And the last day is actually here. I’d like to say that the time has flown by… but it hasn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong – I have really enjoyed this conference. Rhonda and her legions of helpers and volunteers did a great job with this conference. It’s just that doing the blog, micro-blog, AND podcast took a lot more time and energy than I thought they would. It’s feels like it has been ages since I stepped out of Scott’s truck and Harriet said “let’s go get the micro-blog screen set-up!” I think the poor podcast bore the brunt of our busyness – well, that and the fact that cellphone reception at the convention center is extremely spotty. I really didn’t feel like dragging anyone in to the parking lot just for a quick interview.

There are many promising things happening at this year’s conferences. Several extremely radical ideas were thrown out at every session I attended (including general sessions). Usually these ideas meet with a mixture of enthusiasm and skepticism at every conference I have been at – but not here. The enthusiasm might have been cautious, but the skepticism seems to be blissfully absent (as it usually is at TxDLA).

And the absence of certain buzzwords that I don’t like, well… I need to get off of that one 🙂

I also noticed that I made it all the way until Wednesday night before someone made the claim that they were going to be revolutionizing the field of online education like no one has in ___ years. That’s neither good nor bad – just unusual. I love seeing all of the new products in the vendor hall, as well as reading the hype surrounding them with a smile. I explore emerging technologies on a daily basis, so I tend to be a tad too cynical about hype.

I also find it funny hearing people’s reactions to sessions in the halls, elevators, and lunch lines of the conference. Every day I hear this one comment: “It was a good session. They actually did exactly what the description said – I was thinking it would be something else. I wish that they had covered this or went more in detail on ______.” I think that is an interesting commentary on the American advertising system – people are actually surprised when they get exactly what the description says. (If you are a first time presenter – please realize that statements like that are meant as a compliment – as in, it was so good, they wanted more.)