In 2018, I went to a summer Education and Technology Conference put on by Cincinnati Public Schools.
I was excited. It was my first real conference. A well-known educator and author was the keynote. I signed up for my sessions. I filled my notes with new ideas. I sat there ready to learn.
But somewhere in the middle of it all, a different thought started creeping in: “Why am I not up there?”
It wasn’t about ego. It wasn’t about thinking I was better. It was a realization that I had more to give.
And honestly? A lot of the sessions felt tired. I was learning—but I was also bored. I kept thinking, There has to be more.
After that conference, I made a decision: I was going to find a way to present.
How? No clue.
Where? No clue.
I didn’t have a map or a plan – just a desire.
To me, setting a goal isn’t about listing all the things you have to do.
It’s about asking yourself: “Who do I need to become to get there?”
So I went to work. I started sharing more. I started creating more. I started reading more. I started sequencing EduProtocols differently – combining them, remixing them, making them my own. I started thinking bigger.
A year later, I got an invitation to present at the Summer Spark conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I ran a workshop on EduProtocols. Then I presented at Spring CUE in Palm Springs, California. Then at NCSS in Nashville, Tennessee. Then all over the U.S. – sharing EduProtocols and AI from Boston to Los Angeles and everywhere in between. I built what I once just dreamed about.
That conference in 2018 didn’t just give me new ideas.
It gave me a mirror.
It made me ask, Who am I becoming?
It made me realize: If the room you want doesn’t exist yet, build it yourself.
And that’s exactly what I’m still doing.
Moler's Musings 