Marketing Update

The ATE-CON marketing subcommittee met on Tuesday, September 30 and they have been hard at work completing their deliverables. These deliverables are:

- Table at the NCPN conference for ATE-CON materials (Julie is creating a one-page flyer to target CTE educators as well as response forms for people to sign up for the ATE-CON mailing list)
- Create one-page flyer for inclusion in the ATE PI conference program to submit to Ellen at AACC by 10/2 (this is complete - see below for the final product)
- Create graphics for banner for ATE PI booth by 10/1 and get them printed in order to ship to the PI conference by 10/15 (in process, should have this done by 10/3)
- Email blast to ATE PI conference attendees inviting them to visit the ATE-CON booth at the PI conference (send out email mid-October)
- Create one-page flyer for inclusion in the ATE PI conference materials and provide Ellen at AACC with 800 color copies of this flyer by October 22 (can be two-sided if needed)
- Create the informational page for the ATE-CON website (essentially the same content as the one-page flyer for ATE PI) to debut at ATE PI conference (needs to be live by 10/24)

The ATE-CON marketing subcommittee has created the flyer for the ATE PI conference program. Their first deliverable is now complete! Many thanks to CAPT for their support of this marketing effort by donating graphic design skills and time.

ATE-CON will have a booth during all three showcases at the ATE PI conference. If you are going to be at ATE PI conference and would like to assist with staffing the booth, please contact atecon@matec.org. The banner for the ATE-CON booth at the PI conference is going to look like this:

Gordon with the ICT Center created this promotional video for ATE-CON. This could be used at the ATE PI conference and/or on the ATE-CON website.

If you have any feedback for the marketing subcommittee, please leave a comment. The next marketing subcommittee meeting will be on October 9 at 2:00 PM CDT.

Program Update

The ATE-CON program subcommittee met today. They are working on finalizing the call for papers that will be sent out to the sustaining and contributing centers the week of October 6 for their workshop and session ideas.

Here is the current text of the call for papers:

When: July 26-30 or August 3-6, 2009 (depending on hotel selection)

Where: Phoenix, AZ (hotel TBA)

What: Submit your proposed session, workshop, and/or keynote speaker ideas to the Program Committee by November 7, 2008.

A. SESSIONS

Guidelines: All sessions will be 90 minutes long, scheduled on Wednesday or Thursday during the conference, and will be held in rooms with a capacity of 100 people in theater style seating. The coordinating center will be responsible for providing a projector and laptop for their session, as well as any additional AV specific to the session. A screen, data package (AV cart and necessary power cords), and Internet connection will be provided by the hotel. Coordinating center(s) will be responsible for any fees associated with producing the proposed session.
Required Information for technical session proposals:

B. Submitting center(s)

C. Contact information for person(s) coordinating the session from the center(s)

D. Session title

E. Speaker(s) – name(s) and contact information. If you don’t have name(s), please submit the number of speaker(s) and your expected composition (i.e. educator, center personnel, industry leaders, technicians, etc). The program committee will need more detailed speaker information prior to registration opening in January if you don’t have it now.

F. Topic area
a. Technical (please specify technology or technologies covered)
b. Educational (includes pedagogy, learning styles, recruitment, retention, assessment, etc.)
c. Grant development
d. Other, please specify: ________________________

G. 150 word description

B. WORKSHOPS

Guidelines: Workshops will be scheduled on either Monday or Tuesday in ½ day (3.5 hour) OR full day (7 hour) blocks and accommodate up to 50 people in classroom style seating. Please note in your description if you will require a special set up (i.e. extra tables for equipment/demos, roundtables instead of classroom seating, etc). The coordinating center will be responsible for providing a projector and laptop for their workshop, as well as any additional AV specific to the workshop. A screen, data package (AV cart and necessary power cords), and Internet will be provided by the hotel. Coordinating center(s) will be responsible for any fees associated with producing the proposed workshop.

Required information for workshop proposals:

I. Submitting center(s)

J. Contact information for person(s) coordinating workshop

K. Workshop title

L. Facilitator(s)/ instructor(s) – name(s) and contact information. If you don’t have names, please submit the number of facilitator(s)/ instructor(s) and your expected composition (i.e. educator, center personnel, industry leaders, technicians, etc). The program committee will need more detailed speaker information prior to registration opening in January if you don’t have it now.

M. Topic area
a. Technical (please specify technology or technologies covered)
b. Educational (includes pedagogy, learning styles, recruitment, retention, assessment, etc)
c. Grant development
d. Other, please specify: ___________________________

N. 200 Word description

C. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS (OPTIONAL)

Centers are invited to propose ideas for keynote speakers. Keynotes will be invited to speak during one of the keynote slots (breakfast or lunch on Wednesday or Thursday). Please suggest any speakers and the topic area they would present. The conference will pay for any speaker fees or travel associated with the selection of a suggested keynote (within reason).

SPEAKER: _________________________________
Title, Affiliation: __________________________________
TOPIC: ______________________________________

Every proposal accepted will have to meet the deadlines for content information.
December 12, 2008 for the conference website
May 1, 2009 for the conference program

Deadlines are subject to change. Center(s) will be provided with more information upon acceptance of their proposal.

Submit your session proposal via email to the program committee co-chairs by November 7, 2008.

If you have input on the call for papers, please leave a comment. The next program subcommittee meeting will be on Wednesday, October 8 at 2:00 PM EDT.

ATE-CON Site Selection

We are excited to be hosting the inaugural year of ATE-CON in Phoenix, AZ, MATEC's headquarters, and have begun preliminary site visits to possible hotels. The dates under consideration are July 26-30 or August 3-6, 2009. Here are the potential sites thus far:

Sheraton Downtown
The Sheraton is a brand new hotel (opening at the end of this month) in the heart of Downtown Phoenix. With 1,000 sleeping rooms and over 80,000 square feet of meeting space, the Sheraton can easily accommodate ATE-CON, even if the conference expands to 1,000 attendees. They really thought outside the box when they designed this hotel with a mobile registration desk, electronic reader boards outside each breakout room, and plenty of comfy couches for taking a break and networking. Granted, the exhibits and/or keynotes may be on the second level in the Phoenix ballroom, but it's only a short escalator ride away, and for the most part all of the meeting rooms are centrally located on one floor.

With the light rail set to open in December 2008, transportation from the airport to the hotel will be extremely convenient and affordable ($1.25 per ride). You can also take the light rail to downtown Tempe. There is even a complimentary downtown shuttle, the DASH, that takes you around downtown. As if that wasn't enough, the hotel is right across the street from the Arizona Center, with plenty of shops and restaurants at your disposal.

Westin Kierland Resort
The Westin Kierland is an oasis in the desert. Twenty miles and a $50 taxi ride from the airport later and you will truly be glad that you found this oasis, even if you were the last stop on the $20 Super Shuttle. The Westin Kierland is a spectacular property with over 700 sleeping rooms and 175,000 square feet of meeting space. All of the meeting space we would need is contained in one central area using the Kierland Grand Ballroom, the nearby Merriam, Lowell, Powell, and Cushing meeting rooms, as well as the Trailblazers Terrace for the exhibits (there is an 11,000 square foot air conditioned tent on this terrace that is perfect for the exhibit space). There is even a built-in registration desk next to the ballroom with locking storage (every meeting planner's dream!). There is also a complimentary shuttle to the Kierland Commons for plenty of shopping and dining options in addition to their two onsite restuarants.

Arizona Biltmore Resort
The Biltmore is a historic Arizona hotel, dating back to 1929 with exquisite architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright. The property has over 700 sleeping rooms and 100,000 square feet of meeting space, but it is a little spread out with sleeping rooms and meeting space that you have to walk outside to access - not exactly a thrilling prospect in Phoenix in July. They are offering a more reasonable room rate than the other hotels, which includes free high-speed Internet access and a complimentary shuttle to the Biltmore Fashion Park.

Fairmont Scottsdale
The Fairmont is a bit further out from the airport than the Westin, $50 taxi and $20 shuttle again, but they have availability for both July and August. Their meeting space includes a 20,000+ square foot ballroom with breakout rooms surrounding the ballroom. There are only six breakout rooms that would be big enough to accommodate the workshops and sessions, so we would be limited on space and restricted in the number of workshops and sessions we could offer at any one time. Also, the exhibits would have to be out in the foyer outside of the ballroom. This hotel would fit us, but it could be restrictive.

We welcome your input on these potential sites for ATE-CON. Please take our poll on the right side of this page.