Sharing Technology With Teachers

I am attending a Metropolitan Community College “Technology Show ‘n Tell” for adjunct instructors. Various teachers are sharing their technologies with other teachers.

It is fascinating how complex the world of technology is, and how everything is just out there for the taking. The big problem, as I’m sure most of you know, is knowing what to use when.

One of the presenters was talking about using Google Drive (formerly known as Google Docs) with students to them share documents and comment on one another’s work. She was explaining this and saying that it takes about 45 minutes of class time to set up, but, “it will save time on the back-end.”

That last comment is the hook for me and, I would think, for most teachers. If I can spend 45 minutes in one class, but save hours later, then it’s worth it, right?

I guess my question is: What is the magic formula for adoption? I struggle as a salesperson of technology because I find new technologies to be exciting and fun. They are a game to me, and when I learn how to use them, I get a sense of satisfaction. Other teachers, however, seem to not have this same feeling. So I have to find a way to show them that new technologies are worth adopting. So what is the formula?

Once we have a system that we are used to, how hard is it to adopt new things? What is the time-to-learn vs. time-saved-later equation?