Do you ever have days when you waiver? Days when you wonder if the time you are investing is worth it. Days when you wonder where you are going in life. Days when you think that maybe it’s just not worth it.
These days cross my path every now and then. What I have found is that when I feel like this, invariably something happens that strengthens my resolve and keeps me ploughing onwards.
Today was one of those days. When you spend a considerable amount of time learning about how we transform learning with the use of new tools you find yourself online a lot. Most of this effort happens outside of my working day which impacts on sleep, family time and time spent with friends. It’s the same for all of us I suspect. I was contemplating this today when Alec Couras put up a link on Twitter to 100+ELearning Professionals to follow on Twitter.
Scrolling through the list I could see names of people I follow. People like Alec, John Connell, Britt Watwood, Judy O’Connell, Sheryl Nussbaum Beach, Joe Dale, Sue Waters, Doug Belshaw, Jeff Utecht, Lee Lefever and quite a few others. No. 50 on the list was me!! Me. Gotta tell you this was unexpected. Don’t know how it came about but it has stopped me wavering.
If you’re not familiar with Twitter you should be. It’s a fantastic tool for networking and learning about others who have an interest in educational technology. You find yourself discovering new things all the time. But it’s not just that. It’s also about the human face of the network. Just the other day Andy Carvin put out a tweet about how he and his wife were heading to the hospital for the birth of their second child. The next day he posted the link to the Flickr photos of the birth of Sean Carvin. Andy Carvin doesn’t know me from Adam, but I’m happy to share with his good news and pass on my congratulations. You find yourself connecting on many levels, not just professionally but personally as well. And that’s what makes it work – it’s the human network forming once again with humanity linking us.
There are people who are not on that list who should be. People like Julie Lindsay, Kim Cofino, Chris Betcher, Tom Barrett, Dean Groom, Chrissy Hellyer, Jo McLeay and Sue Tapp and many others. So that’s my next job. Time to send an email recommending others for inclusion on the list so that we all can benefit from the human network.
*I hope this doesn’t sound like a ‘Look at me’ post. I know it could be interpreted that way. I am genuinely surprised at my inclusion on that list.
Lucacept - intercepting the Web 
Thanks for drawing my attention to this, Jenny! Glad to have made the list but, as you say, there’s many more that need to be added.
It would explain why I keep getting notifications that I’ve been followed every hour or two. Perhaps there’s a few more people I need to follow on Twitter… 🙂
Hi Jenny,
I’m a Portuguese teacher, learning all about web2.0, leading my young students into the blogging competition and willing to follow you too.
I surely agree with you about Twitter: thanks to this wonderful tool I have learned almost everything I know about blogging and web2.0.
It is also a great communication tool for receiving human support and even strenghning friendship ties: I don’t need to interrupt my work, but as the small smiling faces flash at the right bottom of my screen, I know friends are all around, people I never met waving in the distance, sharing their energy, their knowledge, their joy…
I wish a great competition to your students.
Ines
stubc08
thanks for sharing this and glad to see your name on the list…..i like twitter and have learned so much from my twitter friends…twitter brings that sense of connection with our task at hand..thanks for sharing…it must be an honor to have made the list.
Bill Gaskins
If you weren’t on the list, would you still be waivering? I’m not surprised you’re there because your posts are not just informative but thoughtful. For me, I try Twitter but remain invisible, so I wonder if I’ve missed something. Yes, I also waiver, especially when so much after-school time is spent reading people’s online contributions. This can lead to wonderful discoveries or sometimes overload and need to draw back and really reflect.
You’re right Tania. If I weren’t on the list I don’t think it would make a jot of difference as to whether or not I particiapte in the network and continue my immersion. I would because I think it’s got legs and someone needs to run with it!
Hi Jenny
I think we all waiver at times. I certainly did this morning after spending 3 hours online & feeling as if I’d achieved very little in the process. Sometimes I feel like a hermit!
Great to see you on that list. Anyone who has been following your blog or tweets will know with absolute certainty that your post is not a “Look at me” post 🙂
Rock on for making it on the list Jenny! You’re on there because you offer excellent inspiration, ideas and insights, which are clearly appreciated by others. It is so validating to find yourself part of this kind of list – and for me it’s just as validating to see that you think I should be on there 🙂 I see the actual list has grown to much more than 100 people now – glad to see that it’s not a closed commentary.
these are a lot of people… i followed them all 😀