Databus Issue: 2007 1 01/25/2007
2006 CETPA Conference Highlights
Carl Fong Information Technology Executive Director
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2006 CETPA Conference Highlights
It was no trick but a treat. CETPA’s Annual Conference was held from October 31 thru November 2 in Monterey. Attendees were treated to new and exciting Keynote speakers, breakout sessions, hands-on lab, tech talks and a vendor exhibit show. Here are some highlights of this year’s conference.
Attendance
Attendance at this year’s conference just topped over 520 members enjoying the conference and the wonders of Monterey.
Keynote Speakers
Ever played a video or arcade game in your life? This year’s keynote speakers were Dr. Robert Moore and Alan November. Dr. Moore is a sociologist in the Computing Science Laboratory at PARC and a member of the PlayOn project team. Dr. Moore presented on the social interaction and practice in virtual worlds and the impact it has on our society. Alan November was motivating, creative and made the audience think. Someone indicated that “His ideas about global communication, collaboration, assessment, and critical thinking have inspired schools, governments and corporations around the world to rethink and redefine their approach to education and technology”. It’s a different world that we live in now.
Breakouts
An impressive number of breakout sessions where scheduled for this year. There were over 120 breakout sessions covering all aspects of our four strands: Secure and Reliable Infrastructure, Technology Tools for Education, Policy and Programs that Impact Education and Technology and New Learning Environments. Breakout sessions started Tuesday afternoon. One unique change in this year’s lineup was the fact that there were two sessions along with one-hour sessions on Tuesday. Wednesday was packed full with one hour sessions that we could not even fulfill.
Hands-on Lab
CETPA attendees were treated to Dell’s Intelligent Classroom for a 21st Century teaching and learning environment in the classroom. Microsoft provided a sneak peek at the new Vista operating system. Apple provided a session on integrating Mac OS X and Active Directory. While the Hands-on Lab spanned across two days, there were plenty more interesting Hands-on Lab sessions that were presented.
Tech Talks
Email here, email there emails everywhere. The Tech Talk sessions provided a session on “Taming that Email Monster”. There were other interesting Tech Talk sessions as well. Some of these included “Establishing Secure & Available Mobility: Wireless”, “Stopping Software Calls- Deep Freeze Enterprise”, and “How to get the most out of the network you already own”. The Tech Talks sessions are always great in depth technical sessions that members enjoy.
Vendor Exhibit
Another change this year included a vendor show that was open from 10 to 4 with box lunches provided. With over 140 plus vendors this year, CETPA wanted our members to interact with old and new vendors alike as much as possible. Attendees and vendors commented that they liked this new format and hopes it would continue. With over 500 attendees, it can get a little crowded in the exhibit halls but with the new format, I hoped everyone got a chance to spend time with the vendors to get that one to one meeting.
Golf
Neither rain nor cold could keep these golfers from CETPA’s annual Golf Tournament. While the weather was beautiful Tuesday thru Thursday, it turned cold and rainy on Friday until the late afternoon. Like the US Postal Service, these diehard golfers were out there putting away on the golf course, rain or shine. To you brave souls, I yell “FORE”.
President’s Reception
The reception was held at the Monterey Bay Aquarium with an overwhelming large number of attendees. For those that missed this event, words cannot it. You had to be there.
Summary
Thanks to the content provided by our membership, vendors, keynotes and invited guests, the 46th annual conference was a major success. We broke all attendance records, fill three hotels and received a number of positive comments from this year’s changes.
The best part of our conference was the networking and sharing of information among our colleagues.
In addition, I would like to pay a special tribute to those people behind the scenes, the Board Members, their friends and spouses and the volunteers that stuff all the bags, worked the registration area, and assisted the board while we got a change to enjoy the conference.
I look forward to seeing you all there at the 2007 47th Annual Conference at Indian Wells in October. It will be another exciting conference that you don’t want to miss.
