The black hole that is technology. . ..

I was reminded about thirty minutes ago that I have only written two blog entries. No harm was meant, but it made me think how I was already not living up to the goal of maintaining this blog, not just for the purpose of my graduated class, but also for reflection, the sharing of ideas, discussions, etc. My goal was to post last night after I finished some classwork. But at 3:15 a.m. on a Friday night--oops, Saturday morning--I was unsure that I could write a coherent post.

Thinking today, I finally realize what a black hole technology can be. I don't mean it to sound so negative. It can be both negative and positive, depending on your point of view. In my lack of scientific knowledge, black holes are "things" that just suck other "things" in, making it impossible to escape. Working on a wiki with my graduate class has been a black hole that has sucked me in this week. I sat at desks, on the couch, in the bed glued to my laptop for hours, seemingly only have stayed minutes. I understand how our students and friends can get hooked on games, social networking sites, etc. I think I could work on our wiki all day and be as happy as the proverbial clam. It has become my obsession. And the perfectionist in me wants it to be perfect, not only for myself, but also for my group members. But is actually really really fun! (I had just as much fun setting up this blog and my home page on English Companion Ning.)

Bridging this to classroom, I can see how awesome it would be for the students to feel this kind of commitment to a project on a wiki, posting their writing on a blog, or sharing a discussion in  forum on a ning--who can tell what other applications that might capture their interest.

But for now, it is back to the wiki! Until next time. . . .