Thursday, April 5, 2012
Social Networking
Social networking is so amazing, and it's something that has grown tremendously in just the last few years. It was interesting to read in our textbook about Ning. I had never heard of Ning before, and I spent some time looking and researching different Nings. I did not create an account with Ning, however, because it costs money after the first 30 days. I'm sure there are a lot of valuable resources, but there is so much out there that is free, I decided to look at those tools first. I did join http://www.classroom20.com/ which I think has a ton of really great tools. I like how it is set up, and it seems very user friendly. There is a chat feature on the main page that is helpful if you have questions for fellow members. The left side of the page lists different ways to find information. You can search by tools such as gaming, pod-casting, wikis, etc. You can also search by subject or by area. I thought there were a lot of helpful tools to use when working with diverse learners. There is a whole section for bi-lingual education, English as a second language, as well as gifted education. When you click on the different links, it takes you to discussion forums about the subject area. I also found the link to the library 2.0 page helpful. It had lots of discussions post, helpful links, blog posts and links to events.
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Hi Katie-
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of Ning before either. I signed up for 4 Nings that were interesting to me linked from our week 5 assignment folder. You do not have to pay for membership to those already created-just if you want to create one of your own. I have let myself get pretty overwhelmed this week :) with all of the social networking and PLN options, so I have not had too much time to explore them yet. They do seem like a great resource when you are looking for something specific.
I agree with you in how much social networking had grown over the years. I remember the days when facebook and myspace had just started. Now these sites are huge. I like all the different types of social networking but like you I like to go with the free stuff before having to pay. This week has shown me how great a social network can be for you as a teacher. Before now I always thought of social networking as a way to communicate with friends, but now I see how vital of a tool it can be when it comes to education.
ReplyDeleteI signed up for some new things this week too but one that I was using before now was edWeb. I signed up with my school email and I get a lot of good material from there. I would have to agree with Heather about being overwhelmed. I just have to keep reminding myself that I can't look at everything. What I do need to work on now is contributing more. Right now I'm a "taker" not a "giver" so that's my next goal.
ReplyDeleteKatie, I signed up for three different networks, and I love them all. It's taking me a minute to get use to going to my social network to ask questions, but more and more I'm starting to do it. I like what Lori says in her response to you. I too want to also be a "giver" and not just a "taker" of information and resources. I hope one day I will be able to help others as I'm being helped.
ReplyDelete~Hope~