Editor's Desk

SHOWSTOPPERS

8/18/2008 By: By Kevin Hogan

from Tech&Learning

Three events this summer proved that despite general economic malaise, the business of integrating new technologies into the practice of education is healthy. Alan November's seminal Building Learning Communities conference in Boston was bursting at the seams with presentations and conversations among leading-edge teachers including our own bloggers Cheryl Lemke and Bob Sprankle. I had the pleasure to moderate a forum at Certiport's annual conference on the big island of Hawaii (I know, tough job), where tech-savvy students from around the world were honored for their work. You can read details about both events in detail online at techlearning.com and in future issues.

But the granddaddy of them all, of course, was the 2008 National Education Computing Conference, held this year in San Antonio, TX. Over 17,000 attendees braved the humidity and tchotchke attacks to check out the latest gear and strategies for the 21st-Century classroom. As always, Tech&Learning was there to capture the action. This was only my fourth NECC, but the buzz reminded me of the late, great Comdex shows of the mid- 1990s, where people were excited about the promises of the "Information Superhighway" and were professing that e-mail in fact would become an essential business tool. This year's energy for learning systems that work, as well as real-world classroom success stories, bodes well. Check out our coverage starting on page 30. It includes hands-on reviews of some of the products announced at the show. Going forward, look for concise feedback on all-new technology in our expanded reviews department, both online each week and each month in print.

Thanks for reading.

Kevin Hogan
Editorial Director