1999 Florida Educational Technology Conference
Fact Sheet
Conference Review

From a press release provided by Jackie Perreca

• What is FETC?

  The Florida Educational Technology Conference is one of the largest, most successful conferences in the United States devoted to educational technology. Programs allow educators and administrators to integrate different technologies across curriculum -- from kindergarten to college -- including exposure to the latest hardware and educational technology.

• When/Where is FETC?

  The conference took place Thursday, March 18, through Saturday, March 20, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

• How did FETC begin?

  This annual event began in 1981 when a few Florida teachers and administrators gathered to learn more about emerging technologies and how they could be used in the classroom to improve instruction. In 1999, more than 12,000 participants from all over the world, and 4,000 education and technology vendors, met in the Orange County Convention Center to explore the latest in educational technology.

• What did FETC '99 offer?
  • Over 350 companies -- occupying over 850 booths -- filled almost 200,000 square feet of exhibit space, providing attendees an opportunity to preview and purchase the latest educational technology hardware and software to enhance teaching and learning at all levels.

  • More than 250 hour-long concurrent sessions were offered, which focused on the features, functions and benefits of technology and strategies on how to utilize it in the curriculum.

  • A panel of distinguished speakers from across the country were featured. Thursday's opening general session featured former NASA astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Ride is an accomplished author and is currently a physics professor at the University of California, San Diego. She is a member of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and is former director of the California Space Institute, a research institute of the University of California.

• Who were the sponsors?

  The major corporate sponsors for FETC '99 were Apple Computer, Inc., AT&T Learning Network, Compaq Computer Corporation, Computer Curriculum Corporation, Dell Computer Corporation, Knowledge Adventure, The Learning Company and Microsoft Corporation. Sponsoring organizations for the conference were the Florida Department of Education, Florida Association of Educational Data Systems (FAEDS), Florida Association for Computers in Education (FACE), Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME), Florida Council of Instructional Technology Leaders (FCITL), and the Florida Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (FASCD).

vol. 4 Iss. 1 Fall 1999