Emmy award-winning actress Lily Tomlin will be the keynote speaker at the 23rd Annual National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), June 17-19, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX. Apple plans to have a major conference at NECC.
On Apple’s NECC Web site, it says that Apple will show technology that can help educators foster student achievement and address the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. Naturally, the eMac, iBook and Xserve will be prominently displayed in the Apple booth. Also, during the conference, Apple will sponsor an iBook Loaner Program and will provide e-mail stations for attendees’ convenience.
At the Apple booth, they’ll highlight iMovie, iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD, DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut Pro and Digital Media Studios. Their “Fostering Student Achievement” sessions will spotlight Renaissance Learning, Vantage Learning, Plato, Key Curriculum Press, Crick Software, Riverdeep, SRA and Beyond Books. Apple’s educator resources will include Apple Digital Campus Curriculum, Apple Learning Interchange, Apple Learning Professional Development, TeachScape, and Educator Advantage. “Mac OS X in Education” will spotlight Apple Remote Desktop, Microsoft Office v. X for Mac, and Xserve with Mac OS X Server. Besides the iBook, Apple will also tout the PowerBook G4, AirPort and the iBook Wireless Mobile Lab.
The company will also promote their “comprehensive services” for educators that include Apple Financial Services, Apple Professional Services, Apple Training and AppleCare. Finally, Apple will be show attendees PowerSchool, their Web-based student information system.
On Monday, June 17, from 11 a.m. to noon, Cheryl Vedoe, Apple’s vice president for education products and marketing, will give a keynote speech on the theme: “You can’t prepare students for the real world ahead with status quo technology.” The following day, from 10:30-11:30 am, David Dwyer of the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow program will talk about “Kids, Technology and The Need to Reshape Education.”
More than 12,000 worldwide teachers, administrators, technology coordinators and teacher educators from all over the world are expected to participate. NECC 2002 will include more than 450 exhibits of the latest in educational hardware and software, as well as local and national speakers, demonstrations, discussions and workshops. Convention exhibits and workshops will give delegates opportunities for hands-on experience with education technology products.
Tomlin will speak on Monday, June 17, from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. Other keynote sessions for NECC 2002 include: Hall Davidson, executive director of telecommunications of Orange County, CA, and director of the California Student Media and Multimedia Festival; Tuesday, June 18, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m.; Friendship Through Education Consortium, a group of teachers and students using technology to build education and personal relationships to address the causes of violence, Wednesday, June 19, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m.; and Toody Byrd, award-winning teacher, counselor, humor columnist and motivational speaker, Wednesday, June 19, 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
NECC 2002 pre-registration ends next Monday (June 3). Conference schedule and housing, registration and travel information is available on the NECC 2002 Web site.