December 4th was a full day of activity in the Tech Institute for over 600 registered gifted students and their parents who visited to participate in the free Educational Forum. The co-sponsors of the event, Scholarly Research Associates and the Center for Talent Development (CTD) at Northwestern, teamed up to organize the speakers and presentation schedule and event logistics for the classrooms and facilities in Tech. CTD handled all marketing, communication and social media outlets, as well as the printed materials used at the conference.
The sessions included discussions on educational issues, presentations on learning methodologies as well as an exhibit hall which showcased the various local and national resources. In addition, there were several interactive sessions using mobile devices and a guest speaker who used Skype videoconferencing to speak to and interact with the the students and their parents.
NUIT assisted with a few preparatory items such as a guest wireless network, some logistical issues as well as on-site support for the interactive videoconference. Overall, the event went well, was well received, and with this being the first one with an interactive videoconference, plans are in place to continue the interactive sessions for next year.
For a complete list of participating organizations, visit the Scholar Search Associates website.
