As South Carolina’s largest educational technology conference, the SC EdTech Conference’s primary goal is to bring educators, administrators, technology professionals, college faculty and staff, public and academic librarians, business and industry trainers, industry representatives, and policy makers together to think, discuss, listen, and learn the best strategies to plan for and use educational technology in our schools.
The concept for EdTech originated with the South Carolina Association of Data Processing Directors in 1984. In the early 1990s, the SC Department of Education’s Office of Technology became involved and created a small conference to share timely information about technology initiatives that affected the administrative staff in schools and districts. This conference grew to include instructional technology presentations and resources. During this time, a conference advisory committee was created to help the state department and its partners plan and deliver the conference each year. This twelve-member panel consisted of representatives of multiple South Carolina partners that included K-12, higher education, state government agencies, and telecommunications business partners.
The first EdTech as we know it today took place in 1997, the result of various conferences combining to make one mega state-wide conference for educators. In 2002, the management of EdTech was transferred from the SC Department of Education to the South Carolina Association for Educational Technology (SCAET), a 501©3 non-profit organization.
The SC EdTech Conference is the primary project of the South Carolina Association for Educational Technology (SCAET).