SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH

5:00 – 6:00pm

"Making the Most of EdNET" Reception
Sponsored by RM Educational Software, Inc.
Learn how to maximize your time at EdNET and put the resources and tools available to you to work to make this year’s EdNET profitable for you and your business.

Kick-off Reception
Welcome to Chicago!  Grab a bite to eat and a cool drink while catching-up with colleagues and making new business contacts in a relaxed setting.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH
Monday Program Sponsored by BrainPOP

7:30 – 9:00am

Business Networking Forum Breakfast
Sponsored by Carnegie Learning and The Greaves Group
Join us for an informal opportunity to introduce yourself and your organization to fellow attendees in a brief 30-second introduction.  This is your chance to identify key people you want to meet during the conference and to let other attendees know your objectives for the meeting

Welcome
Vicki Smith Bigham, EdNET Conference Manager
Nelson B. Heller, PhD, President, The Heller Reports, a QED company
Andy Lacy, President, Quality Education Data  

Keynote Address
Charles “Chuck” House, Executive Director, Media X at Stanford University
Media X is an innovation program at Stanford University that builds bridges among the best faculty and student scholars at Stanford and thought leaders from influential companies to address questions of real importance within both academia and industry. Media X is focused on innovation and using research to fuel ideas and new paradigms. Mr. House will discuss what global broadband will mean for US competitiveness; why 21st century skills will matter to schools; virtual worlds, telepresence and the learning environments coming down the pike; and much more in this exciting start to EdNET 2007.

Welcome
Michael Salort, COO, BrainPOP, Monday Program Sponsor

Coffee Break
Sponsored by Berkery Noyes & Co., LLC

In the Trenches with the EdNET 2007 Education Executives Advisory Board
Sponsored by Atomic Learning and Promethean Inc.

Dr. Terry N. Bishop, Superintendent of Schools, Colorado Springs (CO) School District 11
Dr. Annette T. Griffin, Superintendent, Carrollton-Farmers Branch (TX) Independent School District
John Q. Porter, Superintendent, Oklahoma City (OK) Public Schools
Paul G. Vallas, Superintendent, New Orleans Recovery School District
James Wilson, Superintendent, Fulton County (GA) Schools
Join the members of the EdNET Education Advisory Board as they discuss their perspectives on current issues and how their districts are handling today’s demands and tomorrow’s promise. This is an exciting opportunity for attendees to gain insight into the realities in the market and issues that these influential superintendents are wrestling with.

Luncheon and Keynote
Sponsored by American Education Corporation

Paul G. Vallas, Superintendent, New Orleans Recovery School District
A true veteran in the improvement of large urban school districts, the new superintendent of the New Orleans Recovery School District will offer his thoughts regarding why public education has become inefficient and what needs to be done to make it relevant again. Hear his views on reforming public education in a way that will create opportunities in the market and also institutionalize excellence long-term in our nation's schools.

Transitions in Schools: Schools at the Tipping Point
Terry Crane, Ed.D., Senior Education Advisor, Infotech Strategies (moderator)
C. Jackson Grayson, Jr., Chairman and CEO, American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC)
Melendy Lovett, President, Education Technology, Texas Instruments, Incorporated
Tom Vander Ark, President, X PRIZE Foundation

Join us as this panel of specialists share their expertise regarding world class standards, benchmarking and performance improvement, and what the U.S. needs to do to ensure continued competitiveness in the future.  Panelists will provide insight into the models that will help guide our schools, teachers and students to success.

Coffee Break
Sponsored by RedRock Reports

Venture Capital and Buyouts in Education: Capitalizing on Current Trends
Jeffrey A. Fromm, Esq., Partner, Corporate & Securities Group, Eiseman Levine Lehrhaupt & Kakoyiannis, P.C. (moderator)
Clement Erbmann, Managing Director, First Analysis
Ransom A. Langford, Managing Director, J.H. Whitney & Co.
David L. Warnock, Partner, Camden Partners Holdings, LLC

At press time, the capital markets in the education industry are very favorable. Venture capital investments and buyouts are occurring at a strong pace and at high valuations. The public market for education companies may be opening again. With huge amounts of capital under management, supply of capital continues to exceed demand by companies meeting the market’s investment criteria. This panel of leading venture capital and buyout investors, moderated by a transactional lawyer and venture investor, will discuss their perspectives on the education industry, prospects for above-market returns and ways that promising companies can best capitalize on the favorable capital markets. This year’s Survey of Education Private Equity will also be presented at this conference.

Birds-of-a-Feather Roundtables
Sponsored by Market Data Retrieval (MDR)
Participate in one of over a dozen intimate discussions on specialized topics ranging from current market trends to marketing creative.  These roundtables will provide you with the opportunity to discuss your specific interests and concerns with fellow attendees, share and gain insight from their experience and knowledge, and make valuable new business connections.

Business Opportunities Fair – Exhibits Reception
Sponsored by ePALS, Inc. and Pearson Education
The networking continues over hors d’oeuvres and cocktails as you visit with the array of companies exhibiting at EdNET. Learn about innovative new products, find new business partners, and discover new opportunities to boost your bottom line.

Tuesday, September 11th
Tuesday Program Sponsored by Follett Digital Resources

7:30 – 8:30am

Continental Breakfast/Networking
Sponsored by Academic Benchmarks and Scantron Corporation
Start your final day at EdNET right with a light breakfast and informal networking.

Keynote Address
Richard Baraniuk, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University and Founder, Connexions

To any entrepreneur, the story of Richard Baraniuk’s brainchild Connexions coming about from frustration is an age-old tale.  Baraniuk took something that he felt could be better, and changed the way the world will look at textbooks forever. Connexions is a revolutionary online knowledge repository where anyone can create lessons through open source authoring.  It’s a malleable, paperless, modern version of the textbook, with education materials for everyone from K-12 to industry professionals ranging from art appreciation to binomial distribution. Join us as Baraniuk shares his story and vision of 21st century textbooks and the future of traditional publishing.

Welcome
Michael Johnson, Chief Operating Officer, Follett Digital Resources, Tuesday Program Sponsor

Coffee Break
Sponsored by Ligature Partners, LLC

The Future of the Instructional Materials Market
Sari G. Factor, President, Strategy Factor LLC (moderator)
Christopher Brown, Senior Vice President, Pearson Education
Frank E. Ferguson, President, Curriculum Associates, Inc.
William J. Kelly, CEO and Founder, Learning.com
Dr. G. Reid Lyon - Executive Vice President, Research & Evaluation, Higher Ed Holdings and Whitney International University Systems

Join us for a discussion on the 21st century classroom and the impact technology has had and will continue to have on the way our students learn.  Learn the importance and the affects the Internet, databases, interactive technologies, gaming, and social networking have had on our educational environments – and what to expect in the years ahead.

15th Annual EdNET Industry Awards Banquet
Lead Sponsor Texas Instruments
Supporting Sponsor Words & Numbers
Program Coordination by Educational Systemics

Relax over lunch as we honor the achievements of businesses and non-profit organizations that have made significant contributions to the education industry in the past year.

Assessment — How Data Can Help or Hurt Your Business

Monica M. Beglau, Ed.D., Executive Director, eMINTS National Center, University of  Missouri
Alvin Crawford, SVP, Corporate Marketing and Development, SchoolNet
Cheryl Lemke, CEO, Metiri Group

This riveting and interactive panel discussion on the state of assessment will look at how schools are collecting and using data and the impact it’s having on our businesses. We’ll examine the issues surrounding professional development, learn about new data to inform instruction, newly available research and what we know after seven years of focusing on assessment as a nation.

Second Life — An Online Venue for Collaboration, Training, Learning and Marketing
Nelson B. Heller, President, The Heller Reports, a QED company (moderator)
Peggy Sheehy, Information Scientist/Instructional Technologist, Suffern Middle School, Ramapo Central (NY) School District (presentation soon)
John Brecht, Learning Technology Engineer, Center for Technology in Learning, SRI International (presentation soon)
Claudia L'Amoreaux, Community Development - Education, Linden Lab

If you're thinking that online virtual worlds like Second Life are strictly for teenage "game heads", this session will be an eye opener. Some IT analysts see SL as a powerful new paradigm for online communication and commerce, somewhat analogous to that of the first Web browsers. And it's not just about avatars using text chat - live VoIP voice is already here. Find out why major firms have created SL "islands", why Linden Lab, SL's creator, has a new K-12 initiative and what innovative educators worldwide are already doing with this engaging new resource..

Coffee Break
Sponsored by DeSilva & Phillips

View From the Catbird Seat: Envisioning Tomorrow
Nelson B. Heller, President, The Heller Reports, a QED company
Anne Wujcik, Editor, News Alert and Education Market Analyst, Quality Education Data (QED)

Join The Heller Reports’ President and one of the industries leading market analysts while they lead attendees in an interactive exploration of where the market is going and what it means for vendors.  Panelists will interpret developments over the past year to identify the most important trends, market forces, and issues that will impact you and your business in the year to come.  This visionary discussion - one of EdNET’s most popular sessions - will both inspire and inform!

To purchase an audio recording of any of the general sessions from the EdNET 2007 conference click here.