The 2025 Ohio Educational Technology Conference (OETC) will be held in person February 11-13, 2025, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, and the Management Council is proud to be a collaborator of this conference. This event is designed to cultivate partnerships, promote collaboration, deliver high-quality information, and make technology accessible and enjoyable for educators.
The Management Council, Ohio’s Information Technology Centers (ITCs), and INFOhio will exhibit on the trade show floor — booth #402 — throughout the three-day conference. Visit the booth during exhibit hours for collaboration, networking, and learning — and fun games, awesome swag, and chances to win prizes! Enhance your OETC experience by attending sessions presented by the Management Council and INFOhio — don’t miss out!
Information Technology
Cyber Security – Trends and Tips to Protect Your Environment
Wednesday, February 12 — 9:15a – 10:15a
Location: B130
K-12 continues to be a high-priority target for cyber criminals. With thousands of records, and oftentimes not enough resources, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with what’s going on in the cyber world. This presentation will highlight some of the emerging trends, threats, and best practices aimed at mitigating these threats.
Session Presenter: Scott Gaughan
Instruction
Accessible, Engaging, and Diverse: Quality Resources from INFOhio’s Educator Tools
Thursday, February 13 — 8:00a – 9:00a
Location: B231/232
Meeting the learning needs of all students has never been easier. With one search in Educator Tools, busy teachers will find resources to support student learning. Whether eBooks and videos to use with students or lesson plans and printable activities, the quality resources in Educator Tools have been carefully chosen to maximize comprehension and strengthen knowledge. Learn the tips and tricks for finding the best resource for students, providing accessibility features, engaging content, and diverse topics. Participants will have workshop time to collect resources and use a template to create a student choice board they can use right away in class and share with colleagues.
Session Presenter: Emily Rozmus
Unlocking Early Literacy: Strategies and Resources for Lifelong Reading Success
Thursday, February 13 — 8:00a – 9:00a
Location: A224/225
Teaching early literacy skills is key to creating scaffolds that develop young learners into successful lifelong readers. Discover professional learning eBooks available at no cost that support early literacy instruction. These eBooks highlight strategies such as read-alouds, guided reading, and building language-rich classrooms essential for teaching skills such as phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension. Participants will learn about INFOhio digital resources, including supplemental eBooks and videos to implement in early learning classrooms. Leave with a curated list of quality materials to add to your teaching treasure box.
Session Presenter: Jill Finnan
Cultivate Curiosity in the Crowded Classroom
Thursday, February 13 — 10:30a – 11:30a
Location: B231/232
Finding space for curiosity and flexibility in a classroom filled with standardized testing and required curriculum can be difficult. However, curiosity is essential for problem-solving and critical thinking. Explore ways for students to express more creatively, nurture imagination and curiosity, cultivate employability skills, and foster leadership. Using technology to create engaging learning environments to reach all students, educators will learn about various resources, tools, and professional learning to support this type of choice-based collaborative classroom. Participants will discover resources from INFOhio to differentiate instruction, maximize STEM, and personalize learning. Leave with a collection of high-quality teaching and learning resources and professional development opportunities.
Session Presenter: Emily Fitch
Boosting Classroom Tech: Key Insights from Top Professional Learning eBooks
Thursday, February 13 — 2:15p – 3:15p
Location: B140/141/142
This session is designed to equip educators with actionable insights for enhancing classroom technology integration. During the session, we’ll present brief but impactful book talks on a selection of professional learning eBooks focused on technology integration. Each talk will provide a concise overview and highlight key strategies and practical applications from each book. Whether you’re looking to refresh your tech toolkit or find new ways to engage your students through technology, this session offers valuable takeaways to help you accelerate innovation in your classroom. Don’t miss this opportunity to discover new resources that can transform your teaching practices!
Session Presenter: Sarah Mowery
Leadership
Practical Policy Implementation: Supporting Students’ Effective Use of Technology
Tuesday, February 11 — 3:30p – 4:30p
Location: A226
District leaders are tasked with implementing policies for the responsible use of technology, which can be challenging. Keeping up with new legislation, informing teachers and staff, and educating students is daunting. In this session, we will address recent legislation and share resources that can assist districts in developing and successfully implementing these policies. Additionally, we will provide professional development resources to help teachers stay current, along with student-facing resources for the responsible use of technology, social media, and personal security.
Session Presenter: Lori Lee
Get Inspired! Professional Learning Resources to Renew Your Teaching Practice
Wednesday, February 12 — 2:15p – 3:15p
Location: B231/232
Learn about INFOhio’s permanent collection of professional learning eBooks and videos available to all Ohio educators at no-cost to your school district. These professional learning materials support innovative and statewide initiatives including literacy and STEM education. We’ll share professional growth opportunities to invigorate intellectual wellness and creativity. Whether you are blazing a new trail or working with your teacher team, we have professional resources to support individual or collaborative opportunities to help you adopt and grow your instructional practice.
Session Presenter: Mary Rowland
Library/Media Specialists
Enhancing Student Learning with Collaborative Curation
Wednesday, February 12 — 8:00a – 9:00a
Location: B240/241/242
Are you interested in collaborating with colleagues to create and curate high-quality resources to enhance student learning? Join us as we explore the power of collaborative curation and its benefits for student learning. Bring a colleague—school librarians can invite a teacher, or teachers can bring other members of their team—to learn how to create curriculum-aligned resource lists that support student success. We’ll use BLUEcloud Course Lists as our primary curation tool, but the concepts and strategies discussed can be applied to any curation tool of your choice. Any school that uses the ITC-supported library services platform from INFOhio can use BLUEcloud Course Lists at no additional cost.
Session Presenter: Janah Shumaker
Chad Carson, a 1994 graduate of Ohio University Athens in computer science, has spent the last twenty-nine years serving the Ohio Education Computer Network. Chad began his career at the LACA ITC in 1994, immediately after college. Originally hired to support Student Services, Chad advanced to systems manager, then served as LACA’s director of technology from 2001-2017. Chad was the executive director of LACA for four years prior to joining the MCOECN in the fall of 2021 as the manager of the MCOECN Data Center Operations team. In his current role, Chad is primarily responsible for the overall operation of the MCOECN server, network, and storage infrastructure, and continuously focuses his technical skills on enhancing, optimizing, and improving delivery of hosted services to MCOECN’s customers.
Joe spent 29 years in public education as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. He started his career in Grove City, Pennsylvania as a teacher and coach and finished in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania in the superintendent role. During his time as an administrator, Joe was focused on innovative ways to deliver instruction, both in the classroom and through technology. He led Ellwood City in their 1:1 laptop adoption for students and changing instruction to both direct instruction and using Google Classroom as a learning management system. He also was integral in bringing a 3-12 STEM program to the district.
Geoff has served as CEO of the Management Council since 2015, leading the mission and strategic plan for the Council and growing the organization that connects, optimizes, secures and empowers academic and administrative systems that support every learner, teacher and leader in Ohio. He is responsible for the array of work done by the Management Council on behalf of the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio’s 18 Information Technology Centers.
Jessica began her career in higher education working for the Art Institute of Ohio – Cincinnati, Kaplan College, and the Everest Institute before discovering that the public sector was her passion. She left the realm of higher education to pursue a non-profit career with the Griffith Foundation before securing a position with the Ohio Educational Service Center Association as Program Manager for Membership & Special projects.
Melissa began her career as a district technology coordinator and computer application/business teacher and during that time was fortunate to develop a wonderful relationship with her district’s Information Technology Center (ITC). While at the district, she led the implementation of OhioSchoolNet and Raising the Bar technology initiatives. In the mid 2010s, she transitioned from the district to an ITC, which introduced her to the Management Council and many of the programs that they support state-wide.
Erica came to INFOhio in the early 2010s with more than 10 years’ experience, including as an early childhood teacher and elementary music teacher. Prior to her role as an INFOhio ILibrarian, now known as Instructional Specialist, she worked for two collegiate universities, one as the Humanities Librarian and the other as Library Director. In her role with INFOhio, Erica evaluated and selected digital tools and resources aligned with Ohio Learning Standards, and supported integration of those tools and resources into classroom instruction. She also collected, analyzed, and shared INFOhio usage data to inform instructional design, and wrote for INFOhio’s social media, blog, and news. She earned a BA in English and Music and a Master of Humanities from Wright State University, and a Master of Library Science from Indiana University.
Matt Calmes serves as the Director of State Software Development. Matt has been with the State Software Development Team since the early 2000s. In his current role, he leads and manages the teams that develop and support the various products in the SSDT’s portfolio. He has a passion for technology and solving hard problems that provide benefit to Ohio’s educational community and the students they serve. 
Greg Buddelmeyer serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the Management Council. He joined the Management Council staff in the mid 2010s. Greg began his career with the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office as an Assistant Auditor, working on audits of Ohio government entities. In the early 1990s, he accepted his first school district treasurer position with Liberty-Benton Local School District. He also spent time as the school treasurer for Defiance City School District and Shawnee Local School District. He eventually moved to The University of Findlay as the Financial Director for Projects and Grants, overseeing the financial operations of The All Hazards Training Center and university grant programs.
As Director of Customer Services and Support, Bill Young is the chief evangelist for excellent customer experiences across the Ohio Education Computer Network (OECN). Bill manages customer support teams that are dedicated to delivering timely and knowledgeable support for major K-12 programs and applications used by teachers and leaders across Ohio. Teams deliver support via a live-chat, a statewide call center, email, and responsive self-help web sites.
Scott Gaughan serves as the Director of Network Services. He currently focuses on network related initiatives, information security, video conferencing, and collaborative purchasing agreements. He joined the Management Council in the early 2010s after spending 30 years in state government, including Ohio DAS/OIT, Ohio SchoolNet and eTech Ohio. 
Ryan has committed his career to serving the K12 education community in Ohio. Starting out in serving INFOhio at a regional Information Technology Center in the 1990s, he quickly adapted to the changing needs of the ITC and became their lead systems administrator. When given the opportunity in the mid 2000s, he came to the Management Council to initiate the first disaster recovery services. Since then and through leading many diverse initiatives, Ryan has developed into a talented technologist who focuses on aligning technology needs and educational outcomes.