CAMDEN, ME., Oct. 19, 2006 – Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW), the creator of the Solaris(TM) operating system, today announced that, in conjunction with Curriki – the Global Education & Learning Community, it has sponsored five education innovators as Sun Participation Fellows at this week's Pop!Tech conference.  Held in Camden, Maine from October 19-21, Pop!Tech (poptech.org) is a renowned annual forum that explores the social impacts of technology and the shape of things to come. 

Now in its second year, the Sun Participation Fellows program enables individuals who are using technology to promote social change to interact with Pop!Tech’s community of thought leaders in technology, science, business and the arts.

In addition to full participation in the conference, the 2006 Fellows will work with Curriki and Sun to make the content of the conference available as open source educational curricula. The Fellows will also engage in a roundtable discussion entitled “The Edge of Learning,” focusing on the transformational impacts of technology on education. Moderated by Christopher Lydon of Public Radio International’s Radio Open Source, the panel will be held from 4:30-5:15 p.m. ET on Friday, October 20 at the Camden Opera House, and will be streamed live at no charge at http://live.poptech.org.

"Sun is committed to helping bridge the 'educational divide' by moving learning into the Participation Age, and these Fellows exemplify the intersection of technology and education to improve global standards,” said Ingrid Van Den Hoogen, Sun's senior vice president of brand, global communications & integrated marketing.  “We're pleased to be part of the innovation happening at Pop!Tech again this year.”

Working in collaborative alliance with Pop!Tech and Curriki, Sun selected Fellows from around the world that are focused on using technology in innovative ways to improve education.  "Sun's Fellows program is crucial to bringing new participants into the Pop!Tech community,” said Pop!Tech Curator Andrew Zolli. "The program uniquely demonstrates our shared belief that technology is critical to solve challenges such as the educational divide.”

The 2006 Participation Fellows include:

·         Deneen Frazier Bowen, consultant helping teachers and schools expand students’ learning opportunities through harnessing new technologies,

·         Mark Horner, founder of Free High School Science Textbook (FHSST) to further science education in South Africa,

·         Adam Kenner, director of technology at Horace Mann School in Riverdale, NY and a thought-leader on the future of curriculum and technology integration,

·         Kerri Richardson, director of academic technology at Brooklyn Friends School in Brooklyn, NY, whose educational work focuses on information and media literacy, and

·         Dr. David Wiley, associate professor of Instructional Technology at Utah State University, director of the Center for Open and Sustainable Learning, founder of OpenContent.org, and author of the first open source license for educational, artistic, and other non-software material.

Sun Participation Fellows Program is Latest Step to "Share the Opportunity"

The Sun Participation Fellows Program at Pop!Tech is part of Sun's Share the Opportunity initiative, a global effort to help promote participation in social change. Sun believes the world is entering a new era — a Participation Age —  where dramatically lowered barriers to entry, plummeting device prices, and near-universal connectivity are driving a new round of network participation. From blogs to Java(TM) technology, SMS messages to Web services, participants are forming communities to drive change, create new businesses, new social services, and new discoveries. This growth in the network economy is fueled by sharing and collaboration among communities interconnected by technology and driven by purpose. Sun also believes that sharing and collaboration in the Participation Age will stimulate innovation to help all participants from across the world grow and prosper.

About Pop!Tech

Held annually since 1997 in the seaside village of Camden, Maine, Pop!Tech is a one-of-a-kind conference, a community of remarkable people, and an ongoing conversation about science, technology and the future of ideas. The conference is the  signature event of the Pop!Tech Institute,a non-profit organization focused on uniting the world's most prominent thought leaders to network, share knowledge, and discuss the effects of technology on society. The conference's roster of speakers and its unique format have earned international acclaim. For more information, see www.poptech.org.

About Curriki, the Global Education & Learning Community

Curriki, the Global Education & Learning Community, is a nonprofit dedicated to improving education by empowering teachers, students and parents with universal access to free and Open Source Curricula. Curriki is building the first and only Internet site for a complete course of instruction and assessment for K-12.  The organization will create a world-class educational environment that is community developed and supported. Founded by Sun Microsystems in 2004, Curriki now operates as an independent nonprofit.  Curriki can be found online at www.curriki.org.


About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world's most important markets. Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.

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