TCEA 2012. The experience of a lifetime.  Okay, that may be a bit drastic, but let me explain.  Over a year ago, I started out on my EMDT journey.  Along the way, I learned so many amazing things, met interesting and quirky people, and gained a new skill set, the value of which is still being revealed.  During Month 12, we had to apply to present our year-long action research project at a major conference or apply to have our work published.  I opted for the presentation.  I wish that I could tell you it was for some noble reason.  It wasn't.  The application was just easier, and at that point in my journey I was exhausted.  Fast forward 2 months.  It's July of 2011, and I have been back in Houston about 4 weeks since attending my graduation.  The news comes.  They picked me!  Awestruck doesn't begin to capture how I felt in that moment.  As I began to put together my presentation, I realized the caliber of work that I had done with my Action Research, and I knew that I would be a huge success. 

When I arrived in Austin, Texas, I don't think anything could have prepared me for the sheer size of the conference.  Attendance was close to 10,000, and I had a prime presentation slot: day one, after lunch.  I arrived 2 hours early, just like they told me to.  I checked my presentation at least 20 times, and I calmly and patiently waited for the start of my presentation.  When the time finally came, you won't believe what happened next.  The internet went down!!  Let me be more specific, the internet in MY presentation room was down.  Apparently, the bandwidth was not enough to handle my presentation.  They actually told me that I was using too much technology.  And here I thought it would be okay to embed several videos into a Prezi to use, considering I was at a TECHNOLOGY conference!!  How exactly can you show people how to incorporate digital storytelling into a classroom without showing examples, guiding them through the process, etc.  Needless to say, it was a great moment for a Q & A session.  After they called in for backup (literally) and got me up and running again, the remainder of my presentation went off without a hitch.  As a matter of fact, I received so many compliments when it was over.  Not only were people impressed with the work that I had done and appreciative of the knowledge that I shared with them, many of them wanted to commend me for how I was able to handle myself in that situation.  One of those people was the Director of Educational Technology for my school district.  She talked to me afterwards about my work, my Masters Degree, and even offered me the chance to present district staff development based on my Action Research.  And just when I thought it couldn't get any better than that, I walk downstairs into the exhibit hall, find the Full Sail booth, and there is Dr. Fun (Daniel Siegel) himself in the flesh! 

Not only did I represent myself and my school district well during this week, I was also a shining example of EMDT Alumni at Full Sail.  Being able to answer participant questions on the spot, for 20 minutes in the middle of my presentation was not easy.  If it had not been for the preparation that went into the project, the comments each professor made every month, the umpteenth revisions that Roxanne made me do to my Lit Review, the raking of the AR site with a fine tooth comb by Dr. Bedard, the advice given by Dr. Deason every time I found him on iChat (which, trust me, was quite often); if it had not been for all of my experiences at Full Sail that helped prepare me for my final presentation before the panel, I would have not been prepared for Austin.  When all of your notes are on the internet, and the internet crashes, you find out just how much you know.  And I found out that I really knew my stuff. 

This experience taught me a lot about myself.  It also made me grateful for every step that it took to get there.  If I could give any advice for current and/or future EMDT students and alumni, it would be this: take advantage of every opportunity.  Don't put your AR (Capstone) project on the back burner.  Balance your time, find a way to make it to Roxanne's extra Wimba sessions, do whatever it takes to make sure that your project is done in excellence.  Remember, we are the future of education in this country.  We are the change agents.  And as one of my favorite professors always says, "Go out and make ripples!"  Through my project, I affected not only the students involved.  Sharing my research allowed me to make ripples that are now reaching across the state and even the country.  I'm making ripples in my pond.  Go out and make ripples in yours!