In reading chapter four, I was struck by the fact that even this 2010 (4th edition) is a little outdated, for example, there are no thumb drives pictured in Figure 3.20 "Four Types of Data Storage Cards", and the picture below it shows a floppy disk, which I think few people use anymore. I just thought that was interesting, because it shows how quickly the technology does change. Of course, theoretically it is very important for teachers to keep up with changing technology. In practice, it is very challenging!
One small example of the pace of change is this: While some of the teachers (myself included), were learning how to use interactive whiteboards, others who never had them suddenly found the district had installed a newer technology, "Mimio", in their rooms. It is similar but more sophisticated and takes up less space.
What is ironic and frustrating, though, is that the compuer at my teaching station is so old that it frequently took a long time to process any signals given through the whiteboard. Even the PD person who came to show us more programs to use with our whiteboards grew very frustrated with trying to demonstrate things in my room.
No real answers to that, I guess, just an observation that all of the integrated technology must keep up in order to see the maximum benefit!
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