Preeminent edtech event?

At the opening session of SXSWedu this morning, Ken Kay suggested that the event will (or is) becoming the preeminent educational technology event. While I personally don't desire this fate for SXSWedu, it does raise a larger question: what is the preeminent educational technology event for the K-12 education field? Because it certainly isn't the ISTE Conference, formerly (and more widely known as) the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC).

The K-12 audience has different needs when it comes to events about educational technology. Using Rogers's theory of diffusion of innovations, which describes how communication about innovation spreads through groups over time, is a good organizer for this. Doing so, the question then becomes, what is the preeminent educational technology event for innovators, early adopters, early/late majorities and the laggards? And the obvious realistic answer is, there is no single event that meets the needs of all these segments of the audience. (ISTE, are you listening?)

So, without further delay, here's my opinion (dare I say, recommendation) of which event best suits each of these segments of the K-12 audience:

• Innovators: EduCon (are there others? Enlighten me in the comments.)
• Early adopters: Instructional Technology Strategies Conference, Building Learning Communities
• Early/Late majorities: ISTE Conference (NECC)
• Laggards: (by definition, this segment isn't likely to attend any event)

Why, you may wonder why I've omitted SXSWedu from this list. I'm withholding judgment until the event concludes on Thursday (3/8). Stay tuned!