What's Ours Is Theirs
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Shared histories, interests, and goals make T.H.E.'s new relationship with one of ed tech'spremier conferences a perfect match.
I AM PLEASED to announce that 1105 Media, T.H.E. Journal's parent company, recently acquired the Florida Educational Technology Corporation, producer of the annual FETC conference. It is fitting that our magazine, the country's oldest education technology publication, and FETC, the host of one of K-12's premier ed tech gatherings, are joining forces to continue serving both sectors.
While both T.H.E. and FETC have unrivaled experience in K-12 education and technology, this is not our only commonality. T.H.E. Journal was founded with the following mission statement: “To provide a monthly forum for educators and industry to discuss the successful applications of technology both administrative and instructional in an educational environment.” Our aim was to foster that discussion via a monthly print magazine, and that has expanded to include two websites and a half dozen e-newsletters.
Similarly, FETC has provided an opportunity for educators to discuss the latest best practices in education technology, as well as see the latest products and services from companies serving the market. Both entities promote an exchange of ideas that leads to better education through technology.
Another shared focus between the two organizations is professional development. FETC has long been a primary source of professional development for educators interested in technology. FETC enables educators to learn from their peers, and demonstrates to them how to stay in contact using the technology on exhibit at the conference. For our part, T.H.E. has always written about the importance of professional development and supporting the people who are using technology in schools.
Finally, our commonalities extend beyond history and culture to the very people who make the two organizations go. Both T.H.E. and FETC have advisory boards that provide input and direction. Taking that input and putting it into products and services demands a leader immersed in both the education and technology worlds and endowed with a vision for the future. Both Mike Eason, executive director of FETC, and our own editorial director, Geoff Fletcher, not only have that vision, but also the background and working experience to guide it. Both were educators in the classroom, and both served in higher education as well. Both also served their state departments of education— Mike in Florida, Geoff in Texas—and helped to move educational technology to a primary position on the agendas in both agencies.
But even more important than our shared history and purpose is our future. The synergy of this new relationship bodes well for those working in education and technology. The physical forum that is FETC will mix well with the print and electronic forums in which T.H.E. Journal exists. I can see a time soon when the dialogue and discussions begun at FETC are continued in our pages, both in print and online; where the professional development begun at FETC can continue in a sustained exchange of ideas, finally fulfilling the promise of a community of learners among educators that we all have envisioned.
We welcome FETC to 1105 Media, and we look forward to learning and growing together.
— Wendy LaDuke, Publisher
Correction: In our November issue, we mistakenly ran a photo of Smart Technologies’ Smart Board 680 instead of one of its flat-panel displays. The price of the Smart Board 680 is $1,400, not $3,299—the price of the flat panel.Weregret the error.
This article originally appeared in the 02/01/2007 issue of THE Journal.