Photo credit: The Flooz
Some days I can’t help feeling like I’m just piggybacking. My best ideas with ICT have been borrowed from other people’s best ideas, and I’m merely reproducing them in a slightly different way. I don’t feel much like an innovator, especially not when compared with many of the well-known edubloggers out there. My links today were somebody else’s links yesterday. Sometimes I feel I’m a couple of steps behind.
One day I foolishly decided to try out this site which shows you who is following you on Twitter, and whether or not the people you follow are following you. If I ever wanted a slap to the ego, this was it! (Resist the temptation to do it yourself!) I felt a little deflated, like some of my ICT heroes didn’t even know I existed! But realistically, why would they? This blog is merely a couple of months old, I am just realising the power of tools such as Twitter, and have only been teaching ICT since September. In addition to that, I haven’t commented on enough blogs to make a blip on the surface yet (hey, I’m working on it!).
Just before I decided to send the invitations out to my pity-party, I thought, you know what? There are days when I get people coming up to me saying, “Where do you find all this great stuff?” and (even more surprisingly), “I’m learning so much from you,” and I realise it’s all relative. I have introduced people to some new tools this year, and for that I feel like I’ve made a difference, albeit on a smaller scale to some of the greats.
Whilst I am piggybacking on other people’s ideas, amazingly, some people are piggybacking on mine.
Tip of the Iceberg 
Hi Keri-Lee,
Yes it’s amazing to see the ripples of influence that our smallest actions can have. The whole online community, blogosphere, (call it what you will) works on the principle of sharing and learning from each other. There is no hierarchy here… it’s not a matter of some people knowing more than others, we just all know different stuff. It’s that sharing of the differences that gives it such power.
You’re right, it’s fascinating to experience this sense of learning so much from others while you also act as the conduit for others to learn so much from you.
Thanks for the great post, and keep on piggybacking!
Chris
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You know what, I think that’s most of us. To be honest, as teachers our focus is teaching and I reckon we have enough on our hands reflecting and thinking on our practice without feeling the need to be on the leading edge of ICT developments (which to be honest, we’d have to be in the design/programming etc to do). Our job is to think about the best ways to use tools to enhance learning – that’s where we become leaders. Piggyback away I say, then keep doing what you are doing to lead the way with ‘added value’, utilising tools to enhance learning!
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Interesting post – I like the way you use piggy backing! I think that even the ‘famous’ eLearning leaders are furiously re-mixing the ideas they have gleaned from other people. In fact I think that the longer you are out of a classroom the more you rely on current practitioners to validate the cutting-edge ideas you have. So really we all need each other and piggy back off each other.
Dorothy
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Hi there and thank you for your comments, they are much appreciated..
@Chris, I like your ‘ripples of influence’ idea. Once you realise how much you don’t know, it’s a bit overwhelming, but then you do know more than some, which is encouraging!
@Craig, You’re right, we do have enough on our hands being teachers. Perhaps we undersell ourselves sometimes?!
@Dorothy, I agree, it probably is the same for the famous people too. It’s a bit like the circle of life (my, I’m getting all prosaic on you now!).
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Great post – one thing I’ve come to realise, especially this year, is how much learning I’m doing with all the ‘piggy-backing’ that happens via my Twitter PLN …
I think you have to stop and realise one important fact (well – I do anyway) which is that although a lot of people hear the same messages, see the same presentations as us, they don’t all become innovators or practicioners – some people don’t change – by taking a new idea and running with it we ARE the innovators!
cheers and thanks for the post
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@dragonsinger Twitter’s great for piggy-backing, isn’t it?! Your comment about being innovators is absolutely right. Not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, and at least we’re on the right track!
Thanks for your comments.
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Hey fellow elf! Almost everything I do is piggy-backing especially as I don’t have a class any more to try things on. I also did that Twitter thing and was surprised to see that some weren’t following me that I thought were. Best not to look perhaps! 🙂
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@Suzie, thanks for your comment :-). If you have a class, you have some guinea pigs for your ideas, but less time for coming up with ideas in the first place! Part-time must be the way to go! At least, I’m enjoying it!
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