Introductions

[Steve Hargadon]

Welcome! Please introduce yourself, let us know who you are and where you are from, and, if you are already using Ning in an educational setting, how you are using it.

[pete whitfield]

Pete from Manchester UK, mad about elearning and music. I've started a private network for my college staff and students in the music department. We deliver a variety of courses across 3 sites and netorking between us has not been good, so I think the ning network will make a big difference. The ease of integrating multimedia is ideal for musicians, for whom audio and video are the currency.
I also believe that teaching students efficient networking is vital, as creative arts industries are all about networks and contacts. I will kick start it at the beginning of term. I'm hoping it will be student-driven as staff present the usual barriers to learning technologies.
It's a private network for starters; my institution likes its walls, but I'm inviting past students to try and get some informal mentoring going on.
Steve's podcast interview with the ning creator is well worth a listen - a fascinating insight into both ning developments and Steve's philosophy!

[Steve Hargadon]

Oh, plugging my podcast. You've made a friend for life! :)

Fascinating aspect of audio/video for music folks. Neat stuff.

[David Donica]

Hello from Far Northern California ~ Mount Shasta!
David Donica here and glad to be a part of something I'm sure is going to be great! I teach Business and Computer Science courses at our local college.
For the past 5 years I was a microenterprise development counselor/trainer with low income individuals wanting to make it out in the big world. I teach several classes on bridging the divide between great ideas and prosperity - through technology.
I recently spent 19 days in China in an International Business Studies Program through California State University - Chico (this was the final step in my MBA). It was a great trip and I have brought back a volume of experience to share with my students and colleagues. I'm currently writing curriculum for some courses I want to teach next year. My research on "Web Apps" brought me to Classroom 2.0 and now to here. I like to think the future of education is not tied directly to a Microsoft License and a $100 book made out of dead trees.

[Steve Hargadon]

David:

Great to have you here. Would love to talk to you about the concept of an "Internet Toaster," a simple machine just serving up a web browser. See my www.publicwebstations.com project.

[Don Li]

David,

I completely agree the future of education, technology-wise, should not be dominated by one company. And the concept of "web apps" should also evolve, by that, I mean, why not make a web app run with Internet-connected or not. When it is it can use vast Internet resources and when not it just runs locally, and why's such a need? For some times, we want to prevent distraction.

Regards,

Don

[Colette Cassinelli]

Hi there - my name is Colette Cassinelli and I teach 7-12 Computers at a private Catholic High School in Beaverton, Oregon. I just created a private Ning space for tech teachers in our area schools. We are all very isolated and need better support from each other. I am hoping my new Ning space will facilitate that.

[Steve Hargadon]

Of course, I'm super-glad you are here!

[David Zuckerman]

What a wonderful idea! I know that the software can make better support available -- I don't know how you want to start the group off. I'd love to know that, or talk about it. There's a great line from Shirky (Here Comes Everybody) that fits the situation I think: "Social tools don’t create collective action – they merely remove the obstacles to it."

take care,

Dave Zuckerman

[Marsha Weiland]

Hello Colette,
I was wondering how you made a private Ning space for your tech teachers? I just started looking into Ning as a site for a safe place for students and teachers to be a part of a social network, but I'm simply not sure how safe I can a social network site for kids. Is there somewhere you can direct me to make a private page?
I too teach at a private Catholic school in Dell Rapids, SD
Thanks
Marsha

[Kevin H.]

Greetings
This is Kevin, from Western Massachusetts.
I teach sixth grade but I am also the technology liaison for the Western Massachusetts Writing Project. For the past two years, we have run a blog project for connecting middle school students from rural and urban school districts but I would like to shift to social networking. I like Ning but worry about privacy issues (see long discussions over at Classroom 2.0).
Thanks, Steve, for creating this site.
Kevin

[Steve Hargadon]

I run a Ning site for my kids drama troupe, and it's invitation-only. I'd like to link to your CR 2.0 discussion. Which one is it? Are there features of the private network that still don't go far enough--or is it too hard to have to invite every student?

[Mike Temple]

Hi everyone. I'm Mike Temple, from Kent in the south east of the United Kingdom.
I am currently working as an Independent Consultant in the areas of Supportive Behaviour Management© and ICT (technology), particularly the emerging web 2.0 technologies. I'm working hard to gather and share ways of implementing these approaches in the wider school community, especially with the disaffected or disconnected students that seem to be a growing population.
I like the ideas around connected classrooms and providing additional pathways for those who aren't able to manage the complex social environment of the school and need help with managing their days more effectively .
It is all about community, communication, collaboration and just feeling connected and cared for, in my opinion - maybe we need to set up a conversation on this?
I look forward to seeing how this network develops, I think it will be a powerful place to be