The College of Education will hold its third annual Technology Conference & Expo April 9 in the Holmes Student Center.

The conference is titled “From the Classroom to the Boardroom” and will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The goal is to prepare the teachers of tomorrow to use technology in the classroom,” said LaMetra Curry, director of the Mary F. English Technology Program.

Curry said the college prepares students all year for the conference.

College of Education students, as well as NIU faculty and staff, will present topics related to the use of technology in the classroom. Other topics will include plagiarism and ethics.

“The students have researched philosophy, cost and methodology of [technology in] education and how they can be implemented,” said Wendy-Marie Marshall, graduate assistant for the College of Education.

Marshall said some of the specific technologies researched included various computer programs, virtual worlds such as Second Life and learning tools such as LeapFrog and Hooked on Phonics.

The College of Education will also give away some technology at the conference.

“Each year we give away 20 laptops, printers, up-to-date Microsoft Office programs and a program called LiveText,” Curry said.

According to the LiveText website, LiveText is a web-based program designed to track student progress and course evaluations.

La Vonne Neal, dean of the College of Education, is scheduled to speak at the conference.