The Center for Technology in Education, located in the Department of Educational Studies in Ball State University's Teachers College, and Apple Computer are hosting their inaugural technology roundtable April 30 on the Muncie campus.

Technology directors in K-12 schools and institutions of higher learning will gain insight on some of Ball State's technology initiatives such as requiring education majors to purchase laptops, building digital portfolios—digital representations of students' knowledge, ability and attitude toward teaching—and educational technology licenses and graduate programs.

Attendees will learn how to better instruct today's digitally inclined children and how to maximize wireless technology, said David Dixon, chair of the Department of Educational Studies.

"We want to contribute to the professional development of teachers and technology directors who are striving to master today's increasingly modern classrooms," he said. "Increasing teachers' and administrators' technology literacy will help them harness students' enthusiasm for technology and guide it in their schools and classrooms."

Systems engineers from Apple will lead discussions on customizing and deploying technology—directing computers and software within a school district. They will also discuss installing, networking and booting client workstations.

Representatives from the University of Michigan will demonstrate system maintenance tips to continually update software and hardware. They'll also point out ways system and application updates can be handled automatically through Radmind—an open-source server and client software developed at Michigan.

The program will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Cardinal Hall. For additional information, contact Judy Smith at (765) 285-3321 or jsmith5@bsu.edu.

(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Weaver at (765) 285-5251 or rweaver@bsu.edu.)