coming down.”

And technology can help students see other ways of thinking, but also helps them to identify commonalities when it comes to learning in different countries and cultures.

For more information on brain research and education, see:

The Science of Learning: How Current Brain Research Can Improve Education

Jobe challenged ISTE 2011 attendees and said that educators are not tapping technology’s potential in classrooms because they are not engaging students.

“[We must] meet them in their world,” she said, so that they can become “involved and engaged in their learning,” she said.

The opening keynote featured Dr. John J. Medina, who wrote Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Medina presented a perspective on how different physiological factors of the human brain embrace and shape student potential.

Medina told the audience that certain brain myths, such as the oft-quoted adage that humans only use 10 percent of their brains, are not true. In fact, scientists and researchers don’t know very much about how the brain actually works, but what they do know might help to inform instruction.

Conference organizers expect close to 20,000 ISTE 2011 attendees.

Thousands of educators, technology coordinators, administrators, and tech industry reps from school districts, government agencies, and companies around the world are expected to attend the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) 32nd annual conference and exposition June 26 – 29, 2011, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

One of the largest national ed-tech events, ISTE’s annual conference and exposition typically attracts between 15,000 and 20,000 attendees. Last year’s conference in Denver attracted nearly 18,000 participants and 450+ exhibiting companies.

“Unlocking Potential” is the theme of ISTE 2011, which is held in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

“With a theme of ‘Unlocking Potential’ our objective is to create a conference experience that advances the role of education and the skill of educators in unlocking the creative and intellectual potential of all learners,” said Leslie Conery, ISTE deputy CEO and conference chair. “We believe technology has a powerful and valuable role to play in achieving this goal.”

Author and developmental molecular biologist Dr. John J. Medina will present ISTE 2011′s opening keynote on June 26. Medina wrote the New York Times bestseller “Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School.” He holds joint affiliate faculty appointments at the University of Washington School of Medicine and at Seattle Pacific University, where he is the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research. Winner of numerous teaching awards, Medina speaks and writes often about the relationship between neurology and education.

“We’re very pleased that Dr. Medina will kick off the conversations at ISTE 2011,” said Donella Evoniuk, senior director of ISTE’s conference services division and executive producer of the event. “A deeply engaging and dynamic speaker, he offers a fascinating look at how physiological factors shape the human brain and how knowledge of simple “Brain Rules” can awaken the educational process and unlock student potential.”

ISTE 2011 features nearly 700 sessions, including workshops, posters, and bring-your-own-laptop sessions. These are searchable by theme, category, time, Special Interest Group recommendation, and presenter.