I got the coveted Google Wave invite a few weeks ago. It was thrilling, but I was also very busy and I set it aside until I had more time. Time passed. I open the page every now and then, note that surely this is good for something, but go on and do something else.
This social software avoidance behavior is not like me. Could it be that the very complexity, the potentials, are keeping me from being engaged with Google Wave? Could it be that, like post-XP Windows, all those built-in customizable points make me…rebel and want something simpler? I suspect Google Wave IS wonderful, but am beginning to doubt that I have the energy to find out.
It could also be that I’m just not working on any actively collaborative projects right now. The main possibility I can see is using it for the online week in my English Ed for Rhet/Comp class, but Wave is still too beta–it would take eighteen invites and much more experience on my part to effectively teach using it. One thing I’ve learned is not to jump into any new social software for classroom use until I thoroughly understand its potentials and pitfalls. If I teach 520 next fall, maybe I’ll be ready be then.
Lanette Cadle 