HiTechHall’s Tech Waves

These are certainly exciting times to be involved in education technology. Amazing things have happened in the past 10 years, and even more profound, exponentially-developing changes are on the horizon. I mean literally; like many will begin tomorrow… and some began yesterday, like Google Sites!

But as exciting as things are, the rapid pace of technology change happening right now has a lot of tech teachers and facilitators feeling like hamsters on an ever-faster-spinning treadmill; There’s too much to absorb, digest, and then regurgitate into something educationally-beneficial. How can anyone keep up with what’s going on tech-wise, when there are so many other immediate demands on our time?

I can’t do anything about the pace, but I do feel that over the past few years, I’ve developed a way to keep up with tech developments reasonably efficiently in terms of time and effort — Tech Podcasts. I started out downloading one or two to listen to on long runs, and soon realized that I was learning A LOT and able to bring that new knowledge to the classroom.

Through trial and error, I found that one of those tiny, inexpensive 1GB iPod Shuffles works best for me while running. I can clip it on, scroll through the various shows easily while moving, and don’t have to worry too much about losing it, as it costs under $50. I like to be able to hear what’s going on around me, so I cut one of the earpieces off of an inexpensive pair of earbud-type earphones. I don’t like the ones that come with the iPod though, they tend to fall out while running. So I use the type with the rubber gasket that stays put inside the ear.

Here then, in no particular order, are the tech podcasts that through trial and error I have found help me comprehend, keep pace with and even be entertained by on long runs, commutes, or any down time.

Techie Stuff & News

• Buzz Out Loud from CNET
• Leo Laporte’s The Tech Guy
• This Week in Tech
• Windows Weekly
• Net@Nite
• Business Week Technology & You
• Marketwatch Take On Tech
• NYT Tech Talk
• The Real Deal from CNET
• Tech5
• TechnologyIQ

Educational Technology

• Connect Learning with David Warlick
• EdTechLive with Steve Hargadon
• Moving at the Speed of Creativity with Wesley Fryer
• The Tech Teachers

Global Impact of Technology

• Digital Planet (BBC)
• NPR Technology
• PRI’s The World: Technology

That might look like a pretty long list, but not every show is updated weekly, and some are quite short. If I could only listen to one a week, I would have to make it Leo Laporte’s The Tech Guy. This 2-hour show has been around the longest, and covers a little bit of everything. I always get something out of this show, and often so many things that I have to stop my run to scribble something down so I won’t forget!

Do you know any good shows that I haven’t mentioned?