Time Spent vs. Benefits

Well, it's been a few days, and my technology life has been interesting to say the least. I'm struggling again with the idea of how best to juggle the amount of time spent working on/ creating/ thinking about/ learning about how to integrate technology in my classroom vs. the actual educational benefits for students. Sometimes I feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to learn how to use certain technology tools or getting technology to work (when I need it) and the benefit is not worth the cost. Here's the struggle. Yesterday, during a routine update to my teacher machine, all of the stored data on my thumb drive was lost. Luckily, most of it was a backup, but not all of it. We'll see how much can be magically retrieved. So, the question is, "How much time do I spend trying to retrieve what was lost?" Web site files, SMARTBoard notebook files, pictures.... the list goes on and on- thousands of files. It takes a great deal of work to technologically recreate what I could easily and quickly do on paper. So, again, what is the benefit of using technology instead of paper, pencils, and books? I guess since I myself am a visual learner, I benefit as much if not more than the students from the use of technology. I enjoy using and looking at a well done power point or web page, as a picture is often worth more than a thousand words. So, I'll regroup and decide what can't be retrieved, what is worth doing over (and well) and carry on. Maybe in the process, I'll find a better, updated tool or strategy to replace what I've lost- I'll try to look at it as an opportunity.