Tuesday, April 19, 2005

A Conference in a Million

When I took my current position at Vermont Academy, one of the unintended consequences was inheriting a role of involvement with a conference called edAccess. edAccess (originally called just Access) stands for Administrative and Campus Computing Environments at Small Schools. The conference is unlike any I have ever attended elsewhere and one I would heartily recommend to any small college or secondary school, esepcially those considering Tablet PCs. (Full disclosure: my involvement is as a member of the steering committee the only perks of which are a really fabulous dinner the night before the conference and the really fabulous discussion that takes place at those dinners.)

edAccess is not focused on Tablet PCs, but they have been a topic of discussion there for the last two years. Discussion is really what edAccess is all about and the topics covered are always incredibly varied. It is not a place where participation is limited to warming a seat and hearing the "experts" pontificate. It is a place where it is recognized that those of us who are in the trenches are the experts and we share our knowledge with each other in a mutually beneficial give-and-take. Most of the conference consists of small forum discussions around topics of common interest. I can't even tell you what those will be this year, as the topics are selected by the attendees at the conference. I would love to see a number of folks who are involved in Tablet PC programs or interested in them at the conference so that we could share our experiences and help each other to make these programs the best they can be.

The conference this year is June 22-24 at the beautiful campus of Groton School in Groton, MA. More information is available at the web site, http://www.edaccess.org. It is a highlight of my year and I trust would be one for any of you who can make it, too. I hope to see you there.

2 comments:

  1. I too am in the market and apreciate all of your input.
    I only need one for my personal bus.
    Please look at the Fujitsu lifebook 4000 series for your school(4210) FPCM-10903 (2.0ghz), 10902 (1.83ghz) or 10901 (1.66ghz).
    optional 3-yr. warranty, international warranty, screen damage protection (2-screens per yr.) and onsite next bus. day for 3-yrs. all optional.
    Tablet combo pc. You can write even when open (non tablet position), intel core duo processors, bluetoth capable, cd/dvd drive bay and extra battery bay capable.
    Win.XP Tablet 2005, one note 2003, 12.1 XGA, 1-gig ddr2 667 sdram (2-512mb) 80-gig hard drive, dual layer DVD writer, Intel pro/wireless 802.11 a/b/g, finger print sensor, smart card slot, dual mic array (noise cancellation) 6-cell lith. bat

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