Keeping Up With Technology Changes

How many times have you said (or heard) "It's impossible to keep up with the changes in technology"! No matter if it's a professional responsibility or just one of your 'passions', keeping abreast of the changes in technology presents continuous challenges and frustrations! 


I follow several technology blogs and a recent post ("Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, Email- why/when use each one") by a high school physics teacher helped me to reflect upon the tools I use on a daily basis to at least make an effort at keeping abreast of technology news, information and utilization. Similar to the poster, I typically use Twitter, RSS feeds, email, and Facebook for a variety of reasons. I find Twitter extremely beneficial for following experts, organizations, businesses, educators, etc. in my profession. However, because of the speed and frequency I may miss important information or content so my 'backup' is Google Reader, my choice for RSS feeds. Often I follow the same experts, groups, etc. but I am a bit more secure that I'm not missing updates. 


Admittedly, many of the ways I use Facebook are related to connecting with family and friends. However, I also 'Like' the same experts, organizations, businesses, and educators that I follow via RSS and Twitter which gives me yet one more way of cross-checking relevant news and information in my profession.  This may sound like a lot of work or repetitive, but I'm usually 'scanning' the news and have developed the ability to quickly 'weed out' extraneous or irrelevant information.


Of course my work and personal email continue to be an integral part of my daily technology use and, as the poster notes, I don't believe that email is going away anytime soon! So we learn to live with it and develop strategies to decipher how and when to 'delete' and move on! It's simply a 'necessary evil' for doing business and staying connected.


I encourage you to explore any of these tools for 'keeping up with technology changes'. Perhaps following OIT's Twitter accounts (@CGUoit and @CGUiPad) for news, information and updates (CGUiPad includes iPad app specials) might be a way to 'test the water'!