We have just returned from TCEA, and there is a WILDFIRE burning! Ideas and emotions are flowing faster than we can register them. The attendance was just over 8300 people, and the small AA district of White Oak, Texas, was a real presence at this year’s convention. Our schools were represented by three presenters, SOS SIG Treasurer officer, TCEA Board Member Region 7 Director, 2009 TCEA Teacher of the Year, and Exhibition Hall winners of a Mimio board, Eno board, multiple flash drives, and Easiteach software. Sessions that were attended by our participants have sparked innovative ideas that will change the face of education across curricula on each campus. Just in this past week alone on the Intermediate campus, 4 additional blogs were established, 7 additional Moodle courses have been formed, and a new attendee is eager and ready to submit her application to present at next year’s convention. I was just thinking, “How can this NOT have an affect on our lives and the lives of our students?”

Then, today I went to my granddaughter’s birthday party. During the cake and ice cream, my grandson was sitting next to me drawing. He couldn’t find anything to draw on or with so I gave him a pencil from my purse and a copy of the TCEA Newsletter. He turned the pages looking for something to draw and stopped short. There was a picture of a group of intermediate students participating in a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Geographic Society, JASON, that connects young students via technology with great explorers and great events to inspire and motivate them to learn science. Dr. Robert Ballard, the founder of the JASON Project was our Closing Keynote speaker. My grandson’s face broke out in a broad smile as he said, “Nonnie, I am just itching to do experiments with gases and liquids.”

My conclusionary thoughts, “I am just itching for students to discover how technology can bring life to their dreams.