The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), with support from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), presents our 11th Annual Satellite Conference Series. Experts will provide important information on high-interest topics to an audience that includes state directors of special education, state agency staff, local administrators, teachers, related service providers, higher education faculty, families and other stakeholders. These telecasts bring nationally recognized experts to your state using technology, providing an affordable means of quality personnel development for a variety of stakeholders.

The NASDSE Satellite Conference Series is available to all state education agencies and can be purchased for $4,500. This fee includes an unlimited number of downlink sites, unlimited streaming media viewing, unlimited video taping rights and unlimited re-broadcast rights for in-state educational, non-commercial use. A state contact person should be designated on your state's registration form. This contact person will be your state's direct link to NASDSE and will be responsible for disseminating information to stakeholders within your state. A packet of support materials will be provided to your state contact approximately two weeks before each broadcast.

To bring the NASDSE Satellite Conference Series to your state, you will need access to a site with C-band satellite signal capability or a computer that can view Windows media stream. You may also develop agreements with other sites that have this capability, such as public schools, libraries, technical or trade schools, community colleges, universities and hospitals. You are not limited to hosting just a few links - be innovative with your resources!

Many states downlink via satellite and host interactive discussions while they record the presentation for future professional development use. Other states distribute videos of the conferences in each school library for in-service purposes. The conferences can be delivered to an unlimited number of downlink sites in your state via satellite or be viewed an unlimited number of times from a computer. One option to consider is the use of streaming media for continuing education units (CEUs). Based on your state's policy, each state education agency would need to develop a method to document participation and learning. For example, one state is using a competency assessment to document training while taking advantage of the convenience of the streaming media option. You can determine the best ways to utilize these conferences and delivery mediums to train all stakeholders in your state. To check on your state's registration status visit www.nasdse.org.