Conference Agenda for Monday, March 10, 2008

Monday, March 10, 2008 (Continued)

M401:Spotlight on Assessment and 21st Century Skills: Moving Beyond AYP (Spotlight Session)
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision

As more of our economic competitors foster 21st century skills within their educational systems, the United States faces a critical challenge to keep pace in preparing our students to meet the demands of today’s global community. Assessments of student achievement, from widely recognized standardized tests to classroom-based measures, have become an essential component of educational practice and a crucial ingredient of educational reform. Yet while the educational landscape is replete with assessments that measure knowledge of core content areas such as language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, there is a comparative lack of assessments and analyses focused on elements of 21st century learning.

This session will examine in detail the importance of teaching and assessing 21st century skills and present examples of how two states are developing cutting-edge 21st century assessments to provide their students with the skills they need to succeed in a globally interconnected society and workplace.

• Ken Kay, President, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, (Moderator)
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• Frances Bradburn, Former Director, Instructional Technology Division, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
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• Margaret Honey, Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Research, Wireless Generation
• Stuart Kahl, President and CEO, Measured Progress
• Bette Manchester, Director of Special Projects, Maine Learning Technology Initiative, Maine Department of Education
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M402: Envisioning 21st Century Learning - New Research from State and Local Perspectives
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Planning and Budgeting, Business Leadership

Visionary leadership in the area of educational technology is often an elusive goal for both states and local education agencies. This session will examine the results of two research projects that address this challenge from different perspectives. One project chronicles the leadership role of New York’s Council for Technology Policy and Practice, which is advising the state’s education department in the development of a statewide technology policy. From the second project, we will learn about the results of the first ever Speak Up surveys for school leaders to better understand how school- and district-level leaders are envisioning the ultimate school for 21st century learners.

• Julie Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Project Tomorrow - NetDay .
• Cheryl Lemke, President and Chief Executive Officer, Metiri Group
• Ellen Meier, EdD, Associate Professor of Practice, Computing and Education & Co-Director, Center for Technology and School Change, Teachers College, Columbia University

M403: Powerful School District Examples of Data-Driven Decision Making
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Planning and Budgeting, Systems Management, Information Management, Education and Training

Today it is all about continuous measurable results, and school districts are becoming more disciplined and systematic in identifying and then solving difficult instructional and student-learning problems through the use of innovative technology solutions and systems. Three concepts constitute the foundation for results: (1) meaningful and informed teamwork, (2) clear and measurable goals and (3) the regular collection and analysis of performance data. During this session, school district leaders will present the rationale, framework, and examples of successful practical tactics for redefining educational reform by being purposeful, disciplined, and systematic in identifying and then solving difficult district instructional needs and personalizing student learning needs to include Response to Intervention (RTI) strategies, data dashboards, and by monitoring progress.

• Norton Gusky, Coordinator of Educational Technology, Fox Chapel Area School District, PA (Moderator)
• Sharnell Jackson, Chief eLearning Officer, Information & Technology Services, Chicago Public Schools, IL
• Glynis Lee, Executive Director, Information Technology Applications, Atlanta Public Schools, GA
• Lester McKee, Executive Director, Research, Planning and Accountability, Atlanta Public Schools, GA
• Andrea Waters-Winston, Acting Director, Learning Technologies Department, Atlanta Public Schools, GA

M404: What It Takes To Be a District Technology Leader: Voices from the Winner’s of CoSN’s Frank Withrow Educator Award and School CIO of the Year
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Business Leadership

Each year CoSN honors a district technology leader by awarding the Withrow Award for Leadership. In addition, CoSN partners with SchoolNet to present the School CIO of the Year award. Sit back and listen to the honored leaders describe their tips for using technology strategically to improve learning.

• Cheryl Scott Williams, Vice President, Teachscape (Moderator)
• Frank Withrow, PhD, President, ABLE Company
• Michael Burke, PhD, Director, District Media & Technology Services, Edina Public Schools, MN
• Darryl LaGace, Chief Technology Officer, Lemon Grove School District, CA
• Derek Roh, 2007 School CIO of the Year Award Winner and Director of Information Technology Services, Baldwin County Public Schools, AL

M405: Using Technology for Environmental Awareness
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Team Building and Staffing, Education and Training

Learn about two innovative uses of technology to improve environmental awareness: one in Singapore and one in New York City. Wireless Learning Trail at Sungei Buloh began with the intention to integrate technology with content for more engaged learning. This initiative began in September 2006 in Singapore with the collaboration of three organizations: the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), the Ministry of Education (MOE), and the National Parks Board (NParks). In this session, learn the principles of design used to create the trail for learning and the challenges of designing such a project, including the technical complexity, the necessary financial commitments, and the infrastructural setup. Also, attendees will hear about New York City's “Where Does the Water Go?” and “Understanding and Diminishing Air Pollution,” a dual, multi-discipline technology-integration program used in local middle and high schools. Learn about the major stages of planning and implementing the program, including the most important and successful elements, which increase student achievement, motivation, and attendance.

• Chris Dede, EdD, Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Learning Technologies, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University (Moderator)
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• Ling See Ang, Curriculum Planning Officer, Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore
• Rita Yap Siu Li, Curriculum Planning Officer, Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Singapore Ministry of Education
• Dr. Teresa Bader, Director, Instructional Technology, New York City Public Schools
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M406: Ultra Light Portable Devices in K-12: The Quest for a $100 Device
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Information Management, Education and Training

The one-to-one model of computer usage has been on the scene for years, but this approach has not been broadly adopted in part because of its cost. This session will help technology leaders understand the current trends in Ultra-Mobile and low-cost mobile laptops and how they factor into the one-to-one computer movement. Presenters will look beyond the technology to explore policy and practical implementation strategies. Participants will be given a copy of CoSN's EdTechNext members-only report on this topic.

• Darrell Walery, Chair of CoSN’s Emerging Technologies Committee & Director of Technology, Consolidated High School District 230, IL
• Alice Owen, PhD, Executive Director of Technology, Irving Independent School District, TX
• Robert Tinker, President, Concord Consortium
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• Leslie Wilson, President, One-to-One Institute, MI

M407: Virtualization and Consolidation: The 21st Century Network Infrastructure
Essential Skills: Leadership and Vision, Planning and Budgeting, Systems Management, Information Management

The K–12 district network infrastructure has become mission critical to all aspects of school district operations. While the cost of building and maintaining it has increased rapidly over the years, new cutting-edge technologies are transforming the network, driving value and simplifying management. Hear how two districts are providing better, more reliable networks, while simultaneously containing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and increasing access to students and teachers by moving from a physical to a virtual infrastructure. Topics include assessing your network for server productivity deficiencies and excessive cost points, concentrating your network infrastructure to achieve high efficiency and productivity rates and integrating multi-user computers, centralized storage, and virtual technologies to save hardware replacement costs.

• James Klein, Jr., Director, Information Services & Technology, Saugus Union School District, CA
• Brad Rudisail, Network Systems Manager, Rockdale County Schools, GA
  

Attendees of this session will learn how a major metropolitan school system is using a newly re-developed concept called application virtualization to address several key challenges inherent to today’s highly complex, technology-rich educational environments. Many school districts struggle with a common set of issues relating to the deployment and on-going support of software applications: (1) supporting many versions of applications and dealing with the inconsistency of applications between schools; (2) delivering applications and application updates quickly and efficiently to end-users when and, more importantly, where they need them; (3) increasing flexibility to schedule and use classroom space by reducing or nearly eliminating the software application barrier of availability; (4) increasing usability of computers across all curricula by transforming single-use labs into multipurpose labs; (5) improving availability of applications by reducing the potentialconflicts and problems of applications installed according to “typical” applications installation deployments; and (6) freeing up time spent on desk-side visits to support improperly installed or configured applications, and re-deploying support staff to engage in high-level support activities.

• Chris Lewis, Manager, IT Desktop Management, Information Technology Department, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

This presentation will demonstrate a new technology in thin-client computing that eliminates the two key bottlenecks that have prevented thin clients from being broadly accepted by educational institutions: poor video performance and weak USB/driver support for local accessories.

Recent technology enables streaming a full Windows © XP Professional client image to a thin-client, providing the student or teacher with a complete desktop experience on a client with no local hard drive or storage. Using standard, off the shelf thin-clients, a single tower server, and standard network gear, we will demonstrate the technology, showing the power and ease of this technology for computer labs, classrooms and administration. A thorough discussion of the technology will show its value in an educational environment: easier IT administration, better control of the PC environment, secure data-storage and backup, and rapid deployment.

This presentation will provide clear and simple guidelines for the suitability of this solution, and a sample deployment with full cost data for the necessary hardware and software. Additionally, we will compare and contrast this solution with a more traditional PC lab deployment.

• Greg Schmidt, Product Marketing Manager, HP Thin Clients, Hewlett-Packard

Many studies have been undertaken regarding the challenges of the information technology professional in the corporate world, but none address the special concerns of K–12 educational institutions. Anecdotal stories often center on a department that has too many systems to manage and not enough staff. Budget constraints, changing technology, and board requirements impact the abilities of school IT staff. 

A recent survey conducted by eSchoolNews, in partnership with SchoolDude.com, focuses on the top issues associated with managing information technology in schools. Attend this session and learn about staffing levels in various size districts; peer views on topics such as security, integration, and budgeting; and mega-trend information on issues such as SIF, On-Demand software, NCLB effects on technology strategy, and other hot topics.

Attendees will receive a copy of The eSchoolNews survey report and a white paper from the Software and Information Industry Association (SiiA) entitled Software-as-a-Service: A Comprehensive Look at the Total Cost of Ownership of Software Applications.

• Leo Brehm, II, Director of Technology, Sharon Public Schools, MA
• Leonard Niebo, Director of Information and Instructional Technology, Brick Township Public Schools, NJ
• Lee Prevost, President and Founder, SchoolDude.com

Sponsored by:

Join us for a reception and silent/live auction in support of our advocacy efforts to raise awareness of the necessity of funding for technology in our nation’s schools. During the evening, the energy grows when a few special items will be live auctioned.