Tips for Navigating the Exhibit Hall

Use the buttons below to find the right guide for your role.

For CTOs and IT Professionals

Provided by Kristofer Thurston
Director of Technology at John Paul II High School

The expo hall is not just a shopping mall with better lanyards. Treat it like a giant, slightly chaotic, professional learning lab.

• Go in with 2-3 problems to solve: Skip the vague “see what’s new” plan. Know what your teachers, students, admins, or technical team actually need so you can shop for solutions, not shiny objects.
• Plan, but leave room to wander: Mark a few must-see booths, then leave space for surprises. A quick lap around the hall can help you get oriented before booth #12 eats 35 minutes.
• Don’t skip the small booths: Explore the end rows, not just the giant booths with structures hanging from the ceiling. Smaller companies are often startups created by people trying to solve real education problems.
• Follow up on session discoveries: When a presenter mentions an unfamiliar product, add it to your expo list. Visit the booth while the session ideas are fresh and ask to see the tool used in that context.
• Ask for the demo, not the sales pitch: Lead with your problem and ask, “What would a teacher actually do with this on Monday?” Then request the teacher, student, admin, or technical view you need.
• Ask the unglamorous questions: Find out about accessibility, privacy, student data, integrations, rostering, support, training, cost, and implementation. Shiny features are fun. Surprise infrastructure projects are not.
• You belong in the conversation: You do not need purchasing authority to ask questions. Talk with reps and educator ambassadors. If a vendor only wants to talk to decision-makers, keep walking.
• Ask actual customers: If an attendee says they use the product or app, ask what they love, what frustrates them, and what they wish they had known before buying. The unpolished version is usually the useful one.
• Protect your badge: A badge scan usually means follow-up communication. Let companies scan it only when you genuinely want to hear from them. A free T-shirt is not a lifetime email subscription.
• Take notes with context: Capture the company name, the problem it could solve, and your next step. Otherwise, your camera roll will become a museum of mystery booth photos.
• Separate the swag from the learning: If swag is your jam, make a dedicated swag run and drop it off at your hotel. When you are exploring and talking with reps, travel light, skip the paper handouts, and say no to the tote bag.
• Take breaks: Leave the hall, hydrate, review your notes, and let your brain reset. After enough booths, every platform starts to look revolutionary, and every tote bag starts to feel essential.
• Leave with three wins: Find one thing you can use Monday, one thing to investigate later, and one thing you did not know existed. That is a productive expo visit. You do not have to conquer the whole hall.
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For Curriculum and Campus Leaders

Provided by Jennifier Krnavek
Flour Bluff Junior High Dean of Instruction

• Focus on visiting the vendors that you already have a relationship with first. It’s always good to put a face to a name that you may have been corresponding with for a while. Using the vendor search function in the conference app is helpful for this because it allows you to “star” or “favorite” the vendors you are interested in visiting. The app, in the past, has allowed you to make notes under each vendor as needed. This helps when you get back to school and you’re trying to remember what was said and by whom.
• Evaluate your campus/district goals and look for vendors that could possibly offer solutions for those needs. Vendors sometimes have dedicated rooms and/or sessions demonstrating their products. If you attend one of those and want more information, make sure to visit their booth in the exhibit hall. And vice versa, if you visit their booth and want more information, ask them if they are leading a session and then attend it!
• If you are attending with a group from your campus or district, divide and conquer! Yes, it’s fun to walk around with your buddy, but there are so many more vendors that you could visit if you split up and then collaborate over dinner and drinks later that day.
• Finally, don’t be afraid to just walk up and down each aisle marveling at the wide range of products, platforms, and solutions that are available to you. Vendors are eager to talk to anyone who shows interest in what they are offering.
• If this is your first time attending TCEA, it can be easy to get distracted by all the “shiny toys”. Going in with a plan helps you stay focused and use your time wisely. The old adage “so many things to do, so little time” is certainly true for the TCEA Exhibit Hall.
• And most importantly, have fun! The TCEA Exhibit Hall is a place where you can hang with like-minded educators from around Texas, the US and the world!

For Instructional Coaches

Provided by Janet Corder
Educational Technology Consultant

General Exhibit Hall Tips and Tricks

• Go on at least 1 Exhibit Hall tour! These are not only a fun way to experience the Exhibit Hall, but it is a chance to see and hear from vendors who some very experienced educators respect and use!
• Wear comfortable shoes!
• Plan plenty of time to visit the Exhibit Hall! Divide up your time between different days and remember where you left off if that is easier than trying to see everyone in one time slot.
• Leave your laptop in your hotel room because it will get very heavy!
• Start at one end and work your way through the isles. The Exhibit Hall is huge and you will waste a lot of time if you skip around.
• It’s okay to walk by vendors who don’t have items that relate to your job. Some of them will confront you like the people in the mall kiosks and you might be inclined to talk to them just to be nice. DON’T! Just keep walking and use your time visiting the booths that are of interest to you.
• Please don’t take rolling carts into the Exhibit Hall! They are a nuisance to everyone else.
• Many of the booths will bring in well-known speakers to do short presentations at their booths. These are excellent ways to learn about a product in a short amount of time. Look for the booths that have a theater-type setup and find their presentation schedule. These sessions usually have great give-aways.
• Remember that many of your teachers do not have the opportunity to attend a large conference. Take an empty backpack and gather all of those cute pens, t-shirts, hand sanitizers, etc. to use as treats or door prizes for your teachers. You might not need the items, but to a teacher, they are priceless and very appreciated.
• If you are brave and you have extra space, go to the Exhibit Hall on the very end of the last day. Exhibitors don’t like to ship or carry all of the leftover swag and they will be giving it away.
• Study the exhibitor list in the TCEA App beforehand. Mark:
  • Must visit
  • Interested
  • If I have time
• Think about the teachers you work with. If you have some that are interested in getting an advanced degree, visit with the universities who offer online degrees. Your teachers will be impressed that you are interested in them!
• Go to the booths of companies whose products you use and meet your school’s rep. If they know you, they are more likely to be willing to help you in the future if you have questions, need swag for training, etc.

If you are looking for a program or software:

Ask yourself, “What problem am I trying to solve?”instead of “What’s the newest shiny tool?”
You are probably not the decision-maker, but as an Instructional Coach, your option is usually respected and helpful. Whoever makes the decision will want to know:

• Does the product seamlessly integrate with existing your district’s platforms (e.g., Google Workspace, Canvas, Schoology) without requiring duplicate roster management. Ask, “Can you demonstrate how this integrates directly into our existing Learning Management System?”
• Does the product align with state standards? Make certain they align to your state standards, not Common Core (unless that is what your state uses).
• What ongoing professional learning support is offered and what are the fees for this support?
• Do they have an ambassador program? This is the best way to learn a product, see new updates, and collect awesome swag!
• Does the product meet student data privacy and district security requirements? Where is student data stored? Is student data used to train AI models? What data is collected?
• Does the product save time or streamline workflows?
  What districts/schools are using the product and who can I contact for a reference?
• What are the accessibility features (speech to text, translation tools, etc.)?
• Can we pilot the program?
• Who are their competitors? Then go visit that booth and compare the products.
• Ask if anyone is presenting a session about their product. Most companies go through the list of sessions and keep a list of who is showing their product.

For Librarians

Provided by Mary Eldredge
Early Childhood Librarian at Kooken Education Center in Arlington ISD

A Librarian’s Guide to Navigating the Exhibit Hall with Purpose (and No Overwhelm!)

The exhibit hall can feel massive, noisy, and overwhelming—but with a clear strategy, it can be one of the most practical parts of your conference experience. Here’s how to navigate the floor intentionally, protect your time, and target the exact resources your library needs:

• Map Your “Single Intentional Sweep” Before Entering
  • Don’t aimlessly walk the aisles! Check the floor plan layout beforehand and highlight 3 to 5 specific areas of focus (e.g., Maker/STEAM tools, Library Management Systems, Furniture/Spatial Design, or Author booths). Plan a single, targeted path so you aren’t crisscrossing the massive hall.
• Focus on “Hands-On Testing,” Not Just Demos
  • The biggest perk of the floor is physical access. Use your time to handle makerspace materials, test furniture durability, or ask vendor reps to show you the student-facing interface of a database or software you’ve been eyeballing.
• Set Clear “Badge Scanning” Boundaries
  Your contact information is valuable! It’s 100% okay to decline a badge scan if it’s truly not something you’re interested in. Keep a phrase ready like: “I’m just doing a quick visual sweep today, but I’ll grab your print flyer/business card if I want to follow up!”
• Create a Dedicated Email
  • If you do want vendor follow-up or want to enter a high-value giveaway (like a 3D printer or robotics kit for your library), consider creating a specific “conference email address” beforehand so your main school inbox doesn’t get flooded on Monday.
• Look for the “Hidden Gem” Non-Profit & State Booths
  • Don’t just stick to the massive corporate booths. Smaller state organization tables, regional service centers, and non-profit literacy groups often give away the best free digital lesson templates, grant opportunities, and direct networking contacts.
• Use the Hall as a “Quiet Work/Break Space” (During Off-Peak Hours!)
  • If you need a breather between sessions during peak presentation times, step into the hall when the aisles are empty. Many library furniture vendors set up comfortable lounge displays that are perfect for sitting down, resting your feet, and reviewing your session notes in peace.

For Teachers

• Go on at least 1 Exhibit Hall tour! These are not only a fun way to experience the Exhibit Hall, but it is a chance to see and hear from vendors who some very experienced educators respect and use!
• Wear comfortable shoes!
• Plan plenty of time to visit the Exhibit Hall! Divide up your time between different days and remember where you left off if that is easier than trying to see everyone in one time slot.
• Start at one end and work your way through the isles. The Exhibit Hall is huge and you will waste a lot of time if you skip around.
• It’s okay to walk by vendors who don’t have items that relate to your job. Some of them will confront you like the people in the mall kiosks and you might be inclined to talk to them just to be nice. DON’T! Just keep walking and use your time visiting the booths that are of interest to you.
• Please don’t take rolling carts into the Exhibit Hall! They are a nuisance to everyone else.
• Many of the booths will bring in well-known speakers to do short presentations at their booths. These are excellent ways to learn about a product in a short amount of time. Look for the booths that have a theater-type setup and find their presentation schedule. These sessions usually have great give-aways.
• Remember that many of your teachers do not have the opportunity to attend a large conference. Take an empty backpack and gather all of those cute pens, t-shirts, hand sanitizers, etc. to use as treats or door prizes for your teachers. You might not need the items, but to a teacher, they are priceless and very appreciated.
• If you are brave and you have extra space, go to the Exhibit Hall on the very end of the last day. Exhibitors don’t like to ship or carry all of the leftover swag and they will be giving it away.
• Study the exhibitor list in the TCEA App beforehand.
  • Mark:
  • Must visit
    • Think about tools you use in your classroom. Vendors love hearing feedback on how things are going and if you have suggestions for improvement and teachers always have the best feedback.
  • Interested
  • If I have time