Drinking through a firehose

That's how I feel. There is so much information out there in the blogosphere, twitterverse and plain old regular web about what people are doing in the educational technology space that it's hard to keep up. One link brings you to ten more plus podcasts and workshops. It's fantastic but it's also completely overwhelming. So, here are some ways I am managing to keep up and some plans that I have to assess where my career should go. I hope that these items will help you too!

• Del.icio.us is a life saver! I've heard of this before but could never understand why I would need to have my bookmarks online or shared. Now, I know. The beauty for me is in a) categorizing bookmarks by topic and b) adding comments to remember why I wanted to bookmark it in the first place. Not only do I have my home PC with both Firefox and IE, I also have my work laptop and my work SunRay and now I can keep all my bookmarks consolidated and in order! YAY!
• Multiple blogs. This blog is my first step in organizing my thoughts on various topics. I plan to create other blogs around other interests like Web 2.0 in the Enterprise and Online Safety. This will help me to keep all the thoughts and ideas swirling around in my head in one place. It also gives me the chance to experiment with lots of new technologies.
  
• Create a web site. I have a ton of ideas for my website but before I could even begin I needed an old-fashioned offline spreadsheet to create categories of information that I would include on my website. This also includes how I will incorporate my blogs and other related technologies.
• Research, research, research. What this means to me is that I have a "contact list" of people that I want to talk to. I'm doing informal interviews with people of all different backgrounds and experiences to make sure that I know where I want to go, what career options I have and what my interests & passions lead me to be successful at. Oh, the other big thing - get your current boss's support. My manager is awesome. He totally supports career development and makes exploration so much easier!
• Be a shadow. Sit in on classes before making a decision to attend a certain school or program. Follow someone for a day who is already in the role you aspire to. Talk to your audience and make sure you understand their needs.
  

Just a few ideas to help you learn how to drink through the Educational Technology straw. :-)