Conference Agenda for Monday, March 10, 2008

Monday, March 10, 2008

• Chris Dede, EdD, Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Learning Technologies, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University (Moderator)
• Andreas Schleicher, Head of the Indicators and Analysis Division, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), France
• Richard Hersh, PhD, Co-Director, CLA and CWRA Projects, Council for Aid to Education and Former President, Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Trinity College

Where can you make great professional connections, meet the vendors you’ve only spoken with on the phone, see equipment that you’ve only seen on the Web site, network and share strategies with colleagues and counterparts, have a cup of coffee, see friends from the past, and find

• Solutions to your most challenging technology issues
• Solutions to problems you don’t even know about yet
• New innovations, and, of course
• Small “treasures” to take home to colleagues who couldn’t come all in one place? The exhibit area!

Come visit our esteemed sponsors and vendors, who are here to share their expertise, show you how their products and services can help your organization, and help you find all of the solutions and innovations that you might need. We look forward to meeting you there.

15-minute vendor demonstrations of key new solutions. Demonstrations will be held during exhibit hall hours on both Monday and Tuesday on the far side of Exhibit Hall B—between Booth Nos. 511 and 512. Don’t miss taking part in these added-value opportunities.

Today's risks in K–12 include frivolous lawsuits, noncompliance with FERPA, data breaches, cyberbullying, Internet gangs, weapons, anonymous bomb threats, online predators, student hacker activity, and much more. This demonstration will explore how to gain visibility and control over Internet activity, which will improve utilization of network resources and provide automatic monitoring and enforcement of the district’s acceptable-use policies.

Key Points/Objectives
1. You can’t fight what you don’t see: Why monitoring network activity is so important;
2. How school districts can gain visibility and control over network risks; and
3. Discussion of the history of content-monitoring tools and what can be expected of these tools in the future.

With each tragic act of violence on today's campuses, news reports highlight the success—or failure—of the school's ability to communicate quickly and effectively. And with each tragic event, the number of notification solutions available seems to increase. This demonstration will focus on sharing best practices in selecting and implementing a rapid-notification solution, from integrating it with your existing data and telecom systems to training and managing usage policy, as well as determining the long-term costs. What has worked, and what hasn't? Of the many service architectures available, what makes the most sense for your district?

Key Points/Objectives
1. Trends driving increase in adoption of rapid-notification systems;
2. Best practices in selecting a rapid notification system; and
3. Estimating the long-term cost of ownership of rapid notification.

The College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA) is a 90 minute essay-based format testing for critical thinking, analytical reasoning, problem-solving, and writing ability. This is a value-added measure in which students are tested in 9th or 10th grade and again at the end of their senior year. The CWRA is based on the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) now used by more than 250 colleges and universities.

The CWRA is a performance-based, problem-situated assessment in which a real-life problem is posed and all necessary data and documents are supplied to the student via computer. Participants in this session will be given one of the problems and the data to work through it, as an example of the assessment’s methodology. Implications for classroom assessment, pedagogy, and curricula will be discussed.

• Richard Hersh, PhD, Co-Director, CLA & CWRA Projects, The Council for Aid to Education & Former President, Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Trinity College
  

M102: Developing 21st Century Skills in School and District Leaders
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision

Education leaders must harness the value of information and communications technology and reconsider the longstanding goals for technology integration that are systemically focused on student outcomes. What are the skills that educational technology leaders need today? In this session, panelists will discuss the 2007 revised framework of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, which offers such a vision. The panel, comprised of experts from cutting-edge districts and thought leaders from higher education and the nonprofit sector, will examine common assumptions and goals for technology integration in the context of the 21st century skills movement. More importantly, panelists will foster dialogue with attendees about what skills, knowledge, and expertise school leaders must have for evolving learning expectations.

• Helen Soulé, PhD, Educational Consultant and Former Executive Director, Cable in the Classroom (Moderator)
• Terry Clark, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Technology, Bethpage Union Free School District, NY
• Scott McLeod, JD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Iowa State University
• Christopher Corallo, EdD, Director of Staff Development, Henrico County Public Schools, VA
• Marianne Hauser, Director of Professional Development, Curriculum/Instruction/Assessment/Accountability Department, Fayetteville Public Schools, AR
• Susan Norton, Chief Information Officer, Communications and Technology, Fayetteville Public Schools, AR

M103: Diving Deeper Into Data for Targeted Student Interventions
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Education and Training, Team Building and Staffing, Information Management, Communication Systems

Are you struggling with mounds of data and trying to determine how it can be used to improve student achievement? The presentation will focus on best practices in the use of data for targeted interventions and explore how data is being used to improve student learning. Districts involved in powerful uses of data for targeted interventions will participate and provide examples of their implementation strategies and results. Come hear from districts that are using data to target interventions for students. Learn strategies for using data to differentiate instruction and improve the learning experience.

• Jane Lockett, Director, CoSN’s 3D: Vision to Know and Do Leadership Initative (Moderator)
  [View Presentation]
• Lisa Felts, 6th Grade Teacher, Robertson County Board of Education, TN
  [View Presentation]
• Carrie Luttrell, EdD, Director of Curriculum and Assessment, Fort Osage School District, MO
• Jeff White, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services, Fort Osage School District, MO

M104: Unleashing the Transformational Power of One-to-One Computing in K-12
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Education and Training

The number of one-to-one computing initiatives around the nation continues to grow, and best practices keep improving and evolving. This panel session will explore research-based best practices for beginning and sustaining a one-to-one laptop computer initiative. Panelists will discuss successes, challenges and rewards of teaching and learning in a one-to-one laptop learning environment. Attendees will also hear specific examples of how teachers’ and students’ use of laptops and inquiry-based learning evolved, the impact of one-to-one initiatives on digital—as well as traditional and literacy—skills, how to sustain and build on the progress and lessons learned about leadership.

[View Presentation]

• Leslie Wilson, President, One-to-One Institute (Moderator)
• Chris Lehman, Principal, Science Leadership Academy, School District of Philadelphia, PA
• Rae Niles, EdD, Director of Curriculum and Technology, Sedgwick Public Schools, USD 439, KS
• Elaine Wrenn, Technology Coordinator, Echo Horizon School, CA

M105: Assessing 8th Grade Technology Literacy: How Are Districts and States Meeting the Requirements of NCLB?
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision

The No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to show evidence of computer literacy at the 8th-grade level. This requirement has been widely interpreted by school districts and state DOEs, and compliance on a national scale is mixed. Technology leaders have been grappling with the definition of technology literacy, as well as how to teach technology-literacy skills and how to assess student technology use. How do district technology leaders develop and administer assessments to meet this high-stakes requirement? Should we be embedding student technology literacy into mastery of the content standards, or do we just implement an assessment to determine that every student is technologically literate by the time he or she finishes the 8th-grade? What is a reasonable definition of 8th-grade technology literacy? How will the assessments be standardized for all school districts? What will be the cost of administrating this assessment? In this session, hear a panel of technology leaders discuss local and state efforts to meet NCLB’s 8th-grade literacy requirement.

• Karen Cator, Chair, Partnership for 21st Century Skills & Director, Leadership and Advocacy, Apple, Inc. (Moderator) (Invited)
• Frances Bradburn, Former Director, Instructional Technology Division, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
• Kate Kemker, PhD, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Instruction and Innovation, Florida Department of Education
• Linda Morrell, Director of Instructional Technology, Media and ELearning Curriculum and Instruction Division, Cobb County Schools, GA
• Brenda Williams, Executive Director, Office of Instructional Technology, West Virginia Department of Education

M106: Down Under Leadership: Australia’s Innovative Efforts to Foster an Ecosystem of Collaboration
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Systems Management

Hear from innovative education technology leaders from Australia discussing school change and improving teacher practice. Profesor Dalziel will describe the new field of Learning Design, which goes beyond traditional content-centric approaches to e-learning to combine both collaborative activities and content into structured sequences of student tasks. Professor Dalziel has created Learning Activity Management System (LAMS), an open source system that provides a visual drag-and-drop approach to creating Learning Designs. Mr. Ingvarson will describe an accessible and practical way schools are affected by their IT choices. He will explain a digital ecosystem and provide a vision of which tools will enable what teaching practices.

• William Gilcher, PhD, Co-Chair, CoSN International Committee & Director, Media Projects North America, Goethe-Institut/German Cultural Center (Moderator)
• Professor James Dalzeil, Executive Director, Macquarie University eLearning Centre of Excellence (MELCOE)
• Daniel Ingvarson, Consultant and Independent Advisor, ICT in Education, Internet Australia
  [View Presentation]

M107: Effective and Efficient Management of IT Assets
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Planning and Budgeting, Systems Management

Efficient deployment of IT assets in education is no longer optional; it is mission critical. Educational technology professionals are under increasing pressure to optimize the performance of systems, processes, data and many other IT assets, while insuring highly effective administrative and instructional value. Budget pressures, constrained resources, and limited staff demand efficient management of various IT assets. This session will examine the management, acquisition, use, maintenance, and deployment of applications and hardware on a broad level.

• Ignacio Ybarra, President, Mizuni, Inc. (Moderator)
• Leonard Niebo, Director of Information and Instructional Technology, Brick Township Public Schools, NJ
• Dan Turner, Information Management Services Director, Surrey School District, Canada

M108: Finally! Results From Professional Development Action Research
Essential Skills: Education and Training

Ohio and Minnesota are using educators to conduct research on technology effectiveness. The eTech Ohio Commission offers competitive professional development grants to Ohio teachers to participate in professional development to support the integration of technology. The teachers also learn how to conduct action research in their own classrooms. Hear about two research studies conducted by these teachers and also about the outcomes of providing action research professional development in an online arena. From Minnesota educators, hear about three successful professional development models for building teacher skills in technology integration. Teachers work in teams to gain expertise with the tools available and develop learning activities using proven strategies as eMINTS, Big 6 Skills, and data for decisions. These projects have had a profound impact and serve as best practice models for technology integration in an era when schools are challenged to meet academic requirements with limited resources.

• Marla Davenport, Director, Learning & Technology, TIES (Moderator)
• Sandra Paxton, PhD, Educational Technology Consultant, The eTech Ohio Commission
• Mary Mehsikomer, Technology Planner Senior, Division of School Improvement, Minnesota Department of Education
  [View Presentation]

M109: Improving School Safety Using Your Data Network
Essential Skills: Education and Training

Spotlight Session Hosted by:

There is a major trend in physical security—convergence. IT and physical security are converging for multiple reasons, including cost reduction and increased efficiencies. New physical security technology is being developed to take advantage of existing network infrastructure. Organizations are leveraging network security features to authenticate and segment users, monitor rogue behavior, and implement policy-based responses. And industry groups are establishing technical-interoperability standards between physical security systems and IT. This session will explore how educational organizations can enhance the safety and security of their schools and campuses and improve communications with first responders, students, and parents by leveraging existing technology investments and taking advantage of this convergence. Case studies will be shared.

• Phylis Miquel, Global K-12 Education Solutions Manager, Cisco Systems, Inc.
  

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