The final preparations are underway, vendors are setting up their booths, and we’re putting the finishing touches on this year’s show.  The months of planning are done, and we’re ready to go.

We hope that you will be joining us for our 20th Ed Tech Day.  We have a great mix of vendors, presentations, and other activities lined up.

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make it happen.  This is truly the work of many people who have given their time and energies to put it together.  A huge thanks to Terry, Lisa, Lavina, Beth, Mark and Jessica on our coordination team;  other members of ITS, including the networking, telecom, field service, and business teams; the staffs of conference and event services, facilities, public safety, dining services and duplicating; our student crew; and everyone else who contributed, without your work it wouldn't happen.

Now, on with the show!  See you there!

-Dave

As we put the finishing touches on our show this year I've been doing some thinking about the show and how it has evolved and impacted the campus over the years.

I still find it hard to believe that this all started 20 years ago.  Quite a milestone when you stop and think about it.  Our Freshmen were not even alive when we held our first event in the spring of 1991.  Most of the technologies that we take for granted didn't exist in their current form either.  The computers of the day were the Mac Classic and the IBM Model 30.  

One of the things that I'm proud of is the way that Ed Tech Day hits on many different levels.  Obviously it is a place to see and learn about new technologies.  But it is also much more.  Professors assign their students to attend and report on a specific trend or technology.  Journalism students practice interviewing, event management students study the event's organization and execution.  More than 60 students work the event, experiencing first hand what it takes to put on a show.  It is a showcase for IC, with guests from just about every institution of higher education within 3 hours attending.  The local school districts send many of their staff and faculty; a number of BOCES vocational classes use Ed Tech Day as a field trip for their vo-tech students.  It's an opportunity for the campus to give-back to the community by welcoming local business and government employees to attend. These are just some of the many examples of ways in which Ed Tech Day impacts people throughout the campus and beyond, some of which may not be so obvious on first glance.

We hope that you'll join us for our 20th Ed Tech Day.  Although pre-registration ends on Monday, March 22 at 5pm, free on-site registration will avaiable starting at 8am on Thursday.  See you there!

-Dave
Dave Weil
Educational Technology Day Founder
Director, Enterprise Application Services