Times (and Technology) Are Changing

Glance through the last few entries, and you will see I have not posted on a regular basis for quite some time.

There is a reason for this.

The last two years I have been CONSUMED with graduate school. Starting in May 2008, I have taken classes continuously. The longest break has been over the Christmas holiday when we were given a month off.

Fortunately, the end is in sight. I have a literature review to write and an ePortfolio to put together, and I will be finished. I hope to finish both projects this summer.  Meanwhile, I hope to become more consistent in writing for this blog.

For anyone looking to enhance their teaching with technology, I would highly recommend the Instructional Technology program at the University of Northern Iowa. You can learn more about it by visiting the website at http://www.uni.edu/itech. With the exception of two on-campus classes during the summer of 2008, the entire program can be completed via distance learning. (I live in Central Iowa, and UNI is located in Cedar Falls, approximately two hours north.)

I am amazed at how rapidly technology continues to change. Looking back two years ago to our first class-Emerging Instructional Technology—I can already see incredible changes.

• Two years ago “netbooks” were still in their infancy, and no one even dreamed of an iPad (except for the engineers at Apple.)
• Social media has really come into its own as a viable method of communicating, marketing, instructing, and connecting.
• “The Cloud” has become the computing platform of choice. Even Microsoft Office, the symbol of desktop dominance now has a cloud component.

Yes, Millie, things are changing!

Hang-on for the ride the next few years as we continue to see rapid development of personal computing devices. This summer the wireless companies will begin to introduce 4G access across the USA, and Google will introduce their “Google TV” later this year. There is an Android Slate on the horizon and a windows-based slate.

Is it All Good?

The challenge for those of us on the consuming end of all this new stuff is what in the world are we going to do with it? Is it possible to become numb to all of the techno whiz that surrounds us on a daily basis? Is it possible for the technology to become more of a distraction than enhancement?

What do you think?