May+12,+2014+meeting

People attending: Norton Gusky (recorder) , Nikki Navta, Justin Driscoll, Randi Leonard, Kris Hupp, Zee Poerio, Karlton Chapman


 * Develop additional Pre-conference Ideas
 * Jesse Schell - keynote speaker (see Google Doc) - One of two leading candidates based on SurveyMonkey response. Group agreed that Jesse is a good fit as a founder of game-design company in Pittsburgh. Justin raised a concern about the cost for highlighting a local person.


 * Identify Keynote Speakers -
 * Tom Vander Ark - One of two leading candidates based on SurveyMonkey responses. The committee agreed that Tom is a good fit. The group brought up the possibility for Tom to participate in both the pre-conference on November 17 and the full day conference on November 18. Norton will check on this availability and the cost.


 * Review and further develop Conference Ideas -
 * Featured Speakers - based on awards in last year
 * Zee Poerio - 2014 PAECT teacher of the year
 * Daniel Harrold - 2014 PBS Digital Teacher Award (one of 2 for state of PA)
 * CIO Forum - The Fox Chapel Area School District won a recent award at the DATA conference sponsored by the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Justin will contact Kim Harvey to identify the key person(s). TRETC will invite the FCASD team to present.
 * Girls of Steel - At the STEM Conference sponsored by ASSET Zee Poerio discovered that there was a national award winner for the high school FIRST competition. Zee agreed to contact Theresa Richards, the team sponsor. Norton followed up and asked Theresa to see if the student, Simran Parwani, would be interested in being a featured speaker.
 * Becoming an advocate for educational technology - the committee agreed with the idea and thought this type of presentation might deserve a special place in the conference, possibly a lunch event. The group felt that we should steer away from any politics. Norton suggested that if we invite Dan Frankel, a Democrat, we should also include a Republican perspective. The group felt we should look for a national name. Norton volunteered to reach out to Bill Tucker, who formerly worked with a group in D.C, the Education Sector, and now works for the Gates Foundation.
 * Rep Dan Frankel
 * Brian Kennedy - Pgh Tech Council
 * CoSN connection
 * Other ideas

>> Zee suggested that we might want to consider a special half-day arrangement with a less expensive lunch. Karlton raised the possibility of having students join via video conference or a video documenting the project. The committee agreed we'll try all avenues.
 * Other ideas
 * Pre-conference ad hoc committee for startup activities. The group agreed that we should form a separate committee. The following people volunteered - Nikki Navta, Justin Driscoll, and Randi Leonard. Nikki recommended that we add Gary Gardiner to the group. Gary works with the Idea Factory and has his own startup company. He is extremely well connected with educational startups. The committee discussed the importance of making it clear for both startup entrepreneurs and educational teams the value for this type of interaction. Justin suggested that the administrative team should include a teacher, administrator, and technology person. The committee thought we might come up with some creative marketing to get educational teams to come.
 * Innovation Hub - Norton explained that he still hopes to have this more informal and more interactive arrangement for vendors, but he needs to confirm with the Tech Council and the hotel.
 * Campfire - Zee suggested we have a policy conversation at the edcamp style environment we've discussed.
 * Student Involvement - the committee discussed ways to get more students involved with TRETC. We'll look for ways to engage students through a Remake Learning Zone, if the Sprout Fund agrees to become a sponsor again. Kris Hupp related how much his students enjoyed working and attending TRETC last year. We'll also look for more opportunities to have student delegations with interactive presentations similar to what Zulama did last year for Game Design. Nikki raised the issue of cost. She sponsored the delegation and felt there should be a less expensive way to bring students.


 * Review Marketing Plan


 * **Activity** || **Time-frame** || **Responsibility** ||
 * Develop marketing campaign (theme, logos) || 3/14-5/14 || Tech Council ||
 * Identify keynote speaker(s) || 3/14 – 6/14 || Planning Committee ||
 * Identify presenters || 314-8/14 || Planning Committee ||
 * Send out Hold Date email || 5/14 || Tech Council / AIU ||
 * Identify potential vendors || 3/14– 10/14 || Planning Committee/ Tech Council ||
 * Register presenters/vendors/ participants || 6/14– 11/14 || Tech Council ||
 * Evaluate proposals || 8/14- 9/14 || AIU/ Planning Committee (sub-committee) ||
 * Arrange for equipment needs || 6/14 – 11/14 || Tech Council/AIU/ Sponsors ||
 * Update web site || 4/14 – 10/14 || Tech Council ||
 * Arrange for food || 9/14 – 11/14 || Tech Council ||
 * Provide food / necessary space / tech support || 11/14 || Sheraton Four Points ||
 * Distribute marketing materials || 08/14 - 11/14 || Tech Council/ IUs/ Committee members ||
 * Market to targeted audiences || 07/14 - 10/14 || IUs/ Committee members/ Tech Council ||
 * Evaluate /Act 48 || 11/14 - 12/14 || AIU/ Tech Council ||