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Background The Organization for Educational Technology & Curriculum (OETC) is an incorporated not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to maximizing the value of educational technology to its members by working with software and hardware vendors to procure the most effective and appropriate technological resources at the lowest possible price. Schools rely on us for quality assurance and low-cost certainty for technology purchasing. OETC membership is comprised of more than 800 educational institutions, school districts, colleges, and other non-profit educational organizations throughout the U.S. OETC Goals
Eligibility for Membership All accredited educational entities are entitled to membership in OETC. This includes, but is not limited to, public K-12 school districts, private K-12 schools, community colleges, four-year universities and colleges, education service districts, professional educational organizations, and state agencies responsible for the administration of public education. If you would like to join OETC a membership application is available, as well as the OETC membership agreement at www.oetc.org/join.html. Benefits of being a Member for Schools/Districts OETC offers significant savings to members on software and hardware purchases for educational use. We are able to offer the best possible price through the unique pricing and distribution agreements OETC has entered on behalf of its members. By aggregating to represent the largest segment of the market, OETC can negotiate for better pricing and distribution arrangements that meet the needs of both large and small member organizations. For instance, members in OETC can buy licenses separate from media or documentation. To get an idea of your potential savings, check out our price list. ITSC The Instructional Technology Strategies Conference (ITSC) is an opportunity for educators to think, explore, and develop strategies to enhance student achievement through the effective use of technology. ITSC provides dedicated, quality time to identify challenges, review effective models and develop strategies. Recognizing that a single person cannot effectively integrate technology into the curriculum, OETC encourages educators to attend the conference together in teams from schools or districts. ITSC is a model of effective staff development that integrates technology while provided substantive material. For more information about ITSC, please visit itsc.oetc.org. Techhead.org Personal Technology Purchasing In 2006, OETC launched a new website that offers great low pricing on some software items for members to purchase for personal use on their home computers. OETC negotiated special student and staff contract pricing with Microsoft, Adobe, and several other software vendors on behalf of our members. You can check out the products and prices at www.techhead.org Member schools, districts, and colleges can choose one of two options for their staff and students to purchase through techhead.org: A staff administrator can email OETC a csv file with a list of staff and/or student names and a unique ID number for each person (no SSNs). OETC will then upload the file to the backend of techhead.org and then each staff/student would then have to input their information and ID number each time they purchase. This is how our system verifies that each person is eligible to purchase under the special student and staff pricing agreements. The second option is manual verification. School and college administrators would not need to send any information to OETC, instead, staff or students could simply go to www.techhead.org, select the item(s) they want, and then choose the manual verification option right online. They would then need to upload or fax in a copy of the staff or student ID or some proof that they attend that school or work in one of the district or school departments. Techhead.org Rebate Option OETC members also have the chance to sign up with OETC for the rebate option. This is a fundraising option in which OETC would add between 1% - 6% to the price of the products available for your district or college and then at the end of each quarter, OETC would mail the contact person a rebate check based on the purchases made by the stafff/students at that district or college. To help market purchasing through techhead.org to your staff and students, you can download and/or link to a marketing flyer: www.oetc.org/documents/techhead_2009.pdf. The History of the OETC OETC began 25 years ago in 1983 as the Oregon Video Consortium. We quickly evolved into the Oregon Educational Computer Consortium in 1986 and then became the Oregon Educational Technology Consortium in 1995. In 2004 we changed our name to reflect our expanding services. We are now the Organization for Educational Technology & Curriculum. Beginning in 1990, we expanded our interests from software and hardware purchases to offering training and professional development to teachers and school administrators. The level of annual purchasing has grown from $100,000 per year to more than $10 million dollars per year. OETC's history includes establishment of formal relationships with manufacturers and vendors for a wide variety of technology products that are used in schools to enhance the delivery of services to students. We now list products and information on our web site and produce a quarterly newsletter that reaches all teachers and administrators in member districts and organizations. OETC sponsors training events, conferences and symposiums for further exposure of product lines, using vendor representatives and evaluation center staff for presentations. In 2008, we celebrated our 25th Anniversary of providing customer service, lowest-cost technology, and professional development. |