Jefferson Overseas Schools Technology Institute

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The Jefferson Overseas Schools Technology Institute (JOSTI) is an annual week long technology training conference for educators in American-based overseas schools. Hosted at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA, the conference is designed to train participants on the applications of emerging technology in education. The conference focuses on three "strands" of education: the administrative strand, the K-12 strand, and the "techie" or technology resource strand. Each JOSTI presentation is geared towards one of the strands and is designed to reinforce specific concepts and ideas and to present information, skills, and applications.

Participants in JOSTI include overseas directors, principals, library/media specialists, curriculum and computer coordinators, and classroom teachers. At this time of writing, JOSTI only allows 75 participants to attend, with 25 in each strand. All expenses during the conference are paid, such as lunch and field trips to points of interest (previous trips included the MCI Network Operations Center and the Department of Information Technology at Fairfax County Public Schools).

JOSTI presenters have covered a wide range of educational implementation of technology: the "techie" strand has seen many topics such as Unix/Linux, Open Source integration, the usage of Blackboard, 802.11 wireless implementation and configuration, and network monitoring. Many presenters at JOSTI are TJHSST faculty, network staff, students, and alumni.

JOSTI is jointly sponsored by TJHSST and the US Department of State's Office of Overseas Schools division. After twelve years of an unformalized relationship between the two entities, the partnership was legally recognized at a reception on March 9, 2005 at the US Department of State building in Washington, DC.

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