Clear as Mud: A Moment of Much Needed Clarity at ITEC 2010

I've had the great pleasure - and angst - to be at the Iowa Technology Education Connection conference in Coralville, Iowa. Great workshops, keynote speakers, learning sessions, human networking (on and offline) and everything else you would expect from a well organized group such as ITEC. A tip of a hat to the people behind it.

It has been invigorating, educational, thought provoking, mind bending and inspirational.

Until now, that is.

The last two sessions I attended were whirlwind presentations on updated Web 2.0 tools and social bookmarking. Both of these sessions where high on my priority list. Both left my head spinning, and not in a good way. I'm beginning to wonder how or when I'll be able to get my head around these great applications enough to use them in a helpful way instead of that curious way that we all have done with a new technology.

You know how it goes: you see something new and it looks interesting. It's just curled up there, looking harmless and cute. You poke and prod it for a little while until it wakes completely up and you realize that this is not a fuzzy cuddly thing that will be fun but a big hairy thing that has lots of teeth, a voracious hunger and perhaps even a fair amount of snot and drool. You run away before it can bite, and you tend to stay away from it. You now stand in amazement of others who have tamed the beast: "Wow - you use Diigo? And you're still alive to talk about it? Do they give you a medal for that??"

I'm getting time off from work, money for the sub, the registration and the mileage, and I feel conflicted, confused and unenlightened - and these were for things that I was looking forward to. (Don't get me started on the "What's New from Apple" seminar - the guy talked for 35 minutes about the voucher program. It was like watching "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" without light sabers.)

Moment of clarity, courtesy of Vickie Davis, the Cool Cat Teacher during her keynote:

Don't wait to try the technology, but don't try to do it all at once. Take on what you can reasonably do. Find one thing to explore and do it today or tomorrow, but don't wait until Thursday or Friday.

Moment of clarity, courtesy of Angela Maiers via a retweet from Dr. Leigh Zeitz:

Don't try to get good at everything-learn one thing well (And then share it with someone!).

Moment of clarity, courtesy of Simon and Garfunkel:

Slow down, you move too fast. You gotta make the morning last.

(No, they didn't present, but if they did, they would have sung this for sure.)

Not in any order, or even it its entirety, here are the things I would like to dive into and figure out:
Diigo, Soshiku, TimeToast, Blabberize, Aminmation-ish, SmartTools ... and the list goes on. I would also like to learn more about GoogleSites, WikiSpaces, SketchUp ... and that list goes on.

This list will keep me busy - but I'll keep it simple and focus on one at a time. 

What one will I play with tomorrow? Probably the one that I know the least. Next week? Who knows?

What technology will you begin to learn tomorrow? What technology was the "best new technology" you learned about at ITEC 2010?

Once again, thanks to the ITEC board for putting together the best educational conference I've attended yet. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Image credit: Mud Mud Golden Mud; Haribo's Photos, April 22, 2008.