This morning I was looking at one of our textbooks with another teacher. She pointed out to me some of the on-line resources available to students that are noted in the book. There is a website including printable flashcards, study guides, and links to related material. I was very impressed with this, as I’m sure was the department that selected it.
Thinking further, though, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What, if anything, of this fabulous guide will ever be used?” This is not a criticism of the textbook or of its selection because both appear to be excellent, but sometimes I worry about dying of thirst in an ocean of resources.
I think we all feel this. too many resources is no more helpful than too few, and it is easier to do nothing when we can’t do everything. Like no time since the advent of the printing press has so much of the sum of human knowledge been readily available to us…so why do I feel dumber all the time?
This is not an answer post. I know that the answer is not to avoid new resources and new technologies, but it seems impossible to wrap one’s mind (much less the minds of all of the students) around every latest technique and resource. I spend a portion of my week both at school and at home reading about new tech resources for school and for life. I could easily spend all my time doing this, and that would be just reading about them, not trying them out.
So I suppose this is one with which I, and all of you, will need to struggle. I guess that recognizing the problem is the best we can do at the moment.