WASHINGTON, July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 18,000 educators and exhibit personnel attended the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE (R)) National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), held in Washington, D.C. June 28 through July 1.

ISTE deputy CEO and NECC conference chair Leslie Conery called it an "odds-defying" event in difficult economic times and lauded educators for their energy and commitment. Presented by ISTE in cooperation with Maryland affiliate MICCA (www.miccaonline.org) and Virginia affiliate VSTE (www.vste.org), the 30th annual NECC drew attendees from all over the globe. Attendees included teachers, administrators, library media specialists, technology coordinators, and teacher educators, as well as decision-makers from industry and government.

Conference highlights included:

• 13,574 registered attendees, up from 12,654 in 2008
• 4,980 exhibit personnel
• 849 international attendees from a record 71 countries
• Provocative and inspirational keynotes by author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell and My Hero teacher Erin Gruwell as well as a live-streamed debate moderated by NPR's Robert Siegel
• Hundreds of concurrent sessions plus additional showcases, galleries, and poster sessions
• High-profile advocacy and policy events at the Library of Congress, U.S. Senate and House buildings and the National Press Club as well as the Walter E. Washington Convention Center
• Dozens of workshops with more than 2,300 tickets sold
• An exhibit hall featuring 1,253 booths and 439 companies displaying hardware, software, equipment and services focused on the use of technology to improve learning, teaching and school administration
• A record number of registered journalists, 140 in all, from around the globe
• Numerous social media channels tracking, tweeting, blogging and live-streaming NECC 2009 activity with thousands of participants from dozens of countries including Brazil, Finland, India, Korea, The Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Tunisia
• Conference photos at http://www.flickr.com/groups/necc09/

ISTE's annual conference and exposition will be held next year June 27 through 30. For more about NECC 2009 and ISTE 2010 in Denver, visit www.iste.org.

About ISTE

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education.

SOURCE International Society for Technology in Education