CoSN’s 2006 K-12 Networking Conference Largest Ever

Record Attendance, Stellar Speaker Line-Up Make for Successful Event; Group Looks Forward to 2007 Conference in San Francisco

Ted Richane
The Fratelli Group
202.822.9491
trichane@fratelli.com

Washington, DC (March 15, 2006) – The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) released attendance numbers for its annual K-12 Networking Conference held last week in Crystal City, VA, and this year’s event was the biggest yet. 950 attendees from across the US and over 30 countries came to the conference this year, up 16% from 2005. Attendees learned about the latest trends in technology from leading innovators, saw the latest in cutting edge technology on the conference’s exhibit show floor and networked with peers from around the world at the four-day event.

“The impressive growth of our conference is due to the high quality of our speakers and to our attendees’ determination to learn,” said Keith Krueger, CoSN CEO.

The 2006 conference featured nearly 70 highly interactive educational sessions over the course of 2 1/2 days on topics covering measuring the value of technology, open technologies/open source in K-12, data-driven decision making, the value of expanding the core skills of school CTO/CIO’s, disaster planning, virtual schools, accessible technologies and AYP, online collaboration, one-to-one computing programs, federal policy and funding, emerging technologies, educational assessments, and online professional development programs. Speaker presentations will be available at www.k12schoolnetworking.org shortly.

Next year, for the first time ever, CoSN will leave Washington, DC to host the 2007 K-12 Networking Conference in San Francisco, CA. The theme for next year’s event will be Bridging Individualized Learning and High Stakes Accountability, and the event will take place March 28-30, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Center. This will be the first time the event will be held outside the Washington area.

“San Francisco’s proximity to Silicon Valley makes it an ideal location to explore the relationship of technology to enable personalized instruction in a high stakes environment,” added Krueger. “The Washington area has been the event’s home for 11 years, and we are excited about our move west.”

Information on the 2007 event will be available at www.k12schoolnetworking.org within the next few months.

About the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is the country’s premier voice in education technology leadership with a mission to serve as the national organization for K-12 technology leaders who use technology strategically to ultimately improve teaching and learning. CoSN provides products and services to support and nurture leadership development, advocacy, coalition building, and awareness of emerging technologies.

CoSN leadership initiatives include: Accessible Technologies for All Students (www.accessibletech4all.org); Cyber Security for the Digital District (www.securedistrict.org); Data-Driven Decision Making (www.3d2know.org); Safeguarding the Wired Schoolhouse (www.safewiredschools.org); Taking Total Cost of Ownership to the Classroom (www.classroomtco.org); and the development of the Council of School District Chief Technology Officers (CTO Council).

CoSN’s membership includes a unique blend of education and technology leaders, policy makers, and influencers from the public and private sectors. Our audience includes key technology leaders (often called Chief Technology Officers—CTOs) in leading-edge states and districts, policy makers, private sector leaders, as well as those technology leaders who wish to accelerate their districts’ or states’ systemic technology use. Visit www.cosn.org or phone 866.267.8747 to find out more about CoSN’s programs and activities supporting leadership development to ensure that information technology has a direct and positive impact on student learning in elementary and secondary schools.