Kenmore Undressed

Top Tools for Learning: How to Stay Ahead in an Age of Information

 

How are you dealing with all of the technological changes in your life? Let’s face it, iPods, computers, telecommunication technology and other tools have literally transformed our world. I don’t know about you in your career but as a Realtor (c) it’s incredibly important that I keep up with a MASSIVE amount of information. I must also adapt to new communication technology (phone and computer) and I need to distill all of this “stuff” into a coherent package (or toolkit) that I can use to be effective in my work as a real estate agent. This very blog is the result of a huge number of technologies working together. Trying to keep up is like drinking through a fire hose. It wasn’t so long ago that things were……..different:

I went to high school in the early and mid 1970’s….you know, we had disco and high inflation (or stagflation..I can never remember which), the unpopular Vietnam War was raging on and we had any number of other crises from OPEC’s gas embargo to to Richard Nixon’s plumber’s union. I sure some of you don’t remember that there was even a “Cold War” going on. Basically, humanity was wrestling with some fairly complicated issues. Looking back, it’s hard to believe our troops in Vietnam couldn’t just email family and friends, the President had to call the Soviets on the “red phone” if there was a dispute or missunderstanding. We barely had VCR’s and video games. Computers were rare. In fact, my high school had a couple of small computers that only the most dedicated math geniuses could fathom. When I look back on it, it’s as if we were moving through time in the dark. How anything got done is a miracle……….

On a more personal level, I grew up in a small town in Utah. I went to a medium-sized high school and all my friends and I dreamed about was graduating, going to college and getting a place of our own. We were products of a world in which technology and communications was, by today’s standards, paleolithic. Through it all, we did have a number of visionary thinkers that tried to tell us a new age was coming. One of the most well-know was Alvin Toffler. His seminal work was entitled “Future Shock.” Written in 1970, I remember our history and social science teachers showing us a short film based on his concepts. Basically, Toffler addressed, head-on some of the very issues modern technology has brought our way: the problems of dealing with change, the creation of a throw-away society, the breakdown of borders, advanced technological shifts, the creation of alternative lifestyles (a interesting concept at that time) and a whole lot more. In short, Toffler believed that all of this change was going to ultimately have powerful affects on humans and that the very volume and velocity of change was going to cause political, social and family challenges………………………….OH HOW RIGHT HE WAS. For those of you who haven’t read Future Shock, I think it’s worth your time to revisit this provocative book and think about how you’re dealing with all the change coming at us every day.

On a lighter note, a good friend of my sent me a link to an interesting and helpful website: Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. The site includes a free list of the Top 100 Tools for Learning. It’s truly amazing to me that a mere 30 years ago none of these “tools” existed. Think about it: we didn’t have the Internet, high speed communication lines, “on-line social networks,” email, (no voice mail either), home computers, document scanning, cell phones, iPods,…..etc. I hope you check out the list as you may come across a few tools that can make life just a little bit easier.  Just click on the picture below to begin your journey. Have fun.

Technology pic by Lost in Scotland