Program Highlights
Exhibits
The exhibit floor is an integral part of the conference's professional development opportunities. Participants should use the exclusive exhibit hall hours to visit with vendors and learn about their innovative new products and services that can help meet your district’s needs and provide solutions. Attendees are encouraged to schedule appointments to meet one-on-one with vendors to gain information about new products and services. The exhibit hall is closed during educational sessions to allow exhibit staff to attend sessions or schedule one-on-one appointments with attendees.
Birds-of-a-Feather Roundtable Luncheon (March 29, 2007)
Participating in one of the small group discussions during the lunch period gives participants the opportunity to connect with industry experts and their peers to discuss current issues, hot topics, cutting edge technology solutions and/or applications, exchange information and serve as an information resource to attendees. Informal roundtables will be set for 10 participants each.
Exhibitor Demonstrations/Mini Tutorials
Select sponsors and exhibitors will host 15-minute demonstrations/mini-tutorials in the back of the exhibit hall during exhibit hall hours. Demonstrations may provide attendees with information on new technologies, products, or services, share cutting-edge examples of innovative new tools, or serve as a forum on the latest industry trends. Demonstration topics and times will be posted on the conference website in early March and in the conference program book.
CoSN/SIIA Feedback Focus Group (by invitation only)
Sponsored by: IBM Global Education, Apple, Dell, Pearson Education, SAS inSchool, Gateway, Mitel Networks Corporation, SchoolNet, Inc., Texas Instruments Incorporated
CoSN and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), in partnership with The Winter Group, will
host a focus group, for district and state technology leaders to frame challenges they are facing and discuss
key education technology issues in a focus group setting. Each forum has a specific focus of interest and concern
to the K-12 education community, as well as to SIIA-member education technology companies. The Focus Group is by
invitation only. Pre-registration is required. For more information, see www.cosn.org/events/feedback_focus_groups/.
CTO Leadership Forum: Professional Development/Certification for the K-12 CTO
Sponsored by: IBM Global Education, Apple, Dell, Pearson Education, SAS inSchool, Gateway, Mitel Networks Corporation, SchoolNet, Inc., Texas Instruments Incorporated
Media Partner: District Administration Magazine
CoSN’s CTO Council provides a forum for district-level technology directors to discuss significant issues, share information with their peers and keep up-to-date on best practices and solutions to the challenges they are facing in the education technology arena.
2007 CoSN Leadership Awards
Media Partner: Scholastic Administr@tor
CoSN annually recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding vision in employing the use of
information technologies and the Internet in K-12 education to improve learning. CoSN bestows awards in
three categories for which the winners are nominated by their peers: the TEAM Award for Transformation; the
Frank Withrow Award for Educators; and, the Award for Excellence in Public Service. In addition, CoSN also
recognizes a Private Sector Champion and CoSN Volunteer of the Year Award; however these awards are not open
to nominations. These four categories represent the major roles that are played by leaders to ensure schools
use technology to transform the learning environment. For more information, see www.cosn.org/about/awards/.
A Night of Empowering Ed Tech Advocates: 3rd Annual CoSN Reception/Silent Auction for Advocacy (March 29, 2007)
Sponsored by: ADC Foundation, HP, Pearson Education, and SchoolNet, Inc.
Join CoSN for a reception and silent auction in support of our advocacy efforts to raise awareness of the
necessity of funding for technology in our nation’s schools. Please help ensure that policymakers continue
to hear from educators about the value of investments in technology by donating an item to be auctioned or
making a bid during the live event. For more information, see the advocacy section of this site.
One-to-One Leadership Summit (by invitation only)
Sponsored by: Absolute Software Corporation, Anywhere, Anytime Learning Foundation, and SMART Technologies Inc.
This event is for district leaders who are currently implementing or planning to implement one-to-one laptop programs. Round table discussions will cover a variety of topics such as professional development, leadership, sustainability, and more. Technology directors, superintendents and other top administrators will be among the participants. For more information on this event, please contact Alice Owen.
Spotlight Sessions
Spotlight Sessions are a special category of concurrent sessions that feature topics of high-interest presented by established leaders in the education technology community.
Vendor-Hosted Spotlighht Sessions
These sessions are educator-focused presentations hosted by a CoSN Corporate Sponsor.
Concurrent Sessions
Concurrent sessions provide engaging content that covers vital issues and topics of importance to the K-12 education technology community and includes best practice case studies. Presentations will be conducted by leaders in the field who are transforming processes to improve overall effectiveness in teaching and learning. Concurrent sessions are 60-minute or 45-minute lecture-style presentations given by a single speaker, team or panel.
- Leadership and Vision: Works closely with the executive cabinet and stakeholders to create a vision for how technology will support the district's strategic goals.
- Planning and Budgeting: Works with the instructional and technical teams to identify the steps needed to meet strategic goals and a budget that takes into account the total cost of implementing technology solutions.
- Team Building and Staffing: Creates and supports cross-functional teams for decision-making, technology support, professional development, and other aspects of the district's technology program.
- Systems Management: Directs, coordinates, and ensures the implementation of all tasks related to: the development of technical specifications and infrastructure decisions; the selection, purchasing, installation and maintenance of IT; and the integration of technology into every facet of operations.
- Information Management: Oversees the establishment and maintenance of systems and tools for gathering, mining, integrating and reporting data in usable and meaningful ways.
- Business Leadership: Serves as a strong business leader who guides purchasing decisions, assists in determining the "return on investment" for all technology implementations, and fosters good relationships with vendors, potential funders, and other key groups.
- Education and Training: Budgets, plans for and coordinates on-going, purposeful professional development for all staff using new technologies.
- Ethics and Policies: Oversees the creation, implementation and enforcement of policies and educational programs related to the social, legal and ethical issues involved in technology use throughout the district.
- Communication Systems: Directs and coordinates the use of e-mail, district web sites, voicemail systems and other forms of communication technology to facilitate decision-making, dialog and effective communication with the community and other key stakeholders.
Pre-conference Workshops
The Cost of Technology - Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Training, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Cyber Security: A Reality Check, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Measuring the Value of Investment for Technology, 1:00 PM-5:00 PM
3D, NCLB, & Me—Realizing the Benefits of Interoperability, 1:00 PM-5:00 PM
For more information on the pre-conference workshops, please see the Pre-Conference Agenda.
Pre-registration is required. Additional fees apply.
