FSU Professor, Ph.D. Student, and Alumnus pull together for conference Janklow Hosts Major Conference On School Technology Pierre, South Dakota More than one dozen natioanlly-recognized experts in distance learning and school technology will gather at the State Capitol for two days next week to work with Gov. Bill Janklow and other leaders on the future of South Dakota's schools. "We have brought together some of the finest talent in the world in distance education to sit down together and discuss where do we go and how do we get there," Janklow said. The day-long sessions began Monday, July 17, when the outside experts share their experiences and their ideas for the statewide Digital Dakota Network, the new intranet system that this fall connects all of South Dakota's schools for desktop computing as well as video-conference classes. The second day of sessions was Tuesday, July 18, when a broad range of specially-selected educators, business people, legislators and other South Dakota leaders join the meeting to discuss the ideas and suggestions offered by the Monday group. The proceedings both days will be videotaped for a future documentary program. The South Dakota participants will be provided with information from the conference to take with them to their communities. "We've wired our schools for technology. We've trained several thousands of our teachers 200 hours apiece in technology and we're training more. We're paying many of our university faculty to work the summer and develop new methods of teaching using technology. We've created a five-person state Office of Education Technology to search our state, the country and the world for good ideas. What we have done in South Dakota is unmatched in the nation, and now we have to go to that next step and work out our plan on how we put all of this to its best and most effective use," Janklow said. Dr. Dale Lick Senior Researcher, LSI Program Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Dlick@lsi.fsu.edu Dr. Dale Lick, a past president of Georgia Southern University, University of Maine, and Florida State University, and presently University Professor and Associate Director of the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University, teaches in the Department of Educational Leadership and works on educational (K-12 and Higher Education) and organizational projects involving transformational leadership, change creation (leading and managing change), learning organizations, distance and distributed learning, new learning systems, strategic planning, and visioning. A mathematician by academic training, Dr. Lick previously held administrative and faculty positions at Port Huron Junior College, University of Tennessee, Drexel University, Russell Sage College, and Old Dominion University. He also served as a visiting research mathematician at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, an adjunct professor of bio-mathematics at Temple University, and a scientific consultant to the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Included in 40 national and international biographical listings, Dr. Lick is the author of over 50 professional books, articles and proceedings, and 285 original newspaper columns. His most recent books are: Whole-Faculty Study Groups: A Powerful Way to Change Schools and Enhance Learning (with Carlene Murphy), Corwin Press, 1998; New Directions in Mentoring: Creating a Culture of Synergy (with Carol Mullen), Falmer Press (London), 1999; Whole-Faculty Study Groups: Creating Student-Based Professional Development (with Carlene Murphy), 2000; and The TEN Keys to the Future of Higher Education (with Daryl Conner), in progress. Dr. Lick received Bachelor and Master's degrees from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Riverside. Further, Dr. Lick holds all three levels of formal training and certification for Leading and Managing Organizational Change: Change Knowledge, Instructor/Trainer, and Consultation Skills, from the international change research and development organization, ODR, Inc., Atlanta, GA, and has completed formal programs "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (Stephen Covey) and "Learning Organizations" (Peter Senge). Judy Converso Senior Program Director Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Jconverso@lsi.fsu.edu Judy Converso has been a Research Associate at Learning Systems Institute (LSI), Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida since 1998. She has most recently been named project leader for the design, development, and evaluation guidelines and tool for web-based learning for the U.S. Navy. Other (LSI) projects in which she has been involved include being project facilitator for the Florida State Department of Revenue, Administrative Services Program on leadership performance development. She has also been team/project leader for research-based design and development of the Florida Department of Education, Exceptional Student Education Special Diploma standards, courses, and instructional materials. Prior to coming to Florida State in fall of 1997, Ms. Converso was a public school educator for 20+ years. She has been a classroom teacher, school improvement correlate chair, grade level chair, and selected or elected school or district representative to various district and state-level curriculum and instruction task force workgroups and chair positions. She has also served as district coordinator and change agent for instructional technology for forty-three elementary schools. Ms. Converso has served as design team member, group facilitator, and certified change management consultant for Florida SchoolYear 2000, a large-scale intervention/state educational reform effort sponsored and funded by the Florida State Legislature. Her dissertation will be a historical case study of this initiative and "lessons learned" based on long-term effects of those who participated in the initiative. In addition, Ms. Converso has presented a state, national, and international conferences on topics which include: performance improvement, change management/leadership, exceptional student education, distributed learning environments and delivery systems, and instructional technology plan, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Dr. Ryan Watkins Professor, Instructional Technology and Distance Education Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services Nova Southeastern University Dr. Ryan Watkins is a professor of Instructional Technology and Distance Education at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He is responsible for instructional areas, including management of educational technology programs, instructional design, and educational systems. As a member of the research faculty at Florida State University, Dr. Watkins led and managed efforts on several research agendas, including the development of a costs-consequences analysis for Florida's work-force development programs, a quality management self-assessment for Florida's Department of Corrections, and a needs and assets assessment for human services in Leon County, Florida. Additional projects have included the development of a performance evaluation system for leadership training in the U.S. Navy as well as the assessment, design, and development of technology based facilitator training. He has published more than 24 articles on the topics of return-on-investment analysis, evaluation, needs assessment, and strategic planning; and is currently co-authoring a book with Roger Kaufman and Doug Leigh.