Lately, it seems as if you blink, you can miss a great deal. Information is ZIPPING by us at remarkable speeds and it is almost impossible now to keep up.
I use ZITE, Flipboard, RSS, twitter, edmodo, facebook and more — which floods my computer with information. I search digital footprints, cyber ethics, internet safety, online education, QR codes, flipped classrooms, and more — on google reader and every day there is more and more to read, to see, to filter, to experience.
I just recently started a podcast and want the info to be current — but sometimes it is out-dated by the time my show goes live (sometimes within 24 hours of it being posted.)
I will admit — I can be a “time snob” and often see some tweets go by and will honestly think “really, you are just noticing that now — that was so, like, 2 weeks ago”. And I wonder what am I missing because everything is coming and going so quickly.
I do so love being alive right now — and being a part of such an exciting time as this — but, I have to admit, I miss the slower pace (at times). But I can only think about that for a moment, and then I am back in the rush of learning again.
It is no longer an option to “stay current” as much as a necessity to do your best to “keep up”.
I appreciate the opportunities that have stood the test of time and still remain current and use-able: edmodo, wordle, wordpress, gmail, gdocs, skype, powerpoint — yet I know so many other options are out there as well. And it is important to be able to showcase to teachers MORE than just what I am comfortable with using.
And I wonder —
How do we juggle staying current when the speed of technology is faster than we can comprehend?
How do we not stay complacent with the comfortable and move into new opportunities?
How do we encourage teachers to change when they no longer can ease into it — but have to be ready to run?
What are you doing — to manage all this?
I would appreciate your wisdom.
Jen
I am about to log off this evening but just saw this post as I was scrolling through my Google Reader (one, increasingly inefficient way, that I try to remain “current”) and this post caught my attention because it touches on what I have been feeling very strongly very recently…
I blog and tweet, and everyday I am parsing through information that comes through on my Twitter, Facebook, and RSS feeds… it’s SO much…
It used to feel like we were just discussing a few related ed tech topics across all of the blogs and social media, but there has been such an expansion of “topics” recently that my brain is beginning to hurt…
I don’t think, despite how much information I consume, or at least “see”, in the course of the day, that I am in any way “keeping up.” I’m beginning to think that it’s impossible to “keep up” from a general perspective and the only way to hope to “keep up” is to specialize in one area and “keep up” on that one area. By this I mean — specialize in OER or gamification or blended learning or flipped learning or STEM or PBL or any one topic, but don’t try to keep up with all of it… I can’t and I’ve been trying to, and I think I’m at a point where I now realize that there’s just too much and it’s just evolving way too fast…
Having said all of that, let me quote Robert Kennedy:
“There is a Chinese curse which says ‘May he live in interesting times.’ Like it or not we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history.”
I would only change that quote to read as ” the creative energy of women and men than any other time in history.”
Thank you, Stephanie —
I always am grateful & honored when you drop by and post a comment to my thoughts.
There is SO MUCH I am not keeping up with — and sometimes feel I am not doing my job. There are other things I am clinging so tight to — hoping that they never go away, that I don’t look at other options.
I just feel that my mind is WAY too busy. Whirling, it I might.
I agree — that this is a very very interesting time…. I just wished I was more wise in how to balance it all…..or wise enough to just admit that I cannot.
Jen