[school-discuss] K-12 Open Source Conference October 9 - 11, 2007

["Steve Hargadon" <steve.hargadon@xxxxxxxxx>]

The first K-12 Open Minds conference (
www.openmindsconference.org) is
going to be held October 9 - 11, 2007, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The
kick-off reception is Tuesday, the 9th, with the regular conference
sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, the 10th & 11th. 

For me, this is the must-attend
event of the year relating to Free and Open Source Software in K-12
education. There are more tracks and topics that I already want to see
than I will have time to attend. There are currently over 55 planned
conference sessions, covering a the use of Linux and Open Source use in
classroom, teaching, technical, and leadership aspects. 

The individual registration fee is $100, or $89 each for groups of three or more.  Register on the 
website or call Anthony Yanez, Registration Coordinator, at 800.940.6039
, extension 1348.

Holding
the conference in Indianapolis has two distinct advantages. The first
is that nice hotel rooms are available for under $100/night at the
conference location (Sheraton) if you book before the 19th of September.  Considering that the last conference I went to, the hotel cost for 
one night was more than this conference, and three days of hotel, all combined, makes this the bargain of the year. 

The second benefit is that the conference is being organized by 
Mike Huffman and Laura Taylor,
whose rich credentials in the area of actual implementation of Free and
Open Source Software in K-12 education are really unparalleled in the
United States. See my interview with them, and an audio recording of
their session at NECC 2007, on my EdTechLive.com website.

Mike
is also preparing blog tags for the sessions, and I'll post on that as
soon as we have that information. I hope to see a lot of you there.
Wednesday night is free, and it would be fun to have dinner and
socialize.

Steve

--
Steve Hargadon
steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx
www.SteveHargadon.com
916-899-1400