Beyond MySpace - Social Networking for ALL!

So what is social networking?

• Lee Lefever and Common Craft do a great job in explaining social networking:

• Facebook and MySpace

How does it fit into education/learning/teaching?

• Professional Development through establishing Personal Learning Networks is a great use of social networking tools! 

   

  • Ning was established in October 2004 to provide an online platform for creating your own social network for anything you want!  And it's free (though paying for premium services allows for additional customization)!  If you don't like Ning, there are others, but Ning has definitely emerged as a educator-friendly social networking tool and will even provide ad-free nings for K-12 student projects.
  • Some great ways to connect with other educators in our world:
    • Classroom 2.0 - Over 10,000 teachers are members of this network where you can attend workshops, converse, and join groups.  This network was created for those interested in web 2.0 and collaborative/transformative technologies and is especially geared towards 'beginners'!
    • The Global Education Collaborative - This is a community for teachers and students interested in global education.  There are opportunities to chat with colleagues and discover projects for your students.
    • TeacherLibrarian - This ning was set up for those of us who connect, teach, share, and lead in new information landscapes.  Here you can find links to podcasts and other great resources.
    • School 2.0 - goes beyond the practical discussion of applying the read/write and collaborative Web technologies in the classroom. It is, instead, a larger discussions of how education, learning, and our physical school spaces can (or should) change because of the changing nature of our social and economic lives brought on by these technologies.
    • Workforce Educators

    • Ning in Education  This a community for those using the Ning social networking platform in education.
    • Nings have also been used to develop community at conferences, both face-to-face and virtual:  National Education Computing Conference and K-12 Online Conference
    • At Lorenzo Walker Campus, we established a private ning for our Professional Learning Communities.  Groups can interact anytime through discussion forums without waiting for a common meeting time and place.
  • NOTE:  Steve Hargadon is an educator and a consultant for Ning and has a blog post about his creation of Classroom 2.0, as well as a list of other nings you might find worth a look.

• In (and Out of) the Classroom

• Flat Classrooms & Horizon Project are examples of two nings created and used for a global collaborative project initiated by Vicki Davis (GA, USA) and Julie Lindsay (Bangladesh & Qatar).
• The Mustang Book Club was created for the Lorenzo Walker Technical High School students to connect and communicate about books, club projects, and other things beyond the club meetings and during the summer - this one is private and required parent permission.