Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Hitting the Wall

I knew it would happen eventually and now it has. I've hit a wall, well actually two walls really. I've picked up all these new Web 2.0 tools and have been trying to use them in my technology class. Mainly this has been experimentation with my students being voluntary test subjects. But I've picked up so many tools I can't decide what to try next and I'm forgetting some of them before I get a chance to use them. So I'm hitting a wall of not enough time.
I'm also hitting another wall with trying to find a way to introduce these ideas to my students (who are stuck just understanding Web 1.0) They love the tools, especially after they've used them a couple of times, but they don't visualize the concepts on what this can do for them. They see it as a tool in class not in life. Part of this is only one in three of my students have Internet/computer access at home.
Normally hitting the wall just means I need some time to let the ideas simmer at the back of my brain, then after a while everything pops into place. But new ideas keep popping up and I don't have the time to simmer, ergo frustration city. I'm not happy with the fact that things are going past me that I want and I catch on to them, test them, figure out how to use them, and teach them without being overwhelmed by other choices. I've got twenty-five cents and I'm loose in the candy store with too many choices. Or to follow through with the simmering, I've got four burners on the stove and seven pots to cook in, what to do, what to do, what to do.

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