National Center for Technology Innovation
 

Presentations

2008 Technology Innovators Conference: Thriving in a Global Marketplace
November 20-21, 2008, Washington DC

Thursday, November 20

Welcome Address

Tracy Gray, Director, National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI)

Keynote Address: Yes You Can!

Jim Stovall, Narrative Television Network

Jim Stovall, Co-founder and President, Narrative Television Network (NTN); Author, The Ultimate Gift, gave a rousing inspirational and motivating keynote address to set the tone for the conference.

Panel Discussion: Future of Global Computing

Gregg Downey, eSchool News (Moderator); Gordon Freedman, Blackboard, Inc; T.V. Raman, Google, Inc.

Three panelists explored what the future holds for education, technology development, and around-the-corner solutions.

Lunch with Speaker Secretary Thomas E. Perez, Creating an Inclusive Workforce

Secretary Thomas E. Perez, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation

Secretary Thomas E. Perez, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation, gave a rousing address that stressed the role of workforce creation and economic stability is dependent upon an investment in human capital and the harnessing of technology to make the most of the opportunities and information.

Panel Discussion: Where Do U.S. Students Rank in Global Competitiveness?

Kevin Bushweller, Education Week’s Digital Directions (Moderator); Charles Fadel, Cisco Systems, Inc; Susan Traiman, Business Roundtable; Mary Ann Wolf, State Educational Technology Directors Association

This panel explored both the assessment data on U.S. students’ performance as well as the pressures from businesses to have a better trained workforce. The audience engaged the panel in the Q&A session to provide federal and state policy advice.

Breakout Sessions

Getting Serious About Gaming

Chris Dede, Harvard Graduate School of Education (Moderator); Chinwe Onyekere, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Alex Quinn, Games for Change; Ben Sawyer, Digitalmill, Inc. & Serious Games Initiative and Games for Health Project

Panelists discussed examples of gaming initiatives they are involved with and then opened the floor for a discussion with participants about the challenges related to implementing games as an effective learning tool—for students with disabilities and for all students in the face of limited research.

Power of Digital Learning

Gordon Freedman, Blackboard, Inc. (Moderator); Barbara ‘Bobbi’ Kurshan, Curriki; Anne Murphy, Digital Promise; Susan Patrick, North American Council for Online Learning

Panelists discussed the exciting future of digital learning, which has been identified as one of the top ten breakthroughs predicted to transform life over the next 20 to 30 years.

Understanding the Global Marketplace

Jeffrey Bigham, University of Washington CSE & WebAnywhere; Leslie Conery, International Society for Technology in Education; Annuska Perkins, Microsoft Corporation (Moderator); Yong Zhao, Michigan State University & Center for Teaching and Technology and the U.S.-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence

Four speakers, each working internationally, spoke about issues related to globalization as well as “localization”—the process of making a product work in a local culture.

Mobile Global


Larry Goldberg, WGBH (Moderator); Tom Greaves, The Greaves Group; John Horrigan, Pew Internet & American Life Project; Bruce Wilcox, ¡Aprender!

Panelists discussed the present state and challenges of mobile computing and the types, audiences, and uses of mobile devices. They celebrated the potential of these devices to improve education and accessibility for everyone.

Friday, November 21

Breakfast with Alan Brightman: Exploring DisabilityLand

Alan Brightman, Yahoo!, Inc; David Rose, Center for Applied Special Technology (Introduction)

Alan Brightman discussed the different perspectives of disabilities he’s encountered, ways in which businesses have alleviated or added to accessibility issues, and provided examples of how wrong it is to impose limits on someone who wishes to accomplish something (e.g., become a jazz musician).

Panel Discussion: Reframing the Market: What’s Next for Learning and Assistive Technologies?

Mary Furlong, Mary Furlong & Associates; Tracy Gray, National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) (Moderator); Larry Grossman, Digital Promise Project; Noel Gunther, WETA-TV-FM; Marshall Raskind, Schwab Learning & International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities; Jeff Zimman, Posit Science

The panelists discussed how the demographic shifts and other business pressures are changing their perceptions of the disability market and offered advice on how to take advantage of the changes to maximize opportunities.

Panel Discussion: Public Private Partnerships

Chris Dede, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Barry Fingerhut, Synconium Partners (Moderator); Larry Goldberg, WGBH; Steve Seleznow, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Robert Sinclair, Microsoft Corporation

This panel on public/private partnerships discussed instances of success, proposed frameworks and models of change for consideration, and answered questions about how states can leverage their own resources to implement their own types of partnerships.