New tools passed along in rapid fire
October 15, 2007
Recently there has been a series of rapid fire introductions to new tools ustream.tv,
operator 11, google presentations all propelled to the forefront through the invisible connections of twitter and other social networking sites many are connected to as part of their learning communities. I have to say at times I feel overwhelmed with all of the discoveries passed on, trying to find the time to look, explore, evaluate, and understand the potential either for classroom use or as a suggestion for use in someone’s own professional development. I have to be cautious of what I pass along, classroom teachers may be likely to try one new thing in a year’s time so I can’t throw too many things at them and hope something sticks. I have to have a clear understanding of how the tools are being used by others in education, have examples to share and talk about. In all of the commotion of new tools I also have to deal with whether these new tools are accessible in my district. Not all are, filtering seems to work differently everywhere. I have to be mindful in this area as well, when something is blocked I have to try to figure out why, and before I ask to have anything unblocked I must try think through my reasons to ask for the filter to be lifted and the ramifications of having the 
status changed. At times I feel as though I am on a never ending road that twists and turns and sometimes I just wish for a flat stretch to get my own bearings before thinking about sharing one more new tool that has appeared and captured someone’s eye.
Update: How does anyone else do this, how do you decide what has merit to introduce as tools you feel has value, what process do you go through? I am looking for help, suggestions, models to follow, you see in my district I do not have anyone else to bounce these ideas off of and feel at times at a loss for what direction to take. Thanks for your help!
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October 15th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
I know exactly what you mean, Robin. The recent onslaught of tools has been an exciting rush of potential possibilities, but it’s also overwhelming as the onslaught never stops (and I’ve got news for you: it won’t be slowing down any time soon, either).
Thus, like you, I find myself wanting for a break, however brief, if for nothing else than to simply catch my breath.
That said, I think it’s very important to take these new tools in stride, focus on how they can improve student learning, and incorporate those that we find to be of most benefit.
October 16th, 2007 at 9:01 am
Thanks for your comment Darren. I know the onslaught is constant and we are only in the infancy stage of what will continue to come our way. Some of us have the responsibility of sifting through these new applications and determining what we feel will impact student learning and how. This is where I depend on others in my network for feedback as well. I cannot do it alone and do it well, I depend on the collective knowledge of those I know to help shape some of my decisions.
October 17th, 2007 at 8:56 am
As a Technology Intergrationist, I try out alot of the products I run across to see how well they work, ease of use, etc…. Then I try to use it so teachers can see what I have done (podcasts, WizIQ) so they see how they work. Then I work with teachers who express an interest. Another thing is I review a variety of new products I see and post my observations to my blog (shameless plug, http://teacherbytes.blogspot.com). It is hard to keep up and most of it does not work well but you do find some true gems.
October 20th, 2007 at 12:05 am
I’m there with you Robin. There are times I’ll disconnect for a week or two and return feeling lost!
What I’ve found is that in evaluating tools, I push each into professional learning environment or instructional. Don’t get me wrong. I understand the two aren’t mutually exclusive but this is my way of helping to distinguish first and foremost whether I see this as a way of adding enhancing the classroom experience or as a way of helping my teachers grow professionally.
From there, I spend time pushing the tool as much as I can and relying upon the words of wisdom coming from my PLN. After all, I can’t evaluate everything so I pick a few from start to finish and rely upon others to start before I decide whether or not to jump in.
Also, if it fits into the instructional side, I break it down from there into strands: collaboration, creativity, etc. What I am looking to do is break it down into where it would be most useful in the classroom in terms of what teachers are trying to improve.
Like John, I use a blog to inform teachers and it is why I said in a Tech and Learning post that the best thing we can do for teachers and my number one goal is to help each teacher form a PLE starting with a feed reader: http://www.techlearning.com/blog/2007/09/a_starting_point_this_year.php
October 21st, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Thank you Ryan for sharing the process you use in evaluating tools. I believe we all depend on one another to share what is working and how, you are right, there are just too many for any one of us to evaluate and do it well.
I also believe we are all in different places with the staff we work with, some new to these tools, some who have been using for quiet some time. I like the way you break it down into collaboration, creativity, etc, I think this approach may help me. I agree wholeheartedly with you that the best thing we can do for others is help them begin their own PLE and beginning to use a reader is essential.