I don't know any way to do it but jump in and spend the time.

The TI-89 computer algebra system calculator works well for my students. It is easy to use and very powerful for the kinds of computations currently encountered in the first two years of college mathematics, engineering, and science. It will also give you (the instructor) a feel for the ways in which this technology might affect what you teach and how you teach it. I would suggest looking at Calculus: Mathematics and Modeling to see how this kind of technology can be used in courses in science and mathematics. Be aware that such powerful technology will change what should be emphasized and what should be de-emphasized in your courses. Keep an open mind as you look at these materials since they will present material in a manner that is probably unfamiliar to you.

Learning a new presentation style will be difficult. If you think that you cannot learn new ways of presenting material, then you should not embark on this kind of activity. As your colleagues begin to use these technologies to present material in their classes, you will become the traditionalist in your department. Your enrollments will suffer, but this probably will not have any affect on you prospects for tenure since research is the key to advancement at our institution.

G o to a web site such as Hotbot and do a search for a specific topic such as the Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principles while choosing the video or Java options. You can then download the movies to your desktop.

The calculus part of Dartmouth's MATC project has Maple based modules that you can use for calculus. I like Bob Devaney's web site at B.U. for dynamical systems experiments. Most Java applets on the web are junk, but I like his. My best advice is to convince your department you need a special technology TA until you are really used to the system. You can't spend 10 office hours a week JUST on fixing the students' computer troubles.