The rise in mobile technologies, how to lobby Congress successfully for more ed-tech support, and how Baby Boomers can help meet the need for 21st-century teachers: These were some of the topics illuminated by leaders in education technology during sit-down interviews with our eSN-TV video news crew at the 2009 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Washington, D.C., recently.

In partnership with JDL Horizons, eSchool News produced several wide-ranging video interviews with ed-tech luminaries at this year's NECC. You can view these interviews at www.eSchoolNews.tv by clicking on the subject heading "NECC 2009." Here are some of the highlights...

- Don Knezek, chief executive officer of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), which organizes NECC, talked about some of the ed-tech trends he has noticed at this year's conference--including the use of smart phones and other mobile devices to get technology into the hands of more students quickly and inexpensively. Knezek also discussed some of the areas ISTE will be focusing more attention on in the future, such as ensuring that teachers get the ed-tech training they need to succeed.

- Hilary Goldmann, director of government affairs for ISTE, described the Ed Tech Action Network and how it lobbies for more support of education technology. Goldmann also discussed the "Storming the Hill" event at this year's NECC, which sent more than 500 educators to Capitol Hill to highlight the importance of federal funding for school technology--and she revealed the advice participants got as they prepared to meet with their lawmakers.

- Tom Carroll, president of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF), talked about his organization's efforts to move teaching and learning into the 21st century. A key part of these efforts is enlisting the help of the nearly 78 million Baby Boomers who have retired or are preparing to retire in the next few years, Carroll said--many of whom have expressed an interest in teaching.