Ning Web Tool
Ning is a great, but who will pay for it? Being one of the best user-friendly platforms to date is great, but I’m not going to pay their service fees out of my own pocket to teach. Ning is an online platform for people and organizations to create custom social networks. Ning offers customers the ability to create a community website with a customized appearance and feel; feature sets such as photos, videos, forums and blogs; and integration with Facebook, Twitter, Google and Yahoo.
Alison,
Like many things on the Internet, Ning started out as a free program. Now I've found: http://www.jonbishop.com/2010/04/9-free-ning-alternatives-and-some-open-source-solutions/ - free options. But know that they too may cost at a later date. It's the way of the Internet. ;-)
Hi Alison.
There are so many tools online and various software programs that can be helpful to the instructor as well as the student. The problem is that if the school will not pay for it or provide permission to use it as part
of the class it becomes an issue. In some ways it was easier in the earlier days of online when so much was left to the instructor. On the other hand the uniformity helps with the smooth flow for all concerned. Always a pro and con.
Be awesome.
John
John and Alison,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. You are so right. The tools seem endless and we need to determine what meets the students' needs and our needs to communicate and get the content covered appropriately.
John:
I agree, no thing is just one thing. There are pros and cons as you said and doing something, or choosing not to, does not always end there. There are always effects from the decisions.
I agree Alison that teachers should not be spending there money to teach but only if it is frequent expenditures or large on going cost. The other side is that sometimes you have to provide your own tools. My school does not provide us with plagiarism checkers such as turnitin.com That leaves the instructor who might suspect a problem with one of two options: ignore it, or spend time cutting and pasting into google hoping you got the right string to prove or disprove your hunch. I chose to buy a cheaper program subscription that saved me a lot of time and ended all arguments about originality. In the end it is a personal choice.
/Randy
Randy and John,
Right on. There are always pros and cons and there are so many technologies we can use that we have to make sure it works for the students and works for us as well. Meeting all of our needs is essential. Thanks!
I have never heard of "Ning" before today. What are some of the benefits of this program? Why are people using it?
I just had this same conversation with a friend who is an Instructional Designer. All of these tools are wonderful but we can't forget that our students are already in a learning curve.
Danielle,
It is like Facebook, but is set up just for that group. All the personal stuff, like on Facebook, is. It there. I have seen
Rofessional organizations use them with their members.
Aida,
The learning curve will become less and less with time. Tha is for your input.
