what and when?

One of the (many) challenging questions we face in terms of technology in the classroom is, what to adopt and when. I might sink a load of money into a new development and discover the following year that it has been eclipsed by something cheaper and better. Obsolescence occurs so quickly, how do we decide what's really worth the investment?

overwhelming

I suspect (or at least hope) I'm not the only one who feels like, in the midst of massive and deep-rooted changes in curriculum requirements and testing regimens, trying to wrap my head around the prospect of also keeping up to date on the most productive implementation of technological innovations is quite intimidating. As an English teacher, I'm supposed to take kids who, in many cases, haven't developed the basic knowledge and competence they were supposed to in grade school and middle school, bring them up through several grade levels in terms of technical competence while simultaneously teaching them the more sophisticated skills of critical thinking and independent learning, continually maintain a working knowledge of current pedagogical research and apply it to my classroom practices, and while doing all this, keep abreast of the ever-faster evolution of educational technology, implementing it skillfully into my classroom practices.

Well, I guess that's what classes are for; I have really smart people who specialize in these various topics to guide me--thank goodness for professors.

Honestly, I never thought this day would come. Ah well--change is the only constant, after all.