Ning+-+Kellie+Kalish

From their website, **“Ning is the world’s largest platform for creating social websites”.** To simplify: **think of it as a custom branded Facebook**. Members create custom profiles (again, think: facebook). The created Ning network can either be public or private, and a moderator can be assigned. Ning allows for sharing on Facebook and Twitter. Ning profiles include an activity feed so users can track updates and activities posted by other members (like a facebook wall). Members can upload photos and videos. Ning contains a chat feature. Groups can be created using images, comments and a discussion forum. Every member also has the option to have a blog enabled. Events can be added and managed in NIng.

**Ning would be helpful in a language school setting where each student would create a profile and be able to communicate and network with fellow teachers and students**. It would share most features with facebook, although a student could maintain a profile that was solely intended for a school audience. School events and ESL related videos could be posted. Teachers could post select personal info in their profiles and in doing so appear more open, without having to “friend” students on facebook and risk compromising their out-of-classroom personal relationships.

I like it!

[|www.NING.com]


 * Other ideas: **(Laura McMullen)
 * Ning **sounds like a great way for students who are involved in an online learning environment (like us with Odyssey) to develop relationships with learners, or post questions about class-specific projects in a relatively familar format (as facebook is becoming a household name, and this sounds a lot like facebook.)

Valerie Jablonski-This could be a great resource. I would set up specific groups within the Ning and have students continually discuss with each other. I would try to keep it to just assignments within the groups, so the social aspect could be something students would earn extra credit points for.