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]

Wow. What a lot of great experience. I love your parting shot: finally crack the nut of tech integration. I pretty much agree with that. Glad to have you here.

[Jo Rhys-Jones]

Hello everyone
I am a primary school teacher in south-west England and I have set up a ning network (Talkabout Primary MFL) for anyone teaching languages to children in primary schools so we can share ideas and resources, but mostly so we can support each ohter. Amazingly it's still a new concept to teach young children languages in the UK and we have a long way to go if we are ever to catch up with the linguistic skills of our european counterparts. This has proved an wonderful medium to network with other teachers of primary mfl and though our team is small it is growing steadily. Meanwhile I am learning an incredible amount from the whole ning site - far more cpd than I have ever had access to before in my life! Thank you!

[Steve Hargadon]

Jo: is your Talkabout network listed on the front page? Send me the link and I'll be sure to include it. Glad you feel the way you do about Ning. :)

[Jim Wenzloff]

Hi Fellow Ning Users,

I work in Southeast Michigan. My job involves teacher training and support. I am very interested in collaborative projects that provide students with an authentic audience. I look forward to joining this educational discussion.

Jim

[Steve Hargadon]

Glad to have you here, Jim.

[Elizabeth Clark]

Hello!

I'm an adjunct English and humanities instructor in the Denver metro area. On a friend's recommendation, I started a Ning social network for a group I began for folks in higher ed who are interested in using Second Life for classes and professional development.

I like it so well, that I'm using a Ning site for a hybrid technical writing class I'll be teaching this fall.

Elizabeth Clark

[Steve Hargadon]

Thanks for adding your SL network to the wiki!

[Andrew Pass]

Hi Steve,

We should set up a specific time to chat this week.

Andy

[Kim Cofino]

Hello! My name is Kim Cofino. I'm originally from Connecticut in the US, but have been teaching overseas for the last seven years. I started in Germany, where I taught at Munich International School for five years. Next, I moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where I taught at Mont'Kiara International School for two years. Now I'm in Thailand at the International School Bangkok. In Munich and KL, I was a middle school technology facilitator. Here in Bangkok, I'm the 21st Century Literacy Specialist working out of the Elementary Learning Hub (which used to be called the library).

One of my goals for the year is to start working with social networking in the classroom. My students have been using blogs, wikis, podcasts and all sorts of multimedia for years and I love bringing in global projects, so social networking sites like Ning seem like a logical next step. Anyone interested in thinning your elementary classroom walls to work with some absolutely wonderful students here in Bangkok?

My professional blog is Always Learning and I'm a member of a bunch of Ning networks (Global Education Collaborative, Classroom 2.0, Next Gen Teachers, etc). I'm looking forward to sharing with everyone here!

[Steve Hargadon]

Hi, Kim. It's been a fun year, hasn't it. How come none of your pictures have you in costume anymore? :)

[Kim Cofino]

Sure has! I guess it is time to liven up my profile with a more interesting picture... Bring on the cow suit!

[Lucy Gray]

Hello Everyone -

Thanks for putting this all together, Steve. You're really done a fabulous job of building community, and that's no easy feat.

My name is Lucy Gray and I'm a Ning user and explorer of Web 2.0 technologies. I belong to several Nings, and run the Global Education Collaborative Ning which Steve has graciously linked to in this Ning. I also have started a private ning for teachers at my new placement of employment, the University of Chicago Center for Urban School Improvement with the purpose of building community around professional development. My new title is Lead Technology Coach, and I'll be serving as a tech coach at one charter school, and developing a technology professional development plan for a network of charter schools. I'm very excited about this opportunity!

In addition to my day job, I am an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Certified Teacher, and am in the process of building an ed tech consultancy. I serve on the conference committee for Illinois Technology Conference for Educators, and keep a personal blog and contribute to the Infinite Thinking Machine as well.

I'm looking forward to the ensuing conversations about social networks and education.

-Lucy