Ning is a social networking platform that allows people to create and manage their own social network. This tool was created by Gina Bianchini. Ning has made a real impact in the Web 2.0 game as anyone today is able to create their own social network and stay connected with friends from all over the world.
Ning can be used for almost anything in education. I've seen Ning used by everyday teenagers to famous celebrities like Ellen. Ning can be used for business purposes as well. People who are interested in your idea and what your company does could join your network and give you great feedback. In our previous course, a few of the groups created a ning website that merged poetry with music. This site was interactive and engaging. My group used created a ning site to allow students to share projects, and promote blogging and collaboration. Unfortunately, the difficult part of this my school district blocks websites such as these, and this is truly unfortunate because there are many exciting experiences students can be introduced to.
Ning can be used as a social networking site that would tap into the creative juices of our students. Allowing students to keep in touch with friends, by creating their own websites. I like Ning because of all the control I have as a user. Being a member of MySpace or Facebook is great, but being a member of Ning means something more. I'm more than just another member. With Ning I can have unlimited access to customize all aspects of my page and the social network I maintain.Ning usage in education can bring students and teachers together in order to build the professional relationships necessary for effective collaboration. Collaboration can take many forms, this web 2.0 tool allows people to partner on projects and start conversations on topics related to global education.
@Patricia, my first experience with Ning was in my 3rd class at Fullsail. My group created a ning site that addressed the Digital Immigrants limited use of technology in the classroom. I enjoyed using ning even though it took me awhile to become acclamated to the navigation of the site. Ireally like it better than facebook because you have more control over the creation of your site. As you mentioned I see numerous educational uses for ning. But as you also mentioned districts have yet to understand the educational uses of ning so they block the site. Hopefully, in the very near future we will have an educational czar in our government that will understand the many educational uses of web 2.0 tools like ning and will be a proponent of them to the school districts.
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