Certiport Announces Distinguished Speakers for World Conference

Certiport PATHWAYS 2006 will Address Global Journey for Bridging the Digital Divide

SALT LAKE CITY – June 29, 2006

Certiport today announced speakers for Certiport PATHWAYS™ 2006, an international conference continuing the dialogue for global digital inclusion, will feature acclaimed workforce and human development strategist Dr. Joyce Malyn-Smith and renowned education and learning visionary Marc Prensky. In addition, contributors and sponsors of PATHWAYS 2006 will include industry-leading organizations united by a vision to overcome the Digital Divide and its effects.

"PATHWAYS is the premier venue to sharpen the world's focus on promoting the inclusion of all Digital Age citizens," said David Saedi, president and CEO of Certiport. "The contributing thoughts of distinguished speakers add to the dialogue for improving lives through the successful implementation of ICT programs."

"The Global Journey," this year's conference theme, reflects the series of steps required for individuals, communities and nations to bridge the Digital Divide both personally and globally. This journey or process of becoming digitally connected will be further illustrated through daily conference themes "Dream," "Direction" and "Destination."

The annual event provides a forum for thought leaders from government, academia and business to share ideas and best practices that advance information and communications technology (ICT) literacy around the globe. More than 350 training and certification executives will join distinguished guests attending this year's conference, including Certiport Solutions Providers, ICT Instructors, student Office Competition champions, Champions of Digital Literacy, courseware publishers and the International Educational Advisory Board (IEAB).

Certiport PATHWAYS 2006 will take place Aug. 3-5, 2006 in Orlando. For registration or agenda information, please visit www.certiport.com/pathways.

About Certiport

Certiport provides industry-leading training, assessment and certification solutions that enable individuals to develop the skills necessary to achieve more, distinguish themselves and advance in today's academic and business environments. These solutions include the Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³®), the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Program and Microsoft IT Academy delivered through a channel of more than 9,000 Certiport Centers worldwide. For more information about Certiport, visit www.certiport.com.

"Certiport" and "IC³" are registered trademarks of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. "Microsoft" is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

About the Speakers

Dr. Joyce Malyn-Smith is director of strategic initiatives for Education Development Center (EDC). She is the principal investigator of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded IT Across Careers projects that articulate IT skills into 16 career clusters for community college students as well as for NSF's Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Resource Center that serves more than 50 ITEST projects. She was a member of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) International ICT Literacy Panel that produced "Digital Transformation: a Framework for ICT Literacy." Malyn-Smith has developed and leads Education Development Center's Power Users of Technology Initiative, a United Nations sponsored research effort to better understand the relationship between long-term, intensive use of technology tools and an emerging "technological thinking" that has been observed in today's digital generation.

Marc Prensky is an internationally recognized speaker, writer, consultant, futurist, visionary and inventor in the critical areas of education and learning. Prensky is the founder of Games2train, an e-learning company whose clients include IBM, Bank of America, Pfizer, Nokia the U.S. Department of Defense and the Florida and LA Virtual Schools. He is the author of the critically acclaimed "Digital Game-Based Learning" (McGraw-Hill, 2001), and the upcoming "Don't Bother Me, Mom - I'm Learning! The POSITIVE Guide for Parents Concerned About Their Kids' Video and Computer Game Playing." His professional focus has been on reinventing the learning process, combining the motivation of video games and other highly engaging activities with the driest content of education and business.

Press Contact:

John Pilmer
801-369-7535
mediarelations@certiport.com