I admit that trying to Drink from a Fire Hose is near to impossible but… at what distance is it possible?
Before the multi-media explosion of electronic connection, in the heady days of the early nineties when the Internet was still text-based, I was labeled a “techy” because I was talking about experimenting with integrating learning technologies into my teaching practice. It didn’t seem like a big deal - one or two “cool new things” would surface and the choice about what to “learn next” was limited. I gladly jumped at every opportunity I could to see how using technology in the classroom would work out. Experimenting was manageable and seemed to develop at a comfortable pace amidst the fervor at which advancements were being alluded to by the new Tech Companies popping up prolifically. Well, the grandeur of that promised future has arrived, even more spectacularly than imagined, but I find myself riding the “technology wave” much differently.
At first, I was able to delve into an Application or Software program, learning the ins and outs of its strengths and limitations; loving to figure out “work- a-rounds” when the program didn’t quite meet the required need. Somewhere near the beginning of the new millennia came the inflection point of technological exponential growth, where the curve suddenly shot up like a rocket on the graph. I felt like I was blasted out of a cannon into an oncoming torrent of new technologies. Inundated, flooded by innovation, drowned by the sheer volume and panicked about which direction to turn, my brain swirling with ideas about possibilities. I continually felt pressed for time, running to catch up, gulping at all that gushed out of the technology hose. Until one day I stepped back and stopped.
Maybe I stopped because I realized that diving into the deluge of invention, the way I was doing it anyways, was impossible, as impossible as it would be to drink water directly from the end of a fire hose. I saw that if I continued on the same way, I would essentially sink in technology without actually making use of it, which sort of defeated the purpose of its existence. I thought of how preposterous it would be if upon entering a library I felt compelled to read all the books at once. More importantly, I connected my technology-learning anxiety to the irrationality of feeling badly, sadly and overwhelmed because it was a physical impossibility for my brain to read the whole library at once.
The turning point was when I realized that I needed to “window-shop” my way through technology. It was better to stroll through the store, browsing through the displays, taking my time to think about what I saw and whether or not I really needed the “new gadget.” Being cautious about being lured into the continuum of the “upgrade” mentality I would cross check my answer to “yes I need this new app” with thinking about how exactly what I had done previously would be improved if I implemented the new technology into my practice.
Now when I feel the pressure to learn yet another new technology, I always take a step back to think. Responding to the technology hype more judiciously, enables me to focus in on trying new things in my classroom, but in ways that honours the time that I need to develop a deep understanding of the how the technology works and how it could best be used to enhance the learning of my students.
I have no doubt that the fire hose of technology will continue to gush! But now I take solace in knowing that though I may miss this year’s latest and greatest, next year will likely present itself with a situation and context that makes it purposeful for me to learn a new technology. Fortunately, the new iterations of any “last year’s” tech will probably be improved and if I’m lucky, even easier to use!
Before the multi-media explosion of electronic connection, in the heady days of the early nineties when the Internet was still text-based, I was labeled a “techy” because I was talking about experimenting with integrating learning technologies into my teaching practice. It didn’t seem like a big deal - one or two “cool new things” would surface and the choice about what to “learn next” was limited. I gladly jumped at every opportunity I could to see how using technology in the classroom would work out. Experimenting was manageable and seemed to develop at a comfortable pace amidst the fervor at which advancements were being alluded to by the new Tech Companies popping up prolifically. Well, the grandeur of that promised future has arrived, even more spectacularly than imagined, but I find myself riding the “technology wave” much differently.
At first, I was able to delve into an Application or Software program, learning the ins and outs of its strengths and limitations; loving to figure out “work- a-rounds” when the program didn’t quite meet the required need. Somewhere near the beginning of the new millennia came the inflection point of technological exponential growth, where the curve suddenly shot up like a rocket on the graph. I felt like I was blasted out of a cannon into an oncoming torrent of new technologies. Inundated, flooded by innovation, drowned by the sheer volume and panicked about which direction to turn, my brain swirling with ideas about possibilities. I continually felt pressed for time, running to catch up, gulping at all that gushed out of the technology hose. Until one day I stepped back and stopped.
Maybe I stopped because I realized that diving into the deluge of invention, the way I was doing it anyways, was impossible, as impossible as it would be to drink water directly from the end of a fire hose. I saw that if I continued on the same way, I would essentially sink in technology without actually making use of it, which sort of defeated the purpose of its existence. I thought of how preposterous it would be if upon entering a library I felt compelled to read all the books at once. More importantly, I connected my technology-learning anxiety to the irrationality of feeling badly, sadly and overwhelmed because it was a physical impossibility for my brain to read the whole library at once.
The turning point was when I realized that I needed to “window-shop” my way through technology. It was better to stroll through the store, browsing through the displays, taking my time to think about what I saw and whether or not I really needed the “new gadget.” Being cautious about being lured into the continuum of the “upgrade” mentality I would cross check my answer to “yes I need this new app” with thinking about how exactly what I had done previously would be improved if I implemented the new technology into my practice.
Now when I feel the pressure to learn yet another new technology, I always take a step back to think. Responding to the technology hype more judiciously, enables me to focus in on trying new things in my classroom, but in ways that honours the time that I need to develop a deep understanding of the how the technology works and how it could best be used to enhance the learning of my students.
I have no doubt that the fire hose of technology will continue to gush! But now I take solace in knowing that though I may miss this year’s latest and greatest, next year will likely present itself with a situation and context that makes it purposeful for me to learn a new technology. Fortunately, the new iterations of any “last year’s” tech will probably be improved and if I’m lucky, even easier to use!