NECC Exhibitors Bring Ed Tech to Life

Friday, July 10th 2009 by Ali Rudel

I had such an amazing time helping the ISTE Connects team document NECC this year. With the internet at our fingertips, it’s easy to check out the latest products in educational technology, but seeing the top names in technology taking up a 473,000 square foot exhibit floor was overwhelming to say the least. Coming down the escalator onto the exhibit floor you are immediately greeted by a classic pink Cadillac and an Elvis impersonator (how Elvis relates to printers is uncertain at the moment, but if anyone has any ides, please let me know).

Representatives from Sony, Adobe, Dell, Microsoft, Google, Panasonic, Discovery, Texas Instruments, and so many more big and small companies were there to show off their solutions. I was able to interview representatives with products ranging from animated educational videos and interactive whiteboards, to Legos and Netbooks.

I was overwhelmed to see how many of the technologies I might not have even thought would be at an ed tech conference were there to show that they too could contribute to the growing number of resources for students and teachers. There were information and demonstration sessions going on throughout the day, with enthusiastic individuals demonstrating touch screens and new ways to turn in homework. And of course, lots of freebies.

Don’t worry if you missed out, we interviewed dozens of representatives to give you the short, sweet and succinct versions of their products and how they relate to ed tech.