A while back ago I mentioned giving an article on listening to heart sounds using iPods to the curriculum development coordinator. Yesterday, Newsweek also wrote an article on Dr. Michael Barrett and his iPod and heart sounds idea.

What I found most interesting in this article was the statement, "What's amazing isn't necessarily that doctors are using iPods as teaching tools - it's that they've taken so long to catch on. In 2005, Duke University gave all incoming undergraduates their own iPods, and many other schools have signed up for Apple's "iTunes U," which allows them to download podcasts of lectures and other course materials. But medicine, particularly cardiology, has lagged behind, says Barrett."

We often see this with technology. There can be a lag between the emergence of that technology and effective educational (or business) uses for it. When I was in grade school there was the push to have computers in the school and have us using them. (Remember those big Apple IIe's?) What did I do with those expensive, large, tan boxes? I learned how to plot graphs. That was big stuff back then, but I am not sure how much I learned about computers and math from that experience.

It can take some time for innovative people to discover practical uses for technology. Often it is after an "aha" moment. As podcasting, wikis, chat ref, mashups etc. become more mainstream and more people begin to have that "aha" moment, new applications will emerge. The process is cyclical. It will get to a point where those "new" things will be integrated into our lives (education, work and leisure) and we will be wresting with how to adapt other new technologies to work in our world. Just look at computers and the Internet. Twenty or so years ago I was staring at a graph on a green and black screen. Now, I am lobbying for a second computer in my house because everybody but the dog and the 3 month old "need" to use the computer.

So if you are like me and sometimes lack a little in creativity to always know what exactly to do with all of this new stuff, don't worry. There are other people out there who are testing the waters. The key is to keep an open mind and take notes. You may not be a creative innovator but that doesn't give you the excuse to ignore technology and become "that guy." You know, the one who only has 8 track tapes, and not for nostalgic reasons.

Labels: Podcasting, Technology