I'm back!

YEAH!!! I'm back to the real world--just slightly busy instead of OVERLY busy. Let me catch you up on my happenin's.

This past week I spent a few days in Austin, TX, attending the TCEA Conference. This is a very large technology conference held every February. This year, I had the pleasure of being one of the presenters. OMG WAS IT AWESOME. But more on that later. There were two keynote speakers that were Absolutely Amazing! (Can you tell I am excited?????)

The first was Lisa Ling. Many of you might know her from The Oprah Show or The View. I know her from ChannelOne News, a news program that airs in middle and high schools around the U.S. She was very interesting--and made me think. She told of her experiences in foreign countries, and some of the people she met. She is my new hero. And, she was kind of funny. If you want more info about her, let me know.

The second was Dr. Robert Ballard. He is the founder of the JASON Project--or better known as the man who discovered the Titanic wreckage. He was fabulous. I went in thinking I would be bored--you know, he is a science guy. He is so fascinating. He showed us a sketch he made 28 years ago when asked about his "dream". It is becoming a reality ANY DAY NOW. How awesome is that?????? If you want more on Dr. Ballard, let me know. (That girl--you need to look into the JASON project for J. He would be a PERFECT candidate!!!!!!!!!)

Before I discuss my presentation, let me give you some background information. During this conference, there are concurrent sessions (free), workshops (you have to pay for), and the vendor hall. A co-worker, B, and I submitted an idea for a session. It was accepted, and we were in. There are approximately 15-20 session rooms plus a couple of ballrooms that are used for sessions. At every session I attended, I just walked into the room and had a seat where I wanted. None of the rooms were totally full--some were pretty full though. Then, there were the session times that were horrible--like 8:00 on Friday morning. This was after the After Dinner Social the night before. Yeah, not many people attended those! Also, there were several rude people in attendance. They would show up late and leave early--sometimes right in the middle of someone talking. It was bad. (More about rude people at the end.)

Our session was Thursday at 11:00 in room 13. When planning our session schedule, B and I decided we would not attend a 10:00 session so we could get into the room faster and be ready to go on time. The conference has strict guidelines about time, and WE were not about to break those! After much thinking, I told B I was going to attend a 10:00 session. She looked at me as if I was an alien. I told her the title, and she asked"Is that in room 13?" I answered "Sure is!" I figured that I could get credit for attending a session and still be ready to go...kill two birds with one stone. At one point during that session, I asked B "Is that man even speaking English?" She said she was pretty sure he was, but she was lost as well. I guess that is what we get for just showing up in a room to be there.

The session ended (YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and we went to set up. One of the men before us acted like he was going to pour water on our laptop as he said "Water, meet laptop". (CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??????) I was thinking "Dude, SO NOT FUNNY!!!" Then, he wished us well because room 13 had not been kind to them. (They needed the internet and had problems.)

At this point, we look up and can't believe our eyes. There is a lady dressed in black with a headset and walkie talkie directing people into the room and telling them where to sit. Another co-worker, J, comes in at that moment to assist us. She proceeds to tell us "There is a line down the hallway of people trying to come in the room." WHAT?!?!?!? To see us???? No, Way! OMG!!!! We didn't make a ton of handouts. What are we gonna do? After freaking out for a second or two, B and I took a deep breath and said "We can do this!"

Our assistant principal, N, and his wife, N2--who is also the director of instructional technology for our district pop in to wish us well as they had another session they had to attend. E, the assistant director of instructional technology, and two other technology teachers from our district, were also in attendance. No pressure there!

We get started to a room FULL of captivated people. Our session was on videos and projects to keep kids coming back for more. We didn't talk that much, but SHOWED video clips. During the entire session, maybe 10 people left. It was very calming. The end of the session the MOST AMAZING, MIND-BLOWING, LOSE-THE-ABILITY-TO-SPEAK thing happened to us.

A lady from a publishing company was in the audience and wants B and I to write an article for an educational journal. But, that's not all. She also wants to work with us on a BOOK. That's right, a book. I stood there speechless and even apologized to her that I didn't know what to say. She told us to check out their website and get back with her.

We are so excited and will be doing this definitely. I can't believe it!!!! Never in a million years would I have thought this would happen. I couldn't have dreamt this if I tried!

WOW! Sorry about all that, but I really wanted to share.

Now, for the rude people. I can't believe how people would talk during sessions. I found a fellow attendee who felt the same way...It was great! First, my story--we were in the opening general session waiting to hear Lisa Ling. Before she would come out, there were several meeting items that needed to be completed. During this time, the people behind me were talking, talking, talking! Not just a whispered comment here or there, FULL BLOWN CONVERSATION IN A NORMAL SPEAKING VOICE!!!!!!! I kept thinking They are going to stop in a minute. I'll give them until this person finishes speaking, and then I'll say something. Ok, I'll wait until this person stops speaking. I'll wait until Lisa Ling comes on stage. Did they ever stop??? Not without my help! As Lisa Ling is starting to talk, they are STILL in conversation. I turned around and said "Excuse me, if you want to continue this conversation, would you move somewhere else as it's very hard to hear over you. Thanks." They looked at me with huge eyes and never said another word! YEAH, ME!!!!!!!! And, several of them were volunteers for the conference. How rude!

My fellow attendees story: We were in the last session before the final general session, and the guys sitting next to me would not stop talking. She was sitting in front of them and turned around and said "Tell you what. Next year you can present and I'll come sit in your session and listen to you talk all that you want." They didn't say anything! When we were exiting, I made sure to let her know I appreciated it.

Man--is that a long post or what???? More later.....