IST 611 Assignment 3 Task 4

IST 611 Assignment 3 Task 4
Personal Reflection


Experiential Learning
The assignment asking for educational applications was an exceptionally useful one. It made me think of ways to integrate Ning into the existing NYS curriculum standards and not just how *I* would use it in my current life. Breaking down the steps to instructing a new user was also good practice for future technology instruction and leadership. It was interesting that Ning was going through a fee-structure change just as I was studying it, adding a layer to my analysis that might not have been present otherwise. In fact, this change has led me to investigate similar social networks and expanded my understanding as to what is available to educators.

Educator Use
Ning is best used by educators as a means to either network with each other in a controlled, invitation-only environment or to use with students for social networking lessons or curriculum-related online interactions in a walled garden.

Ning’s change to three-tiered pay model affects educators who have to make changes to existing Ning networks or seek other sites such as grou.ps, which offers a link on migrating a Ning network on the signup window. While Ning has ad-free and cost-free options for classrooms of students ages 13-18, college-level or professional development Ning networks do not have these options. I do like some of the examples of uses in schools – such as using the user profile and blog features as part of an internet literacy lesson on guarding privacy online – but it seems like Ning is having some issues and may not be a stable platform. It is a business, and there’s no seamless way to monetize that will upset no one, but if there are other options that are free and ad-free, those might be preferable. Davis (2010) addresses this flexibility in her recent article:

"There's always going to be something else or somebody else providing something similar… Buy into the idea of it, not necessarily the particular tool."

I have been encouraged by the many ideas of using Ning in a school setting or among educators. However, perhaps the most valuable outcome of this reflection is that I feel free to either use Ning or another social network in the school library in my future, depending on the current features and costs of the specific technology and the needs of my students.

Bibliography
Davis, Michelle R. (May 12, 2010) “Educators Eye Ning Transition to a Pay Model.” Education Week. Bethesda: Vol. 29, Iss. 31.
Overview of Ning changes and the potential to affect how and whether educators will continue to use their Ning networks.

Dickens, Seth (January 6, 2009) “Ning Social Networks – Unsuitable for Education?” DigitaLang: Teaching Languages with Web 2.0 Technology (blog). Accessed at: http://www.digitalang.com/2009/01/ning-social-networks-unsuitable-for-education/
Blog post expressing dissatisfaction with several elements of Ning as the author has used it for both professional networking and in a classroom. Follow-up comments add to the discussion.

Holcomb, Lori B., Brady, Kevin P., Smith, Bethany V. (2010) “The Emergence of ‘Educational Networking’: Can Non-commercial, Education-based Social Networking Sites Really Address the Privacy and Safety Concerns of Educators?” Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2010. Accessed at: http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no2/holcomb_0610.htm
Report of a study addressing the safety concerns of using social networks in an educational setting, with emphasis on distance education. Comparison of private networks such as Ning and public ones such as Facebook.

Question #3

{Throughout the readings, advice was given for successful blogging. What do you think was the best advice for individual blogging? What do you think was the best advice for classroom blogging?}

Best advice from the readings to individual bloggers? post regularly. As a consumer of blogs, this is the most sure-fire way to keep my attention. As a blogger, this is the single most stressful thing!

Best advice from the readings for classroom blogging? keep comment moderation on. It's the simplest way to filter out unwanted material in the comments section.

Question #2

Question 2:

{The additional readings give examples of how blogs have been used in the classroom. On the news this week, I learned that a science textbook has included blog entries from students at Central Square Middle School.
What are other ways that blogs are currently being used in the classroom and how else do you envision blogs could be used in the future?}

Janie Cowan mentions using a blog as a forum for booktalks, an idea that appeals to me. It allows an easy way for the LMS to share resource suggestions without worrying about formatting, and provides a platform for students (and teachers and parents, too!) to 'talk back' about the resources via comments. Students that love or hate a booktalked book may comment to recommend a similar or 'better' book -- and the weight that must have with other students!

I think it would be cool to have an English class blog responses and plot forecasts for each chapter, as they read through a book together. If students were allowed to make whatever observations they liked, as long as they included certain elements in each post, they might feel more ownership of the story.

Overby comments that a classroom blog is a "visual record of conversation." I find this fascinating to think about in all the ways that can be an information literacy lesson -- if what you say as a contribution to a discussion is adding to the general body of classroom knowledge, and you and others will be able to refer back to it again and again, then WHAT you say and HOW you say it becomes even more important. That leads into lessons about our digital profiles, etc. I think it can also help students see that that their contributions to class discussions MATTER and can enrich the experience for everyone.



"Diary of a blog: listening to kids in an elementary school library" by
Janie Cowan. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Jun 2008. Vol. 35, Issue 5

"THE NEW CONVERSATION: Using Weblogs for Reflective Practice in the Studio Art..." by Alexandra Overby. Art Education; Jul 2009; 62, 4; pg. 18

Question #1

{In Mary Ann Bell’s “Celebrating Communicating: Blogging Redux”, she itemizes people’s favorite blogs and why they follow them. What are some of your favorite teacher, librarian or educational technology blogs and why do you follow them?}

I prefer educational technology blogs that are full of links and reviews of actual web 2.0 applications. I don't have time for the "big ideas" blogs. Perhaps when I'm finished grad school and I'm not engaging in these discussions anyway; but not now.

I like: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ -- he posts cool applications that could be used to introduce a topic in the classroom or could be a value-added feature in a lesson using a smartboard.

I also have: http://ozgekaraoglu.edublogs.org/ in my Google Reader. It's full of annotated links for internet-based applications.

I love the snarky Librarian's Guide to Ettiquette blog. It's not necessarily edifying, but the tongue-in-cheek 'advice' to librarians makes me chuckle with its loving jabs at the profession. http://libetiquette.blogspot.com/

IST 611 Blog Discussion

Now that I have backed up and listened to the learning module podcast and read the resources, I know that I'm supposed to respond to the discussion questions HERE ... not on the facilitator's blog. (Sorry Julie!)

What's that about a cart before a horse?

Syracuse University

The week done

The group assignment for IST 511 was presented this afternoon as a poster session. My group's poster was discussing the arguments for policies in public libraries that either restrict the use of their public meeting space or do not have any restrictions. The topics needed to be those in which there is not a consensus among librarians, and judging by the wide-ranging policies we found in public libraries across the nation, there is no one standard in use. Although libraries may want to provide equal access to space, there are practical considerations that often result in policies that place restrictions on who or how or why. Our poster explored these issues.

It's been a long week. I'm glad to have been able to devote my whole week, morning, noon and night, to this endeavor. There are several classmates who went home at night to be mommy or daddy or dish-washer or dog-walker, and I can't imagine trying to integrate the week into my home life. However, I *AM* glad that I didn't stay on campus. Driving Rte. 20 each day through the beautiful apple orchards and up and down the rolling hills was a good way to prepare for the day and then unwind again. I miss living in Central NY, and it was a soul-restorative to drive in from Skaneateles to S.U.