Innovative ways school teachers use Ning today?

[Christina Lee]

Hi Ning Creators!

We are in the process of creating a "Greater Than You" program which will be featured in our Ning Resource Center to highlight the amazing things accomplished through community.

I'm interested in finding out how school teachers in the U.S. are using the power of social media to make a difference for America's education crisis. Specifically, I'd like to find out how teachers use Ning to: 

• Create a Digital Forum to Encourage Student Participation
• Transform One-Way Teaching to Class Collaboration
• Build a Support and Professional Development System for Teachers
• Get the School Community (parents, alums, students, teachers and even neighbors) Involved

 If you are a teacher and the above sounds exactly like what you Ning community is all about, please comment below with a brief description on your community. Our team will reach out to you if your Ning Network is a good candidate for this.

 Thanks so much!

Christina

Update on December 16, 2011:

Our "Greater Than You" piece has been published and we invite all of you to check it out here. We want to thank all Ning Creators who contributed and added their thoughts -- we couldn't have put this piece together without you!

We especially want to thank Chad Bruns, Sam Gliksman, Steve Hargadon, Carlos Jimenez and Jacob Kestner for chatting with us on the phone, and for providing us with a glimpse how your use of social media and the Ning Platform is positively affecting the education system and students.

[Sharlene Ricks]

Our NING is used with a community of teachers in the same school district.  We post lesson plans, curriculum ideas, hold follow-up discussions after meetings, and form groups who join for professional book study and have weekly discussions as a form of professional development, etc., etc., etc....

[Jason]

Sharlene,

So wonderful to hear that educators are connecting with one another district-wide. So glad Ning helps facilitate this open communication and collaborate. I'll follow up with you with some more questions.

-Jason

[Jacob Kestner]

I run http://teachforallsynergies.ning.com/ which connects teachers and alumni of Teach For All programmes from around the world.   

[Jason]

Hi Jacob,

Beautifully designed community with an amazing mission :) I'll follow up with you about Teach for All - Synergies!

-Jason

[andytgeezer]

I'm an e-learning advisor and postcard fanatic and I set up a site using my Ning to help teachers get in touch with other teachers to arrange postcard swaps.  Ning provides the perfect platform for teachers to manage the setting up of swaps and teachers have been joining and pairing themselves off for swaps quite successfully since I started the project at www.schoolswaps.ning.com a few months ago

[Jason]

Hi Andy!

I remember doing postcard/letter swaps when I was in school. Very glad to hear teachers support programs like this :) Also interesting since Apple just announced its new Cards app! I'll be in touch should I have a few more questions!

-Jason

[andytgeezer]

Thanks Jason - the ning came about as a response to demand from teachers for a way to link up with other teachers for postcard swaps. I am a postcar d fanatic and teacher and as a result I always get requests from teachers to get my classes to send postcar ds out to them, but my classes can only create so many! Luckily, Ning makes it such that I can just get teachers to swap with each other, which helps greatly. It's really rewarding to see teachers making the link up 

[Bob McNeel]

Here is a community site that we sponsor for anyone (professionals, students, teachers, and researchers) involved in or interested in digital fabrication. High school teachers and students are very involved. http://www.rhinofablab.com/

This is a global community, and unfortunately we are finding that there is much more interest from developing countries than the US in these new manufacturing technologies.

Because education systems everywhere have a very hard time keeping up with technology changes, communities like this fill a big need by providing instantly available up-to-date information without the need to secure a budget or a curriculum change.

The other beauty of a community like this is that a high school or even middle school student in Linden, Washington has the same access to researchers at ETH in Zurich or MIT in Boston that the college student at SCI-Arc in LA do.

Here is a related NING site: http://decked.ning.com/

 

[Jason]

Thanks for sharing, Bob! The democratization of information through your community is so great to see, especially on a global level. I love seeing all that is being shared here :)

-Jason

 

[Chris Acevedo]

Theres is 1,500 school in Puerto Rico and over 500,000 students. Teacher every day looking new strategy to bring a better teaching. Also there is over 30,000 teacher in Puerto Rico. We live in Puerto Rico and right now we have a real education crisis. Students looking for innovation or new challenger in the classroom. Send me information if you have something in spanish or we can translate. Thank you.

 

Cordially,

Chris

 

[kazim mirza]

I'm a U.S. Medical School teacher & Ning Creator, and my goal is to address America's Higher Education Crisis.  American students numbering in the tens of thousands protest to Deans and administrations every semester, yet in the midst of their protests sit-ins and hunger-strikes, American Universities tuition continues to rise every year.  The average cost of tuition for University in New Jersey, my home state, is over $40,000 per year.  In the worst recession since the Great Depression, it is a genuine problem for Americans to afford higher education, and it is no wonder many thousands of young people are protesting to the people who dictate outrageous tuition.

 

I've created the Earth's First Online Medical University, in sync with the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam - www.usmlestepbystep.com .  The site is completely free and open to anyone who wishes to pursue a higher education.  We target undergraduate pre-med students, and link them with medical students, doctors, and medical Residents who can advise them on our forums, chat room, or private messages.  

 

We are continuing to build the Earth's Biggest video library, with thousands of educational videos on Basic Medical Sciences, and we encourage study groups and collaboration using our forums.  Also, medical students can message medical residents and other students to schedule a time for private tutoring.  

 

We try to find the best teachers for our video lectures, so our students can have access to the best education.  This is a valuable resource for teachers to improve their craft by seeing how expert teaching of medical material should be done.  We have the full support of Ivy League medical Residents, and we would like to grow as much as the world needs us to.  We are hoping to be a staple resource for all students interested in medicine, to provide the right support every step of the way to their goal of becoming a doctor.  

 

Thus far, I'm proud of the accomplishment and grateful to Ning for their support.

[Jason]

Hi Kazim,

This is so wonderful to see -- thank you for sharing.

-Jason