Thing #23

Wow - I spent a lot of time on Ning and Classroom 2.0! There is an incredible amount of information here. I definitely think the tip about skimming and looking for useful information applies! I really liked the different groups - it seemed to narrow down the topics for me a bit more. I found a discussion on School 2.0 that debated the Smartboard vs. slates and some vs. the ActivBoards (Promethean). I was pretty surprised that more people liked the Smartboard because Promethean has so many more resources that are free. I also found a pretty interesting video on Classroom 2.0 about privacy issues on Facebook and how they are actually selling information from profiles to different groups (government, interest) to see how certain groups think or which movies/music they like best. It definitely made me think. I posted it to my Delicious account if anyone is interested - might make a good teach piece later in the year.

I think everyone can find items of interest personally or professionally on Ning. I like the idea that you can create your own social network - might be an alternative to Facebook in schools. I also noticed that many of them are private and require an invitation to join, so this may be a way of protecting our students. Groups concerning literally any subject can be created and students from other campuses, districts, or even countries can collaborate and create their own learning community.