Tag Archives: nings

A bit about Nings…

Posted on by
Reply

The power is on again at my parents’ and the internet is connected, after several hours this morning involving shopping for a router and trouble shooting the wireless. So, let’s take a few minutes to talk about Nings.

I thought a ning was like a blog, or a wiki, etc. But, in reality, ning is an online service that lets people create their own social networks and join/participate in other networks. Ning is specific to the company – www.ning.com

Anyone can sign up and start a ning. Membership is free (with ads) and you can also upgrade your ning membership to eliminate the ads. Once you set up your profile, you can create a ning. You simply give it a name and a url, decide if it is public or private, and a description of the ning and you are ready to get started. Creating a new ning is seems pretty intuitive

So far the only ning I have joined is the ubc met ning at ubcmet.ning.com. This will allow me to connect with other MET students but also to offer some advice for those new to the MET program which is great. Remember, part of PLNing is paying it forward.

As far as joining existing nings…it’s can feel a bit like crashing a private party…but remember the creator of nings have done so because they WANT to network with other people who share their interests. For example, I went to the englishcompanion.ning.com and selected
SIGN UP. My email address was my login, I created a password, and answered a couple of questions about why I was interested in joining the ning. Then I got a response

HERE’S WHAT YOU WILL SEE WHEN YOU SIGN UP.
“Your membership to English Companion Ning is pending approval.
Hello, Stephanie Myers.  Your profile details must be approved by the Administrator before you can become a member of English Companion Ning. You will receive an email once your profile is approved. (Withdraw Request)”

While you wait you are able to browse the sit.

Here are a couple of useful links to help you get started in finding, joining, and participating in nings.

The 12 Best Ning groups for teachers to join

7 things you should know about…ning 

One last thing, don’t forget YOU can always initiate a Ning too!

Nings, G+ circles and G+ hangouts

Posted on by
Reply

A couple of weeks back I posted the following question to my classmates in my ETEC 590 course: “What tech tools do you use to support your PLN?”  Twitter seemed to be the number one response, everyone who responded acknowledged that they were on Twitter. Others mentioned twitter aggregators and RSS managers. But three other interesting responses that I had not really considered came up and I wanted to take a moment over the next couple of days to give you a little bit more insights into these tools – Nings (thanks Joy) and Google+ Circles and Hangouts (thanks Kenton).

I thought I would keep it simple to start and focus on G+ hangouts. I had never heard of these before, I must confess and wasn’t sure I would be interested since “hanging out” isn’t something I really do professionally.

Turns out G+ hangouts (G+ means Google plus) is an alternative to Skype.

Early on in my weblog I posted a mind map outlining the current state of my PLN. I did note my use of Skype at that time. What I am gathering is Google Hangouts is a ramped up version of Skype.  Personally, I like Skype. What I don’t like is that I have to pay if I want to video chat with more than one person at a time. (Apparently something that is free in G+.) So, for group work in Skype,  if no one in the group has updated their account, you are limited to audio, and text only.  Really, this hasn’t been a problem for me thus far. To be honest, if I am chatting with colleagues or fellow classmates from the comfort of my living room (at the end of a long day) I kind of prefer the “no video” option! (-:

Here is a good summary breaking down the differences between Google Hangouts and Skype, although it is a blatantly bias comparison.  I am gathering that the poster is a digital native (essentially someone who had grown up with technology). The reason I make this assumption is digital natives are much more comfortable with, and often demand, tools that facilitate multitasking.  In this case, the author is pleased with the ability to play a game and chat with friends at the same time. I tried to find a counter argument as well, just to keep it as fair as possible.

Whichever way you choose to go really doesn’t matter. For me, I will stick with Skype simply because it has worked for me thus far and as I have mentioned before, I really don’t like all of my eggs in one digital basket (in this case Google). So for me, I am sticking with Skype. But, if you haven’t set yourself up with a conferencing tool I HIGHLY recommend you do so. Chances are, you will need/want to network with colleagues – whether they be in your district, or across the world. A conferencing tool is a must have in the PLN toolkit.

I would be negligent here if  I did not mention Facetime as another conferencing options for those of you with apple products.
.