So, ok, we get it. Austin is wonderful.

Sure, the weather sucked. No prob-- we're from New York. March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. We can handle it.

And, ok, there's little time to do anything but rush from session to session. And, yes, a lot of the sessions were totally unsexy and unfun. Fine. We get it: we're teachers. Fun is not easy.

Yet, it was a terrific time. So many cool people, so many great connections, so much beer, so many tacos... what's to complain about? Nothing. SXSWedu, we love you. We want more.

When it comes to EdTech and teachers, we've learned that there are a lot of shared goals. We all want products that work. We all want teachers to be happily using products. We all know that positive student outcomes grow straight out of the environments that kick ass teachers build. Innovations that work are ones that have teachers who love them.

Where do we go from here?

1.  We put online the best of the best of Kleba's talk. It generated a lot of buzz and resonated with a lot of people. Teachers and entrepreneurs alike found something in it. We are going to give you the greatest hits.

2. Teachernomics is going to start working on hub connections. We know that EdTech and teachers want to get together. It's a bit like a middle school dance: the girls are on one side and the boys are on the other. Everybody wants to dance but few know how to get it started.  We want to get it started.

3. We're going to write. And connect. And listen. SXSWedu 2014 taught us many things, but one lesson in particular: people are ready for teachers (like us) to lean in, listen to developers, talk to developers, and make things better.

The glass isn't just half full: it's begging for water. And we've got a garden hose full of ideas and energy. We're ready to talk to teachers and EdTech.

We're ready to talk to you.

Get ready, America. The teaching profession is about to be the sexiest profession of them all. The way it should be.

Fat Tuesday was packed with great connections here in Austin.

We talked to piles of great people-- check out our twitter feed to meet some of the cool eduratti (thanks for the new word @ericnentrup) we got to hang with today. We also enjoyed the McMillan Lounge (beer) and the Dell/Intel tent (guac). Great things happen when teachers are fed by entrepreneurs (pictured left).

The very chill people of 4.0 Schools threw a great Mardi Gras party. What was better than the free drinks, the beads, and the great food? The fact that the 4.0 crowd had tons of people who were talking about teachers making innovation work. We have to say: it probably shouldn't be uncommon to hear people talking about teachers as rock stars at an education convention. We talked to Bennett from CTQ, Fu and Katie from 4.0, and Richard and Hamish from England. Everybody wanted to talk about teachers. 

Special thanks to Abbie for inviting us. Nothing like seeing a former student running a good party. She totally rocks.

We also ate and drank everything in sight.

Before we pass out, here's our list of acquired targets for tomorrow. Look for us!

9:00am Stop. Collaborate and Listen: Teachers and EdTech Team Up. Heck, we're in just because of the Vanilla Ice reference.
10:30am Startups Should Talk with Researchers and Educators. Yup.
12:00pm Meet the Innovators: Succeeding Against the Odds. Why are the odds so lousy? We want to hear. Plus: title almost a Phil Collins reference.
1:30pm Inspire, Lead, Innovate, Make More, TEACH. They had us at "to help spread the importance of teaching." 
1:30pm How Schools Can Better Discover Tech Tools. "School leaders must consider feedback from end-users- the teachers..." We're down.
3:00pm Women Disruptors of Education. We dig EdSurge- if we make it to this, it'll be to see what skipper Betsy Corcoran has to say. Plus: we like girls. Don't judge.

Austin does Election Day and Mardi Gras, on the same day? This city might be perfect.
Signed, your travolified boys of Teachernomics,
Rhys Orteez and Mark Keezy

This afternoon's speech was bananas. 

Earlier today, Mike Kleba gave his talk "Teachers: Undiscovered Entrepreneurial Rockstars" at SXSWedu. We met a ton of great people and felt the energy of the nation's hottest Educon focused on innovation. Check out @ryanwohara or @mikekleba twitter feeds to see and feel the excitement generating around the idea of #teachernomics here in Austin. T

Our take:  just about everyone here in Austin seems to agree that teachers are the past, present, and future hubs of innovation in education. If the private industry has been the source of reform and innovation in education, teachers have been the developers, implementors, and champions of everything that has worked.

So, where do we go from here?  More sessions, of course.

Here's our list of who we plan to see (or hope to see) while in Austin. Join us as we chase down the EdTech companies, the startups, and the Ed leaders who seem to be working from our Teachernomics premise.  If you want change in Education, work with and for teachers.  It's not a political or moral argument.  It's a logical one.

TUESDAY 03/04 SXSWedu
9:00am Win-Win! Strategies for EdTech/Educator Engagement
9:00am How Do We Get More 'Ed' in EdTech' Development?
3:00pm The Textbook Is Dead- Long Live the Teachers!
3:00pm LAUNCHedu: Educator Insights
4:30pm Tuesday Keynote: Vivienne & Norma Ming

If you think we should be endorsing other sessions, let us know! In the meantime, get out an enjoy Austin. Or whatever place you are in. Chances are, you'll be around some teachers doing great things.

There's a krewe forming in NOLA-- and its parade isn't down Bourbon Street. It's down a classroom hallway.

As you know, the guys of teachernomics (Kleba and O'Hara) are headed to SXSWedu next week.  At Austin's famous and cutting edge educon, we're planning to look for teacher-driven innovations, ideas, organizations, and startups.  

We've got an eye on the cleverly named outfit in New Orleans called the Future of School.

NOLA is a hotbed for EdTech and edupreneurship; it's a city taking advantage of the structural instability in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It's a political hot potato, for sure: advocates of public education (that includes us here at teachernomics!) are weary of the potential frictions of private sector interest. Still, we are very interested in seeing what edu innovation grows in the Mississippi Delta over the next few years. 

What excites us most about Future of School is their current "Challenge" to find great people to run the program. At teachernomics, we know that there is no more important "capital" in any edu innovation than the leadership of great teachers. Here's hoping that those hopeful folks in America's most culturally civilized city will attract and give the reins to great teachers!

Good luck, Future of School!

Want to take Future of School's Challenge?  Or just look at a well-designed pitch for educational innovation? Check out their absolutely gorgeous website at
http://futureofschool.org/

Painting by NOLA artist Diane Millsap