Here's a neat thing I set up to help the teachers/administrators of a small rural school district, Juniata Valley, get a better feeling for 'educational technology'. Though I did this in (about?) 1995, well before the internet was as prolific as today. Still, it ended up drawing teachers from across the state of PA. This sort of exposition could be set up at any school, library , or any public or private building for that matter, and though I wonder if it was worth my effort, it certainly drew a crowd to an event that was very much ahead of it's time. This sort of exposition has as much or more potential today, perhaps even as a combination education event / fundraiser. More thoughts on the "modern equivalent" in the final 'post mortem' paragraph below.
The problem...as a first year member of a PTO (Parent Teacher Organization), I heard complaints from teachers that, teachers would like to use more classroom technology, but were never given time to evaluate it. And I wondered, if they were given time, and money, how would they go about it?
The solution....I proposed was to set up a 'technology conference'. Much like a scientific conference or a trade show, the proposal was to invite 'educational technology' venfors to our school as a group, to set up their boots, demo's whatever, and to also invite teachers. Not just our local teachers, teachers from across the state. I knew it would be required to have a large attendance of potential customers in order to draw vendors. In other words, a certain 'critical mass' was needed to make it work. A certain minimum size.
Organizing the solution.....Brochures (thanks Chris Gildea) for the JVETC (Juniata Valley Educational Technology Conference were printed. A mailing list of PA school districts was obtained. A list of vendors was gleaned from various sources, mostly from advertisements in educational publications. Separate attendee and vendor cover letters were written and signed. Volunteers were screened and tasked. Envelopes were stuffed. Follow-up phone calls were made. Double, triple redundant folow-up calls were made until we had a commitment of 30 vendors.
Execution........ The day of the event, volunteers set up and covered tables in a large multi-purpose room in the school building (Juniata Valley Elementary) Vendors started trickling in. Broederbund, IBM, many others, I don't recall. Actually, some vendors came in a day early and checked out the facility, still unsure what we had sold them. Then teachers started arriving. Administrators started arriving. From local schools, county schools, neighboring counties. A number came from the major suburban areas, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The farthest came from Erie PA, a 5 hour drive. All expressed their satisfaction that their time was well spent.
Post Mortem......Based on feedback from the clients (educators), there had not been such a conference to date. The direct link between vendor and end-user, in an intimate setting, was superior to the national shows where these sorts of products had been exhibited. I don't recall the exact amount of effort, I'd estimate 40-80 hours invested over perhaps 8 weeks. The cost, a cheap tri-fold printing, and mailing for 500 school districts, and plenty of phone time diplomatically and persistently persuading. Was it worth it? Certainly I cannot speak to the success of the many many school districts who chase to send an educator or administrator, and I will with hold comment on the only one from which I have any follow-up data......Juniata Valley, the impact of the JVETC conference, held in the most formative stages of the districts venture into technology, is for others to assess. The modern equivalent might certainly employ a web-page instead of the tri-fold, and emailings instead of direct mail, though I question the effectiveness of using such a noisy advertising medium that "webpage/email" has become. The fundraising option seems viable if the event has been absolutely adequately promoted as to have real value as a marketplace. In that event, it seems morally acceptable to charge an admission fee to vendors, and perhaps participants, to cover the costs of assembling the vendors and hosting the event. The effort required is appreciable and certainly has value.
My personal follow-up, given the experience I gained organizing the event, was to run for school board. I was elected, probably because so, so few run for this thankless job, and served for 6 years. But that.......is another series of stories.
