08.03.08
Thing 22 – Ning-ing for the First Time
Steve Hargadon said that swapping business cards and attending conferences are ways to network socially. I think some of my students would argue that talking to each other during quiet class time is social networking! My facebook-based idea about social networking was turned upside down when I found Classroom 2.0 and Ning in Education. I have never seen so much information packed into one place–and there’s no end to it!
I spent a good deal of time the last two days experimenting with these two nings. First I watched the Elluminate Live! recording called “‘Tour of Web 2.0′ webcast video” that Steve Hargadon posted on the main page of the Classroom 2.0 ning. I highly recommend it for any ning newbies because Steve takes the time to go through each section of the Classroom 2.0 ning, from an individual user’s page to how one might tag a forum post. The most useful thing I learned from the webcast is that the Forum section/tab of the ning is organized chronologically by the latest post to any forum. In other words, if I find and leave a comment in a forum about using Google Docs in the classroom, that forum would show up at the top of the list back on the ning main page. I think this is a useful way to see what many people are currently thinking about. This type of organization ignites and reignites ideas in everyone’s minds. I find that when I visit and revisit the Classroom 2.0 main page, I go directly to the forum section.
As I experimented with the Ning in Education site I realized that it is really just an extension or arm of the Classroom 2.0 ning. The Ning in Education site was created for the purpose of linking people in the general educational platform, but I think that so much of that is Web related! It was funny, the fruits of my search on the Ning in Education site was membership in a Smartboard discussion group!
My experience signing up with the Classroom 2.0 ning was just as friendly as when I first signed up with Twitter. Just as it was with veteran twitter-ers, I received a few greetings from seasoned ning users right away. Thanks Anne, Hans, David, and Paul! Web 2.0 people are so encouraging! I recommend both sites…can’t wait to network some more! 
