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.

[Raymond P. Major]

Hi, Raymond Major (Ray), Originally from upstate NY. Currently living in West Texas. Attending Northcentral University online and Ning was "listed" as a valuable resource to assist with doctoral studies (organizational leadership). Health & Physical Educator at Elementary School (k-12 previously). New to Ning and believe that other educators can be a great resource!

[David Edgin]

Hi, I'm an educational author in Seattle who would like to share some new discoveries with you at: www.newalphabet.com, where all age visitors can learn all about these exciting new language, science and math discoveries online.

[Tom Lambert]

Hello I'm Tom Lambert.

I work with Education and Community organisations to create websites, applications and tools to enhance learning and sport activity.

Our latest project is the Virtual Sports League, enabling schools from all over the world to compete in real life sports activity and compare results online.

Our website is http://www.candidsky.com.
Thanks
Tom

[Alan Pilkenton]

Hi Alan from Michigan here. I teach K-8 grade visual arts and computer classes. I am currently working on setting up an Ning site for the state art education association (NAEA), much like our state technology group (MACUL) has. I hope to connect with other educators here and share some of what I have been doing for the past 5 years with educational technology.

[Jess Williams]

Hi all,
My name is Jess and I'm just starting out in the teaching profession. I just finished my teaching degree and will be teaching English and Humanities as of January next year. I live in Australia. I am a pretty keen technology user myself but I'm not very tech savvy, however I do see it as an important part of my role as a teacher to keep informed and up-to-date with the latest technologies that young people are using outside the classroom and to try and bring it into the classroom and use it as a tool which enhances student engagement.

Cheers,
Jess

[Nurul Fitriani Dewi]

Hi,,,,my name is Nurul fitriani dewi. i'm From Indonesia. I'm a teacher candidate.nice to know you all,,,
I hope from this discussion forum we can share our knowledge and help each other about education issue,,,

[Chris Gray]

Hello everyone,

I am very pleased to be a part of the Ning in Education network. My name is Chris Gray and I represent a new resource for students called Track Ahead.com. We just launched in September with the goal of providing a focused social network for students, parents, educators and community organizations to connect and share information in an environment that was safe for all members. We have included many resources for students and parents: over 300 videos, 125 articles (written by Track Ahead staff and dozens of contributing experts) as well as blogs, discussion forums and groups. We were just recently featured in an article on Examiner.com. We've started partnerships with community organizations such as the Indianapolis Urban League, Boys and Girls Club of Nashua, an Indiana University Latino organization called PATHE (Providing Access to Higher Education and partnered with them at an on campus event for 140 Latino high school students across the state of Indiana. We're just getting started and we hope to partner with many more educators, businesses and community partners across the country. As our student membership grows, we will begin partnering with colleges and universities to connect directly with students and review their profiles and portfolios. I hope many of you will check out TrackAhead.com. It is on a Ning platform so if you would like to sign up and check it out, you can use the same user name and password. I look forward to meeting many of you and look forward to your feedback. Please let me know if I can be of assistance to anyone on here as well. Thanks

Chris

Track Ahead General Information.pdf

[Laura Pagington]

I am a HS Social Studies teacher in MA just starting to use Ning in the classroom and looking forward to finding new ways to use Ning to enhance my teaching.

[Usman]

Hi everyone. My name is Usman. I am a 24 year old British Asian. I was born in Bradford, England, only lived there as a toddler for 5 years. I then moved to Dundee, Scotland and am still enjoying this more calmer and peaceful part of UK. ; )
In 2007 I graduated from University of Abertay Dundee with a honours degree in BSc Multimedia Development. When studying this field there many areas to explore, however I was more fond of the multimedia/e-learning aspcet of the course/field. As a result i did my honours dissertation in this field.

In Sept 2009 i finally found the exact postgraduate course i was looking for - since then i am currently studying at Edinburgh Napier University - MSc E-Learning Design and Development. Within this course i had the pleasure of experiencing fully online learning (2 modules) and blended learning (1 module).

I am now in the last part of my course -focussing my research project on supporting international students. For this project I'm developing a Ning network named SPICEonline (Students Pre-arrival Induction for Continuing Education). This contains induction activities for Indian students who will be coming to Edinburgh next year to study postgraduate. The activities cover differences in education system of Indian and UK. Activities contain interactive quizzes, discussions and blogs. One of the major features of this short induction course is the 'Student Voice'. This contains audio clips experienced Indian students who have already studied at Edinburgh. The audio clips contain these experienced students explaining their experiences of studying in the UK. This will very useful for the new students.

With the Student Voice and other activities where they have to read and write, many skills are encouraged including English language skills. They have time to construct sentences and with the audio they can also hear and understand various English accents.

I would love to go on and explain my favourite task, but will save this for later. After all this is an introduction thread lol. : )

[Victoria Karr]

Hi, Victoria from Chicago, Illinois, USA. I am currently taking grad classes for teaching with technology and love it. It is both astounding and frustrating how much technology is out there that we could be using in the classroom. I say frustrating because I know budgets and time won't allow for alot of it for a very long time.
When I receive my MA in Teaching with Technology I'd like to use my knowledge to teach anywhere from middle schoolers to adult learners. I also am going for an MLIS in LIbrary Science so with technology making learning faster and more accessible i am thrilled with it all.

[PammeB]

Hi there,
I am the Director of Programs and Content at another up and coming Ning site, TrackAhead.com, which is an education and career focused social network for youth, parents, educators, the business community, nonprofit organizations, and basically, anyone with a dedicated interest in furthering higher ed and career initiatives.

I've been very involved in the nonprofit world for many years as well as with public and community relations, marketing and writing, and have a particular interest in assisting youth to move forward in a positive way to truly embrace and reach their educational, career and life goals.

I am new to the Ning in Education community and look forward to learning more about each of you. I hope you'll have an opportunity visit TrackAhead.com as well to see what we're all about.

Pamme

[Suzanne Matthews]

I am now in the process of completing an MS in Instructional Technology Design. I have a working background as a high school art and design instructor, as well as experience as a graphic designer/art director in printing/agency environments. One of my professional goals is to contribute towards making online instruction as socially supportive, interactive, and educationally enriching as possible for the learner. I look forward to using Ning to connect with others in education, as well as to exchange ideas with other instructional tech designers.