The heart of BrainStorm is the exchange of ideas among fellow education IT technologists and Ed Tech vendors: You will learn from them, and they will learn from you. Get plugged in with other ed techs, and make connections here that last through the years.
With over 120 technology-focused sessions, you’ll hear from your colleagues (IT Directors, Tech Coordinators, System Admins, Network Admins, Desktop Techs, etc.) and vendors in the K20 community. Learn new skills, and check out cutting edge products that will make your job easier!
At our one-of-a-kind Vendor Fair, you’ll get one-on-one time with the biggest vendors in the education space. Talk things over, see hands-on demos, and find out if their solution is right for you.
Don't just take our word for it!
Early Bird Pricing!
Regular price $420 after November 15th
BrainStorm is held at the Kalahari Convention Center in Pocono Manor, PA.
Hotel accomodations are NOT included with your registration fees. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Kalahari with discounted rates for our participants. The hotel reservation site is a button off our event registration confirmation page this year (so you can’t make the reservation without having first registered for BrainStorm and being logged into our event portal).
Room Availability
Up to 1 month prior to conference based on availability and at hotel’s discretion up to the conference based on room availability
Children under 18 years of age are not permitted to enter or attend any of the conference.
Also note that alcohol is served at the Vendor Expo.
We do not sell “Day” passes or individual session passes. Those in attendance at our conference have only one choice of a full conference pass which includes all sessions, meals, and the Vendor Expo.
You are more than welcome to bring your family with you to the Kalahari. We find many of our attendees and vendors will bring their families so they can enjoy the waterpark and other hotel attractions. It can be a nice family getaway combined with a work trip.
Family members CANNOT attend the conference itself, unless they are a registered attendee. We do not allow anyone under 18 to attend the conference. If you have a spouse or significant other that wants to participate in meals, those can be added during registration for a fee. You can find that information on the event pricing page or during registration.
If you foresee any special requirements while attending BrainStorm (dietary, access, or otherwise), please contact a Steering Committee member by email at registration@brainstormk20.com at least a month in advance, and we’ll do our best to accommodate your wishes.
What has made our conference so popular is the feedback from our attendees and vendors. We read every one of the comments and do our best to incorporate ideas that will improve BrainStorm.
Each attendee will have an opportunity to offer feedback through a quick 2-3 minute online survey that is emailed following the conference.
We have had the request to print the state for each attendee on the nametag. Because BrainStorm is about networking and making connections, we do not segregate based on state. We realize that there may be things related to a state that other states don't have to worry about, but the premise of BrainStorm is to network with your peers to learn unique things and share tips and tricks. We don't want attendees feeling like they can't talk to another attendee because they are from a different state.
You can select your sessions during your registration.
If you want to wait and come back and select sessions at a later time, it can be done from the link in your confirmation email, by going to our registration site and selecting the “already registered” link, or from the mobile app (which is usually not available until a month or so before the conference).
Many of our vendors, but not all, participate in door prizes that are announced at the end of our Vendor Expo on Monday evening. To sign up for those, please visit each vendor individually and sign up for any that you are interested in. They will either scan your nametag with their phone, which is using our Lead Retrieval app, or ask you to fill out a slip of paper to collect your details. Keep in mind, this gives them your contact information, so only sign up with those vendors who you want to have contact with after the event.
Wi-Fi internet access is available throughout the conference center and hotel.
We provide an Internet Cafe with a few laptops for those who need to check their email, etc. during the conference. The Internet Cafe area also allows people to recharge their laptops/mobile devices.
We have gone paperless at our event. There will be a mobile app available as the conference approaches. An email will be sent out to all registered attendees when it is available.
If you must cancel for any reason you must notify us in writing at registration@brainstormk20.com at least 30 days before the conference, for a refund less a $50 processing fee. Cancellations within 30 days of the event are non-refundable.
You may transfer your registration to another person by providing authorization to us via email as well. Confirmed and paid attendees who do not attend or who cancel after the deadline are liable for the entire fee. In the unlikely event of cancellation of the conference, the liability of BrainStorm is limited to the return of paid registration fees minus actual expenses. Cancellations of travel reservations and hotel reservations made directly with the hotel are the responsibility of the attendee.
Depending on your registration you are entitled to the following meals:
Vendor Expo Only – All the Expo vendor workers are welcome to any of the food and drinks (pay-as-you-go bars) throughout the Expo.
Full Conference Pass – All meals are included. The meals included are:
Sunday Dinner
Monday Breakfast
Monday Lunch
Tuesday Breakfast
Tuesday Lunch
(Please note that we do have heavy hors d'oeuvres at the Vendor Expo on Monday evening, but we DO NOT have a Monday evening meal...please make arrangements to eat after the Expo on your own).
The Kalahari has gone 100% cashless.
Per the Kalahari website: In order to provide a smoother and safer transaction for our guests and associates, our resort will be 100% cashless as of February 22, 2023. We accept credit and mobile payments (Apple/Google Pay) as well as room charges through your RFID wristband. Should you arrive on property with only cash, we do have kiosks to exchange your dollars onto a Mastercard that can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted. For more information, please visit https://www.kalahariresorts.com/wisconsin/ways-to-pay/
Over the years we have found that the size of our events prevents us from having a true "roundtable" setup in our breakout rooms. To be able to accommodate a larger number of people in the roundtables, we have to stick to the classroom/theater seating that we use for sessions.
Also, because our roundtables are immediately before or after other sessions, which need to be setup in classroom/theater seating, it is impossible for the Kalahari to flip the large number of rooms we have between roundtable and classroom seating.
Moving forward, we are working diligently to have amplified sound in all sessions and roundtables at all of our events to help with hearing the attendees that are asking questions or offering information.
If your credit card is rejected with “Reason Code 10-12” then it is likely one of two issues:
- Credit card info was entered incorrectly – please try again
- Certain purchases are restricted by school district credit cards – call card provider to temporarily override
If other reason is given during processing, please call our treasurer at 800-910-6382 option 1.
We serve heavy hors d'oeuvres during the Vendor Expo. We know this is not a substitute for dinner, but several of the vendors arrange for after-hours parties and get togethers, which we encourage you to go to if invited. There are many other eating establishments on the Kalahari property for you to choose from based on your hunger level.
We do accept PO's and require that all invoices be paid shortly after the event. If you need to use a PO, please email the PO to registration@brainstormk20.com AFTER you are registered for the event so we can update your invoice with the PO number.
Because BrainStorm is not a GSA eligible event, the pricing we receive from the Kalahari is higher than what is listed on the GSA contract. If your school is one that does not pay for anything over the GSA pricing, please use this link to the Code of Federal Regulations to get your school to cover the entire expense. Section A of this code will apply to our BrainStorm event.