David Pogue

David Pogue grew up in Shaker Heights, OH, a suburb of Cleveland. (Mom's the Welcome Wagon lady; Dad's a lawyer.) He was a music/theatre geek from Day 1, starring in, composing, playing piano for, or conducting musicals and choirs from elementary school through high school. He was also a language jock, winning the Ohio Spelling Bee in 1977, and a magician, performing over 400 magic shows during his teen years. He studied music, English, and computer science at Yale. He graduated summa cum laude in 1985, with Distinction in Music, having continued to write and conduct musicals each year. Senior year, a funny thing happened: Apple was selling Macintosh computers at half price to impressionable students. Eager to take the drudgery out of music copying, Pogue snapped one up -- and got hooked. He went on to co-design and write the manuals for such music software as Finale, from Coda Music Technology.

After college, Pogue moved to New York City, with aspirations to compose and conduct Broadway shows. He worked as conductor, synthesizer programmer, arranger, or assistant on several Broadway shows (Carrie, Welcome to the Club, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Anything Goes at Lincoln Center) and a few Off-Broadway ones (Pajama Game, Godspell, and Flora, the Red Menace, which he also orchestrated). Unfortunately, the demand for new young composers on Broadway is about zero these days, and Pogue saw the writing on the wall; through this time, his computer-teaching skills were turning out to be in more demand than his musical ones so he started teaching the Broadway community how to use their Macs -- first composers such as Stephen Sondheim, John Kander, Jerry Bock, David Shire, and Cy Coleman, and then later Hollywood and literary celebrities: Mia Farrow; Carly Simon; Gay Talese; Gary Oldman; Natasha Richardson; Vanessa Redgrave; William Goldman; Mike Nichols; Harry Connick, Jr.; Mandy Patinkin; Bronson Pinchot; and others. In the interests of hedging his bets, he also founded and taught, for several years, the beginning magic courses at the New School for Social Research and New York's Learning Annex. He began writing for Macworld Magazine in 1988, and wrote the triple-award-winning Desktop Critic column (the back-page column) until November 2000, when he became the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times; the column, "State of the Art," appears every Thursday on the front page of the Circuits section.

In 1992, Macworld's sister company, IDG Books, asked Pogue to write Macs for Dummies. (This was back when there was only one Dummies book -- DOS for Dummies.) The book quickly became the #1 bestselling Macintosh book, and remained so, month after month, ever since -- in all of its 17 languages and six editions. Only in 1999 was it overtaken in sales by another Mac book: The iMac for Dummies, which Pogue also wrote. The iBook for Dummies debuted at the end of 1999, covering Apple's chic consumer laptop.

Pogue followed that book with the 1300-page bestseller Macworld Mac Secrets (co-authored with former Yale roommate Joe Schorr) and a novel, Hard Drive (a New York Times "notable book of the year"). His music books are Opera for Dummies and Classical Music for Dummies, co-authored with symphony conductor Scott Speck. A trio of computer-humor books includes The Microsloth Joke Book; The Great Macintosh Easter Egg Hunt; and the hilarious Tales from the Tech Line. In 1998, his PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide became the #1 bestselling Palm book, which it remains to this day (now in its second edition); his popular Magic for Dummies is the bestselling magic book in the country. (Pogue, a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, can't seem to make it through a restaurant meal without doing a few tricks while waiting for the bill.) And Crossing Platforms, co-authored with Adam Engst, makes it easy for people who have to switch from Mac to Windows, or vice versa.

In 2000, he incorporated Pogue Press. In collaboration with O'Reilly & Associates (the publisher of "PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide" and "Crossing Platforms"), Pogue created the Missing Manual series: a line of superbly written, printed manuals for computer products that don't come with any--in other words, "the book that should have been in the box." The series includes bestselling books on Mac OS X, Windows XP, Dreamweaver, iMovie, iPhoto, Microsoft Office, AppleWorks 6, Mac OS 9, and others.

Pogue appears frequently on radio and TV. He was a regular technology guest on Martha Stewart's TV show (before she went to jail, of course), and since 2000 he has appeared about six times a year on "CBS News Sunday Morning." In 2004, his segments on Google and the spam problem won a 2004 Business Emmy.

Pogue lives with his wife Jennifer Pogue, MD, son Kelly, daughter Tia, and son Jeffrey, in Connecticut, where he entertains them with magic tricks, piano playing, and a lifelong stream of appalling puns.

For the last 20 years, computers and technology have been part of the everyday curriculum for a generation or two of digitally privileged kids -- and, as they become the majority, it's showtime. As computer-literate children become America's new leaders, visionaries, and designers, how will their digital upbringing affect society and culture? New York Times technology columnist David Pogue takes a thoughtful, funny look at how the tidal wave will hit as the digital generation enters prime time -- what we'll gain, what we'll lose, and what beliefs and approaches will shift into something we've never seen before.

*Meet David in the Vendor Area after the Keynote to purchase copies of his bestselling books and have them autographed!

David Pogue reviews over 200 products a year for the New York Times. If anyone can identify the breakthroughs, he can. In this lively presentation, David will present and actually demonstrate the latest and most amazing mobile gadgets, and offer his mini-critiques of each. The assortment changes monthly, of course, but past presentations have included the cellphone that offers unlimited free calls via Wi-Fi; the pocket camera that beams photos instantly onto Flickr (the photo-sharing Web site); the music player that downloads wirelessly from a catalog of 2 million songs; a folding memory card for cameras that eliminates the need for wires or card readers; the secret of getting Directory Assistance for free on your cellphone (rather than $2 per call from your carrier); the latest breakthroughs in speech recognition; and, of course, the iPhone. Prepare to have your mind blown—and your credit card stressed.

What do YouTube, MySpace, Craigslist have in common? They're all part of "Web 2.0," in which a Web site's material is supplied by its visitors. What do blogs, vlogs, and podcasts have in common? They're all new ways for individuals (or corporations) to express themselves online. In this head-spinning talk, David Pogue, the New York Times's most popular blogger (and video blogger), helps to make sense of the explosively expanding realm of Web 2.0 and all kinds of 'casting. He'll advise both individuals and companies on how to exploit these live-wire technologies, supply some horrifying and hilarious real-world stories, and even hint at the future of these revolutionary new channels.

Doug Johnson has been the Director of Media and Technology for the Mankato Public Schools since 1991 and has served as an adjunct faculty member of Minnesota State University, Mankato since 1990. His teaching experience has included work in grades K-12 in schools both here and in Saudi Arabia. He is the author of four books: The Indispensable Librarian, The Indispensable Teacher’s Guide to Computer Skills, Teaching Right from Wrong in the Digital Age and Machines are the Easy Part; People are the Hard Part. His regular columns appear in Library Media Connection, Leading & Learning magazines and on the Education World Web site, and his articles have appeared in over forty books and periodicals. Doug has conducted workshops and given presentations for over 130 organizations throughout the United States as well as in Malaysia, Kenya, Thailand, Germany, Qatar, Canada, Chili, the UAE and Australia and has held a variety of leadership positions in state and national organizations, including ISTE and AASL.

This workshop explores three major changes being evidenced today: 1) the prevalence of ubiquitous digital information sources, 2) the defined attributes of a “Net Generation”, and 3) the rise of a global economy. Each change will be discussed along with strategies that schools and educators can use to stay relevant in their students’ lives. For warned is for armed!

Never been a technology “geek” or “guru?” Still rather think of a mouse as something that eats cheese than rolls around on your desk? Yet as a conscientious teacher, you KNOW your students should be practicing technology and information literacy skills. This workshop explores how good teaching practices and the content area curriculum can be enhanced through the judicious use of technology “upgrades” that support best practice. Examples of real student technology enhanced projects are given.

New web-based tools are opening exciting collaborative learning opportunities for teachers and librarians. Find out how K-12 teachers and media specialists are using wikis, blogs, feed readers, social book marking sites, and other Web 2.0 tools to increase student engagement. Tips and no-cost sites for beginners will be given.

Marco Antonio Torres is a 10-year high school teacher, media coach, and education technology director for San Fernando High School, one of the nation's largest urban schools in Los Angeles. He is also a professional filmmaker and photographer who uses these digital storytelling skills to add value to his curriculum.

Marco has been recognized locally and internationally for his accomplishments in the classroom, creative program building, administration of complex budgets, and for the use of technology to empower minority students. He has received honors and awards from the government, educational leadership organizations, the creative arts community, business groups, and also from his students.

As a teacher and media professional artist, Marco Torres is involved with many professional organizations where he is an advocate for more collaboration between the media arts world and education. For example, Marco was recruited to serve as a board member for the George Lucas Educational Foundation--a foundation created by filmmaker George Lucas to promote digital technology, change, community, and learning everywhere. Marco also is an Apple Distinguished Educator-- a program, sponsored by Apple that recognizes innovators in today's classrooms.

Once referred to as "Jaime Escalante.com" by Mr. Escalante himself, Torres is empowering students by teaching them how to celebrate their culture, build communities, and how (and why) to use multimedia tools to share their very special stories and ideas with the world.

Consequently, Marco's students are regularly recruited by some of the nation's finest universities and businesses. He has keynoted and presented at numerous conferences nationally and internationally. His practical workshops help teachers push their teaching and learning to new exciting levels.

Marco's media rich program has been highlighted in numerous TV, radio, online, magazines, books, and news periodicals. Very recently, Marco was recognized by the California legislature as a California Teacher of the Year.

This workshop will focus on the necessary tips needed to make your movies look like the pros. We will learn what to do when you’re actually shooting your projects. The workshop will also share tips on how to effectively work during shooting and production. You will also learn about how to encourage creative teamwork during the process.

Oral histories more than ever have a value in our classrooms NOW! Look at how documentaries and documentary-like productions are dominating our TV and movie theaters. The production of this media can help revolutionize your classroom. It can transform it into the most important classroom of school-if not the community. Documentaries can be not only relevant, meaningful, and applicable to the academics of the classroom-they can be some of the most important work you produce from your classroom. This workshop is geared to equip teachers on how to organize, manage, and support a documentary studio of the highest standard.

Learn key tips on how to make your pictures look better-communicate more. Experience how a camera is a powerful archiving tool for today’s classroom. Learn how to get your camera out of automatic mode and start to tell a story with each image. This very easy and accessible workshop is for those who want their images to REALLY be worth more than 1,000 words.

Schools have traditionally excluded the community and families from the everyday learning of their children. Communication is poor in many cases and the community feels disempowered in schools. Documentary film making, community film festivals have been a great resource for schools to connect and learn from the people who can be the school’s best asset. See how a school in Los Angeles has made family and community connection a priority in the empowerment of students through the power of digital story telling.

Tony taught fifth-grade for six years, and three of those years his students were pioneers in educational handheld computing. Then, as technology specialist at Willowdale Elementary in Omaha, Nebraska, Tony brought the newest technologies into classrooms. Whether it was digital video, blogs, email, podcasts, or handhelds, Tony helped Willowdale teachers and students understand the usefulness of new technologies. Currently, Tony is self-employed as an educational consultant. He conducts workshops, presents at conferences, and writes books based on his teaching experiences and passion for new technologies.

Always excited to share, Tony has documented much of what he knows about handheld computing and podcasting on his Web site, learninginhand.com. There you'll find useful software collections, the best Web links for handhelds, complete lesson plans, and an informative blog. In fact, work on Learning in Hand has given Tony opportunities to work collaboratively with software developers on educational software for Palm Powered handhelds. Applications like SpellIt, Gone Mad!, Simplify, MixedUp, Divisible, Angles, Dictate, and SillySentences are freely available for download and use.

Described by Edutopia magazine as a "tireless evangelist for the power of handhelds," Tony's specialty is creatively using handhelds for engaging activities, and he's spread his message across the country. He has inspired educators with his practical workshops and enlightening presentations. He also teaches a graduate class for the University of Nebraska titled, "Handhelds in Teaching and Learning." In addition, Tony's expertise was used to co-write Handhelds for Teachers & Administrators, a complete resource for using handhelds in the K-12 classroom.

Tony is proud to have earned honors that include the Nebraska Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award, University of Nebraska's Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award. All of that aside, Tony is a teacher who wants to make education effective, relevant, and fun. He knows handhelds are small computers that can make a big difference in classrooms.

There are tens of thousands of applications for Palm and Pocket PC handhelds. Many of these applications are quite appropriate for teachers and students and many of them are absolutely free! Tony Vincent demonstrates software and classroom activities that teachers and students are using for learning. Examples include completing crazy word stories, conducting surveys, simulating pond life, and mathematical games. Bring your handheld and receive lots of software and documents you can take and use right away.

iPods are showing up in classrooms as motivating learning tools. iPods have so much to offer. Learn about finding sources of audio and downloading educational video from sites like TeacherTube and United Streaming. Also see things you probably didn't know an iPod could do: interactive texts, RSS feeds, flash cards, quizzes, and more!