Social Media Is Eating My Brain

I'm not sure why people seem to think that software is technology. It’s simply the tool that operates on/with the technology.  It's a way to make the technology do something more than collect dust on a shelf.  Since I have more dust than I need, I tend to limit the technology I want to only the things I know I will use.  My camera is almost always with me if I know there is even a 5% chance I may want to take a picture of something, and because I don't have a point and shoot type camera, it means that it comes with all kinds of other things with it. 

In terms of technology I carry a bunch with me. When I walk out of my home I may have in my bag the following at minimum: iPod touch, Sprint mobile hotspot, iPad mini with cellular service, smartphone, and a watch that is touch operated and can also operate as a compass, tell me the temperature, be a stopwatch, an altimeter, an alarm clock, give me the date and of course the time of day.

So what does this have to do with social media? 

Last week I started a class titled "Teaching Strategies for the Digital Age'" when in fact it should have been called, "All The Things You Can Teach Your Technology Your To Do So That You Can Share Your Life With The World." 

Yes, I didn't have to take the class but I know this is the way our students will communicate and I want to be able to teach them the skills they will need in order to thrive in whatever their endeavors will be when they grow up.  I also want to teach them about being selective in how they choose the software they are using to protective themselves from people that want to do nothing more than try and hurt by using whatever means it take to get access to personal information. I want my students to know which tools available in the internet can help improve their productivity, expand their horizon, and sometimes provide fun games to play with someone half way around the world.

But...

Right now I feel like this class is the size of the chair my husband and I are sitting in.  I'm keep hearing, "you did this in 305 so use that" well we didn't do much of anything in my 305 class and now I am having to do a self-taught 305 class AND this one simultaneously.  I'm not drowning but my legs are kicking like crazy to keep my head above water.  Don't fear, I will push through an learn and conquer, I've been in deeper waters so I think I'll make it.  The worst part of this class is I am being pushed into the one thing I have tried to only keep a small toe in: social media.  I don't blog, read blogs, tweet, I do some texting, have a Facebook account with 12 friends but I don't post but maybe 2 times a week, I only look at things in Pinterest, don't email me if you want a quick answer and I like it that way.  Now I've made a movie and of all things put it on You Tube, have a blog, and learning about something called "Slide Share" and all because I want to teach my students how not to be me. 

I'm not sure what I was thinking, but whatever it was it started with, "hey, watch this."  By the time I finish this minor, my mind will have been eaten by social media, software that helps your brain be eaten by software that enhances social media, and downloads that contaminate my computer and enables my computer to eat whatever is left of my brain that the social media didn't consume.