NCTI Conference '07

Representing the Federation Employment and Guidance Service, Inc. (F·E·G·S), the largest human service organization in the United States, Al Miller demonstrated the power of leveraging public-private partnerships to improve the overall quality of life and maximize independence for individuals with special needs. Based on his tenure of over 40 years at F·E·G·S, Al outlined the blueprint for integrating technology that leads to greater incentives for innovation.

This session provided an excellent vehicle for participants to hear from leading national philanthropic organizations regarding the impact of investment in shaping the marketplace of ideas and innovation.

Today, more than ever, it is critical that technology products, devices, and tools have evidence pointing to their effectiveness. Panelists discussed the latest findings driving the field, and the best practices gleaned from the research. A lively conversation followed outlining effective strategies to communicate research-based findings in user-friendly terms to public and practitioner audiences.

Jim Fruchterman’s model for Benetech, a leading solution representing socially motivated technology applications, is a visionary example of leveraging the power of the social network to enhance lives. As a leading social entrepreneur and technology developer, Jim highlighted his experiences in creating ground-breaking solutions that allow all individuals to achieve equality in society.

Check out Julie Duffield’s take on the 2007 NCTI Technology Innovators Conference. Here is an excerpt:
…An important part of this conference is connecting researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and policy makers. It was inspiring to hear from innovators and social entrepreneurs like Jim Fruchterman from the nonprofit technology company, Benetech. Recently, Benetech was selected by the Office of [...]

The 2007 Conference’s Technology Expo showcased over 2 dozen vendors, product prototypes, services and other great assistive and learning technology innovations.  This year, NCTI sponsored a Peer Award for the Brightest Idea in 2007.Â
But how do you select a winner among the variety of powerful reading products,  science and math programs, evaluation tools, and other really cool innovations?   With [...]

To help you re-live the fun and great presentations at the NCTI’s 2007 Conference, we have created this slideshow. If you missed the conference, here is your chance to catch a glimpse.

During the final session, NCTI conference speaker Al Miller presented a vision of cross-sector collaboration (profit, non-profit and government) to create solutions that are both more effective and less costly.
Fourth Sector enterprises, as he calls them, take the best of each sector to maximize social good (what NCTI Keynote speaker, Jim Fruchterman calls [...]

We asked NCTI ‘07 conference participants about the greatest challenges in each stage of the innovation process. Here are the specific questions and answers:

Are the results surprising, or expected? Share your thoughts below.
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NOAA, CDC, and US Department of Homeland Security have started using Second Life as a tool for their agencies or interacting with the public. As more federal agencies delve into Second Life and other emerging technologies, issues of accessibility become more important — with more participants. If the second life (or other) platforms are used [...]

One emerging theme during the NCTI conference is the question not of innovation, but of our ability put it to work.
Jim Fruchterman, in his keynote, described an initiative in Bangladesh to launch Wi-Max (fast wireless Internet) countrywide over the next couple of years. Bangeledesh will have better Internet Access than Silicon Valley. Jim says that [...]

Whether or not you saw the NCTI conference’s opening video, you won’t want to miss its message, that we are living in exponetial times. The impact of population density in different parts of the world, and growth of education worldwide, foretells big changes. It also underscores the need to keep-connected with emerging trends, or fall [...]

Conference day approaches, and with it office talk about the nuts and bolts of innovation. Putting together some materials for the big day, the NCTI team worked through the process of creating new technologies and tools for students with special needs. With five main steps, five disciplines, five sets of skills to [...]

Conference Prelude (11/09/2007) – This morning’s eSchool news features a piece on its “Best of the Education Blog” awards which celebrate the uses of blogging technology in and around schools. But how might blogs also help researchers, entrepreneurs and policy-makers bring to fruition better tools and techniques to help students with special needs? [...]