Amid the flurry of recent federal policy activity around education and the role of technology, SIIA’s successful 2010 Ed Tech Government Forum seems a distant memory. A record 100 SIIA members participated in two full days of discussion with national education leaders on topics critical to the education sector.
2010 Conference Photo Album & Session Summaries
Among the highlights were U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s first speech focused on technology.
The Secretary challenged SIIA member publishers and developers of technology-based educational interventions: “As providers of educational products and services, you have a huge impact on—and share a huge stake in—the success of America’s students. So, I ask you to join the great endeavor to not just reform education but to transform it. I challenge you to put your talent and ingenuity to work to equip 21st century students with 21st century skills.”
And the Secretary laid out the opportunity: “As research gives us new insights into how today’s students learn, and technology enables us to respond as never before, you can help lead the way in providing a model for 21st century learning.”
The Secretary spoke at a joint forum before members of SIIA and the Association of American Publishers (AAP). SIIA and AAP issued a joint statement to “support the voluntary Common Core State Standards Initiative for education and its implementation through our members’ development of instructional, curricular, professional development, assessment and other resources, both digital and print, that align to the standards and are necessary for the teaching and learning of those Standards.”
The Forum also featured visits to 200 Congressional offices to advocate for federal school technology with partners CoSN, ISTE and SETDA representing state and local educators and administrators.
SIIA members can review summaries of all the conference sessions, including on Race to the Top and i3, Title I and School Improvement, the Obama College Initiatives, ESEA reauthorization, Common Core implementation, and Government OER Initiatives.