Over 450 educators and representatives from 125 schools from around the globe will gather at Lausanne Collegiate School for the 8th annual Lausanne Laptop Institute Sunday, July 18-Tuesday, July 20, 2010.

The Lausanne Laptop Institute is an international think tank for schools using or considering using laptops or tablets as tools for learning. Participants are gathering from 30 different states and 11 different countries including Austria, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, The Netherlands, Qatar, Vietnam, and the United States.  Pre-conference sessions on Sunday are focused on one-to-one laptop use, tech integrator training and introduction to the iPad. Monday and Tuesday’s programs include over 130 breakout sessions that provide educators lectures with hands-on instruction, discussion and networking opportunities.

A new addition to the program this year includes collaboration with Independent School Management, Inc. (ISM), which is sponsoring the Adaptive Learning Symposium during the conference.  Sessions will address how the teacher’s role will change from primary transmitter of knowledge to that of coach and mentor as adaptive technology partners with the teacher in customizing learning for each student. The goal is to connect educators who are interested in, or already using, an adaptive learning approach with the technologists behind the tools.

The symposium faculty include: Pamela Livingston, Director of Information Technology at TEAM Charter Schools (NJ); Dr. Shabbi Luthra, Director of Technology at the American School of Bombay; Josh Clark, Assistant Head of Middle School and Pre-International Baccalaureate World School Coordinator at Lausanne Collegiate School (TN); Kim Davis, Director of Student Life, IN CAS (service element of the IB World School program) Coordinator and Ancient World History teacher at Lausanne Collegiate School (TN); and Simon Jeynes, ISM Consultant.

David Warlick, a 34-year educator whose website, Landmarks for Schools, serves more than a half-million visits a day, will present the keynote address, “Rebooting the Basics: An Examination of Contemporary Literacy in a New Information Landscape,” on Monday from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Mr. Warlick also will lead four breakout sessions each day of the conference.

Each school will be presented with a new Kodak video camera by local sponsor WatchKnow.org to encourage video contributions to the WatchKnow.org free online library that now includes over 15,000 educational videos for children and teachers. Other sponsors of the Lausanne Laptop Institute include Education Collaborators, LaptopSchools.com, LiveClassTech, finalsite, CDW-G, ISM, AbsoluteSoftware, Fujitsu, DyKnow, Smart, and PCS.