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.

[Kevin Ahlgrim]

Hi! Trying to figure out this Ning thing and see if it might be useful for college courses.

[Michael Stagg]

Hi there. I'm Mike Stagg and i am new to this Ning lark. I am Humanities Team Leader at Weavers School in Wellingborough and I am responsible for serving a team of Geog, Hist, RE, Psy, Soc and Business studies teachers so need all of the help that I can get.

[Fiona Kitchen]

Fiona from Nottinghamshire, UK. I'm looking to connect with people who teach online and from home, also students who want language tuition or homestay.
I'm not directly involved in teaching anymore but would welcome information from teachers who teach online, different usages of platforms etc. as I would like to link in to other platforms.
I'm interested in hearing from anyone who wishes to discuss/collaborate in anyway, or just network.

[Jackie Moquin-Vaudo]

I am a third grade teacher. I have been teaching for 19 years in Wayland, Massachusetts. I am exploring ways to use Ning with my third graders as a communication tool for parents. I am currently taking a professional development course using Ning.

[Mbarek Akaddar]

Hi ,
I'm Mbarek Akaddar from Morocco .I have been an EFL teacher for 22 years .I 'm interested in learning and sharing experiences in using web 2.0 tools in ELT.
http://allsharing.ning.com

[Ya Abal Fashl]

[Ya Abal Fashl]

This is my grandchildren age 3 years old and he started using computer at age of 2.

I hope he will learn more from the internet.

[Paul McGuire]

Hello

My name is Paul McGuire. I am a vice-principal of an intermediate school in the Ottawa area. My main interest right now is developing PLC's to enhace student performance.

I am totally new to Ning, but am very open to learning how it can help me to connect to other educators.

[malcolm bellamy]

Malcolm from Hockley, Essex. Have begun a personal learning journey into the world of social networks and education. I see so much potential in it and it is already beginning to transform my life in terms of what I know, who I know and what is out there that can be used to help us bring about the "learning society" of all our futures. I am using Ning as part of the "Educators Personal Learning Network" and will be interested to find out how I can use it personally in the future.

At present I am a Teaching and learning Consultant specialising in Primary Mathematics at Southend-On-Sea Borough Council.

[Jeff Silva-Brown]

Hi,
My name is Jeff Silva-Brown and I teach at Ukiah High School in Ukiah, California. I teach Gov/Econ, a few AP classes, and I coach basketball.
I have a class blog and a class website, and I'm trying to integrate everything together while still maintaining some of the control allowed by creating a social networking site. Ning looks like a fantastic option and I'm going to try to get it going by second semester of this year.
coachbrown.ning.com

[Karen Gadowsky]

Hello all
I am teaching in British Columbia, Canada and currently interested in using Ning to get my Alternate Education students posting their thoughts, opinions and reflections on-line. In addition, I am hoping that I can utilize this network for the creation of collaborative writing pieces, where students with different ability levels can work together in creating, editing and finalizing "essays" on topics such as "Google Street View: Is your privacy at risk?"

I have previously used Pbworks, Wiki-space for this kind of activity but I'm not sure it has the features I need without upgrading to a fee for use service. With all the cut-backs British Columbia's provincial government has been making in education, I need to find resources that don't cost money or, if they do, are incredibly versatile.

I think that it is crucial to get students networking, especially mine who have typically not felt supported by the usual large high school experience due to their life circumstances or learning differences that teachers have refused to accommodate. Using networks to find or follow their passions can help alleviate the anxiety that come along with the feelings of isolation than are common to students who have strengths that the main stream programs do not honour.

[Sarah Parker]

Hi, I'm Sarah from New Zealand and am looking into using Ning for the first time next year in my classroom.