Pre-Conference Workshops

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

8:00 AM - 5:15 PM

Sponsored by The John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation,Goethe-Institute, Pearson
Foundation & Adobe Systems, Inc.

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

O.K., you are the person in charge of technology at your school district. What are the essential skills that you need in order to succeed? Where do you turn to continuously expand your knowledge base? According to the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the responsibilities of the CIO/CTO in all industry sectors have moved from being largely technical to being mainly strategic (leadership and management, fiscal management, organization and culture skills, and business skills). Yet, in the education sector, these are new trends and few people have the broad set of skills needed to provide strategic technology leadership within their school district. The task of identifying and developing essential skills for CTOs, a relatively new hybrid position in schools, is critical. While the responsibilities of the district technology leader/CTO vary by district, the Consortium for School Networking has developed a Framework of Essential Skills for CTOs.  Take a self assessment and see your strengths and areas that need attention.

Presented by: 
Ed Zaiontz, Executive Director, Information Services, Round Rock ISD, TX 
Robert Gravina, Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology, Poway Unified School District, CA
Sheryl Abshire, PhD, Chief Technology Officer, Calcasieu Parish School System, LA

12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

CTO 2012 is based on the latest cross-industry efforts to help school district technology leaders and CTO's understand the critical trends that will change their jobs over the next three to five years. Explore the new skills that will be essential to succeed. Join us for a provocative half-day discussion, including lunch, focused on three key topics: how CIO trends in other industries change your work; how emerging technologies and critical initiatives such as the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and Web 2.0 change your role; and how to communicate with other leaders in your district to garner support for technology.

Presented by: 
Bailey Mitchell, Chief Technology and Information Officer, Forsyth County Schools, GA

Bill Rust, Research Director, Gartner, Inc.

Preparing a School Culture for Effective Data Driven Decision Making and Determining the Value of These Investments.
MR410

Data driven decision making has been on the forefront since the onset of NCLB and standards based education.  Education leaders at all levels are being mandated to report achievement results, guarantee qualified teachers, and implement new requirements, new curriculum, standards and assessments - - - all of which require that the culture of the district value data and use data to benefit student learning. 
Building a culture within the district and school takes time and it cannot be done without investing in technology in the process.   However, investing in the “right” technology is challenging with surmounting budget cuts and very little new monies coming into the district!
In this workshop, we will examine what it takes to build a data driven decision making culture, focus on those elements essential to effective use of data, and demonstrate a proven methodology to explicitly understand and communicate the costs and benefits of education technology investments. 
Participants will:

• Hear from experts about leadership strategies for building a data-rich culture
• Receive information on what it takes to be the technology leader in a data driven decision making school
• Use a methodology and tools to measure the value of investment for proposed projects  

Presented by:
Katie Lovett, Project Director,Data-driven Decision Making Leadership Initiative, CoSN
Rich Kaestner, Project Director,Value of Investment Leadership Initiative, CoSN
Luke Fox, Executive Director of Information Technology; Richland County School District,
Columbia SC
Sharnell Jackson, Chief Educational Technology Officer; DAWN Project Foundation
Gerry Beimler, Director, eLearning IMPACT Training; Chicago Public Schools
Kristina Snow, Principal,Teravista Elementary, Round Rock ISD,TX

CoSN’s CorporateMember Council
(Exclusively for CoSN corporate members)
MR404

Opening Reception in Exhibit Hall
Austin Grand Ballroom

The opening reception is an excellentway to kick-off the conference. Network yourway through an evening ofmargaritas,appetizers,and great conversation. Connectwith friends,colleagues, industry leaders and exhibitors.All registered conference attendees are invited to attend.