What application is that?
August 20, 2008
Continuing my train of thought, I am sitting here bemused at the similarities between technology and an enormous supermarket.
Swamped for choice is the common thread. Which washing powder is going to get the whites white, but not the coloured items as well, what will leave clothes soft but not be an allergen, what is good for the environment is as complex a decision making process as which tool is going to help me use and manage Twitter – do I want it to come into my phone, send from my phone, from my desktop, from the web, through Second Life, or from any of the other options I have not even been able to check out.
The choice seems absolutely endless for just one tool. How many communication tools are there? How many tools badged as Web 2.0? Some friends seem to be waiting on the edge of their seats for the next version, the next widget or the next tool, and joyously dive in and add it to their collection. I cannot.
I took on some very good advice from a friend, and made a conscious decision not to keep signing up for and trying to learn every tool that was listed / recommended. Heaving a sigh of relief I was able to concentrate on what was set up and functional, and manageable.
That worked well for all of a fortnight. Then it started. As an example, a group I was in put up some resources in Slideshare – sign up, add to list of applications. This has happened more than once. There are so many tools that the odds on multiple groups selecting the same tools to use seem to be very long.
So many tools seem do the same thing in similar ways. I wonder if there will be a rationalisation of tools, or will the variety and number just keep on climbing?
Could that swamped feeling be one of the barriers for some people in moving into the online and Web 2.0 world or is it part of the excitement of being an active creative participant on the web?
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: Web2.0 webtools management technology overload.
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1.
Teacherman79 | August 31st, 2008 at 7:09 am
I made this very lengthy and intelligent comment and hit submit, but I did not type in the correct anti-spam words…So I guess you have to read this comment.
In my school, I don’t think it is the swamped feeling, from the large number of tools, because most teachers, in my school anyway, don’t look into web tools at all. Teachers here don’t investigate, many times, because of road blocks placed in their way by proxy blockers and an inability to download new tools without first filling out a work ticket.
Also, many don’t see a purpose because they only have one computer in their classroom that is more for attendance and recording student grades. I like learning as many new tools as I can. I think it is important to be familiar with as many as possible…hopefully…hehe…
2.
Paul Harrington | September 27th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I very much agree with your train of thought, that indeed the tools out there can appear both confusing and overwhelming. Perhaps to take an analogy I would go with the ‘own brands’ from the supermarket i.e. I would restrict yourself at the outset to one tool in a specific area and take the time to try it out, decide if it is up to the job you want it for. This part is crucial it has to work for you and your students. If it doesn’t ….. go try another, you will eventually find the one which suits your situation.
It is I feel very much a case of the tool becoming something which once mastered disappears into the background, as the learning takes over. If a web 2.0 tool keeps screaming and shouting about itself, perhaps by changing regularly then it is actually going to get in the way of the learning. Interfaces are important and I feel very much as in the real world, first impressions count.
Take for example a tool such as Voicethread – my primary kids could see what it was able to do pretty well from the outset, and could use it easily, what became important then was the use they made of it for digital storytelling. Twitter is the same for developing a personal learning network once you get it it becomes second nature to use it.
pj23harry
3.
angelac1 | October 2nd, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Paul and Teacherman, you both make very good points.
Yes, it is hard to remember how many teachers have very limited access to computers in their classroom environment, and as was shown by research access is an undeniably important factor in uptake of technology.
I also agree about the right tool becoming an indistinguishable part of the teaching / learning process – does this take us back round to the tool should fit the purpose, not the purpose fit the tool?
I think my biggest concern is for those who are at the start of the journey of discovery. To be faced with so many choices, so many minor differences in process, so many blocked in one location and a different group blocked in another – how can someone looking to get started proceed without too big a waste of time?
For me, the obvious answer is my PLN, but it is like the chicken and egg – which comes first ?
Must there be some use of tools to begin developing a PLN?
4.
Leon Cych | October 28th, 2008 at 5:46 am
Collaboration and augmentation through collaboration could help this. Every person is like a different browser anyway. If it can’t be said simply in text or pics away from 3rd party apps then it’s not threading through with the concept.
Having said that Open ID is a wonderful thing!
5.
angelac1 | November 4th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
I agree entirely about people being their own browser. That is one of the elements that makes creating guidelines or a how to so limiting or inflexible. I also find that I trust many of my personal network – I trust them to find something that works, and I trust them to put up with me using a tool long after they have moved on.