Jennifer Cummings
Fratelli Group
202.822.9491
jcummings@fratelli.com

Washington, DC (April 2, 2007) – More than 1,000 educators, technology experts and policymakers from across the country convened in San Francisco, California, for the Consortium for School Networking’s (CoSN) 12th Annual K-12 School Networking Conference, representing the largest crowd ever in attendance. For the first time in more than a decade, the conference was held in a city outside of Washington, DC, and participants traveled from across the country and abroad to discuss the conference theme – Bridging Individualized Learning and High-Stakes Accountability in education.

“The energy and enthusiasm buzzing around the conference represents the groundswell of momentum building throughout the education technology community to uncover best practices to enhance learning and at the same time achieve the positive outcomes in education that are expected by administrators, parents and policymakers,” said Katie Lovett, newly elected CoSN Board Chair and this year’s CoSN Conference Chair, who is also Chief Information Officer of Fulton County Schools, Georgia.

The conference theme of individualized learning and accountability is receiving the attention of national education leaders who are working to develop public policies that ensure that students are equipped with the skills they need by graduation. Last Friday, in remarks delivered before a group of educators, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings stated, “As technology transforms the way we live, work, and play, schools and educators must become flexible and agile enough to meet students’ changing needs. And that means tailoring instruction and using time in more innovative ways – so that every child gets the extra help they need when they need it.”

A recent study issued in the United Kingdom by Cambridge Education concluded, “Personalisation (sic) is widely recognized as the critical next stage in global education responding to the changing needs of the knowledge economy…Personalisation is the natural evolution of differentiation.” 1

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives sent greetings saying, “We are at a critical point in education as we face new challenges of preparing students for an ever-changing 21st Century world. Students must be able to use technology to help them learn content and skills – so they know how to think critically, solve problems, communicate, innovate and collaborate.”

Plenary sessions focused on topics ranging from using technology to personalize the learning experience for students to leveraging technological tools to help students develop the 21st Century skills needed to navigate our rapidly-changing world. To gain deeper understanding of emerging trends in education, attendees participated in informative sessions led by education technology experts from the United States and the broader international community.

“We are thrilled to have such an unprecedented turnout,” said Keith Krueger, CoSN CEO. “The timely and relevant topics of our plenary sessions and expert speakers coupled with the overarching theme of the conference generated a lot of interest and are responsible for this great attendance.”

For more information about CoSN’s 12th Annual K-12 School Networking Conference, visit www.k12schoolnetworking.org/2007/program/index.cfm.

• 1 The Personalisation by Pieces Framework by Cambridge Education, Dan Buckley www.camb-ed.com

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: Using Technology to Raise the Achievement of ALL Students (www.accessibletech4all.org); Cyber Security for the Digital District (www.securedistrict.org); Data-Driven Decision Making (www.3d2know.org); K-12 Open Technologies (www.k12opentech.org); Safeguarding the Wired Schoolhouse (www.safewiredschools.org); Taking Total Cost of Ownership to the Classroom (www.classroomtco.org); Value of Investment (www.edtechvoi.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.