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.

[Steve Hargadon]

Hi, Dave! Sorry to hear of some of the detours you've had to take. Will be interested in how you find possible applications for Ning networks. I'm thinking they might be really good for parent networks!

Glad to have you here.

[John Fuller]

Hello! My name is John and i am a first year graduate student at the University of Florida specializing in Education technology.

[Steve Hargadon]

Hi, John! Welcome!

[SandraL]

Hi John. This is Sandra from your class. How's it going? I signed up yesterday and I've already received two very informative, helpful, and welcoming replies. As an Ed Tech. student, this is a great PLN for you.

[MIke Seymour]

Greetings: I direct The Heritage Institute a program of continuing education for teachers. Our mission is to "educate for humanity & the world we want." I would like to make contact with teachers who might want to offer an online course instructing teachers on how to use web 2.0 in their classrooms. My email is [e-mail]. We offer courses for university credit. Hope to hear from you.

[Steve Hargadon]

Mike:

For sure, you want to be making the same appeal at www.classroom20.com. Good luck.

[Jane Court]

Hi,
Jane from Melbourne Australia. Looking for some options to use for networking learners.
Have been using TAFEVC which is Blackboard/WebCT but need something more flexible. My learners are teachers looking for solutions

[Steve Hargadon]

Hi, Jane. Ning doesn't have the LMS tools, but it is engaging! What kind of flexibility are you looking for?

[Barbara]

I am curious how teachers use these sites to teach curriculum. I teach social studies and science and have used google docs to get kids to respond to issues discussed in class. It is fun and I think the kids enjoy posting, especially when they are on simultaneously. I worry about the development of critical writing and speaking skills. It is often hard to correct writing errors in this environment and would love to know if there are editing marks that can be copied and inserted in student posts.

[Steve Hargadon]

Hi, Barbara. I'm not aware of any tool for editing marks, but I think if you installed Diigo.com and created a group for your class, that you could both highlight and add comments that would be seen by the rest of the class. That would be fun to try!

[Lynn Fulton]

Hi there! I'm Lynn from Rock Hill, South Carolina (USA). My town is on the northern border of the two Carolinas, just south of Charlotte, North Carolina. I just heard about Ning yesterday during a "collegial conversation" session with Mark Prensky at a conference in my district. I think it has a lot of possibilities for educators and am already thinking about how to get the foreign language teachers in my district to be a part of Ning and how ti make it relevant to them. Most of the high school teachers do a fair job of networking within the school but not with teachers in the other high schools. And our middle and elementary teachers are usually singletons - the only one's in their building - so I think this might help them share ideas.

[Steve Hargadon]

Sounds great! Do check out http://socialnetworksined.wikispaces.com - I think you'll find some good examples. Welcome!