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Digital Content and Role of CTO during NECC

June 30, 2008
8:30-10:30 am
The Pavilion by Hilton
300 S. Alamo Street, San Antonio, TX
(Next to Convention Center)
Map of Pavilion

Co-Sponsored by the T.H.E. Journal & the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)

During the spring of 2008, the Congress on the Future of Content convened publishers, educators and education technologists at hearings in Texas, Florida, and culminating in a Summit in Washington, DC where they explored the future of content in K-12 schools. Witnesses included state and district administrators and responded to questions about their vision for content over the next five years, delivery of that content, and barriers to their vision becoming reality:

• What is your vision for content and how content should be delivered within the next five years?
• What are some potential barriers to implementing the vision?
• When will education reach a tipping point where digital content becomes pervasive in the K12 arena?

The traditional model for instructional delivery in schools has been largely focused on the role of a paper textbook for decades despite widely available technologies that are quickly making the phone book, paper maps, and sets of encyclopedias for the home obsolete. Within the past few years, a change has been occurring. High quality digital content and Internet-based primary source material are becoming more widely available and are being paired with valuable learning tools such as discussion boards and blogs. Educators and publishers are grappling with how to provide equitable access for all.

Today's generation of students is "light-trained" not "paper-trained", meaning that these children have grown up knowing nothing but looking at a lit screen to gather information, communicate, and connect with others. So educators are dealing with the perception that schools are becoming irrelevant because we cling to the "old ways".

Hear the recommendations from the Congress on Future of Content and engage in a discussion about the role of district technology leaders in stimulating a reexamination and adoption of digital content in our districts. Attendees will be asked to share their experiences in this area.

Presenters will be:

• Dr. Sheryl Abshire, Chief Technology Officer, Calcasieu Parish School System, LA (Moderator)
• Jennifer Bergland, Executive Director, Bryan ISD, TX
• Karen Fuller, Chief Technology Officer, Klein ISD, TX
• Sharnell Jackson, eLearning Officer, Chicago Public Schools, IL
• Ann McMullan, Executive Director of Instructional Technology, Klein ISD, TX

Join us for an interactive CTO Forum during NECC for school district technology leaders