I currently am setting up my courses (three different ones) for next semester. As I do so, I need to determine the best tools for my students. One issue that has come up repeatedly each semester is how to maintain privacy laws (Family Education Privacy Act), but allow access to learning in a public manner.
FERPA laws require that I have tools that students are either guaranteed anonymity when they use the tool (school based secure tools) or are given the choice of how much information they reveal about themselves, including the option of not participating in a "public" forum. This leads to a number of restrictions when deciding on which tools to use and how to use them.
Last semester I used Ning. In many ways, this is a great tool for public discussions. Even the private emails and the use of the approval function for video uploads allowed for a certain amount of privacy. However, I still did not trust Ning's privacy controls enough to upload grades or receive individual assignments. As a result, this semester I decided to use Blackboard's grading and assignment features. In designing the new course, however, I remembered why I don't like Blackboard. The assignment and grade features are very time consuming and cumbersome to set up. As I've mentioned before, I miss the ease of Prometheus, which was bought by WebCT, but whose features seemed to be discarded.
I have yet to find an easy syllabus program that fit the ease of Prometheus's. I could set up a course in a day, using the Prometheus template. I know it will take about 2-3 days per course to set up the courses on Blackboard. In addition, I want to still use the Ning and a Wiki for the interschool projects I am designing for two of the three courses I'm teaching.
All of these have made be wonder about the importance of having both public and private learning spaces. I use Private learning spaces to help motivate my students to take chances, fail, and learn from their mistakes. I use public learning spaces to help students feel a sense of responsibility for their own and others learning, help create synergy in learning, and create a sense of community in learning (rather than learning being something that is done in isolation).
So what are the differences in private and public learning spaces? How can we work with administrators to create both? How do we balance security issues with sharing of knowledge and community building?
Showing posts with label ning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ning. Show all posts
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Using Nings for classes
I've been reviewing my use of the Ning for this semester and trying to analyze the results. This is just a first pass through analysis. However, I was much more pleased with the use of the Ning than I was with the courseware our school uses.
How it was used:
I used the ning as a resource for my classes. Both sections of the course on speech presentation used the same Ning. My purpose, as I explained to my classes, for the use of the Ning was to answer questions about coursework and assignments. I also kept all of the student blog assignments in one place and students were able to upload videos of their presentations on the Ning.
The advantages:
How it was used:
I used the ning as a resource for my classes. Both sections of the course on speech presentation used the same Ning. My purpose, as I explained to my classes, for the use of the Ning was to answer questions about coursework and assignments. I also kept all of the student blog assignments in one place and students were able to upload videos of their presentations on the Ning.
The advantages:
- Students were much more interactive on line, often jumping in with answers to other students' questions. This meant that I did not have to monitor the Ning several times a day so students would have answers to the questions. However, I did find they wanted my reenforcement, so I would post something like, "that's correct. Thanks for the help."
- As the administrator, I was able to review videos without making them public. I had difficulty accessing YouTube private settings and many of my students did not want to upload their work for public display.
- I was able to have all of my students blogs in one place. In addition, some blogs were read by others in the class (even though they did not comment) and the "popularity" feature on Ning allowed me to see which ones were being read.
- There seemed to be a greater level of community. Students would leave messages for each other (which I could see), sometimes class related, other times just personnel. For example, one of the student's found another's paper from another class. She contacted the student through the Ning and made arrangments to return the paper.
- I was able to send mass emails to the email addressed identified by the students (rather than the office school email) which meant they were more apt to get and read the emails.
- Many students created a personal profile that helped to create a sense of identity outside of class.
Disadvantages:
- I still needed to keep on top of the Ning and show a strong presence. Towards the end of the semester, especially, students stopped using it unless I told them I was posting something.
- The two classes stayed pretty separate on the Ning which tells me that the community on the Ning is just an extension of the community developed in the classroom. Therefore, I think it is important to create a sense of community in the classroom for the Ning to work.
- Some of the features on the Ning didn't work with some of the computers (i.e. some of the videos took so much time to upload that they "timed out", the discussion threads feature). Because Nings aren't supported by our school, we, the users, were on our own.
- Sometimes, when there was a lot of activity on the Ning, it was hard to keep track of that activity. I could imagine this might have been the same with the students.
- I feel that the upgraded version might have had features I would have preferred, but as I am only an adjunct, I don't have an budget to invest in such software.
Overall, I much preferred the Ning over other web-based software I've used for my classes in the last 6 years. My overall favorite ever was the now defunct Prometheus. I have yet to see the syllabus features that this program had. My favorite was an automatic date feature in which the instructor would put in the dates of the classes or the start and ending date along with the days the class met, and a template would be generated. It was simple then to fill in the information for each class including readings, assignments, and links to resources for the class. After, the instructor could add files and notes about the class.
I would strongly recommend the Ning of in classes. I will be using it next semester, hopefully trying some new things as I get used to each of the features of the software.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Ning vs. Learning Management Systems (LMS)
This semester, after 2 frustrating semesters trying to work with our school's LMS, I decided to go outside and set up a class Ning. This was prompted by two things. First, the LMS that our school had, had an irritating habit of losing posts. This happened a number of time where a student's assignment or post was visiable and then it suddenly disappeared. My students first started to complain about it and I wasn't sure I believed it. Then I saw it happen as I printed out a student's posting, when then disappeared the following day. Our ITS department could not replicate the problem and therefore could not resolve the disappearing assignments problem. I decided that I was not getting the type of support I needed with school sanctioned programs, so I might as well use something that was less cumbersome.
Then another colleague told me that he used a non-school sanctioned wiki very successfully. As long as this software is not required and students have the option to opt out of reveling information (thus meeting FERPA laws), I felt comfortable about using another program. I decided to use Ning as I had enjoyed using it for a couple of online conferences.
Difference between Ning and LMS (Teacher's perspective)
Jenny Luca is currently blogging about using the Ning for secondary school students. As I read her postings (only 2 for now), and looked at my own experience only in the early days, I have seen similiar results and differences between using a social networking site like Ning and an LMS. So I have tried to figure out what the difference is.
From a teacher's point of view, what I have seen is that there is a lot more input from students (students helping students), so far. Within the last two weeks, I have had more postings on the class Ning than the entire semester last year. I find that the format allows for more interaction and exchange of information in the Ning than the LMS.
I think this can be explained by the structure of a LMS which requires a lot more teacher input and instructional design which is teacher centered. For example, the first page of most LMS's I have used is a structure that the teacher must populate first. Although the 4 programs I have used for the last 12 years are somewhat different, all of them require the teacher/instructional designer to create the discussion and the structure for discussion. Even my most "learner centered" instructional designs required teacher permissions to initiate the discussions. Nings give instructional designers the option to allow students to begin their own discussions, post their own resources, create their own blogs, etc...
Another main difference is the way information is presented on the front page. There is a greater level of communication between students so there tends not to be a one-on-one teacher/student dialog as the default means of communication. Rather the default tends to be student/student, allowing students that ability to pose and answer questions without the creater ever being notified.
Some instructors or instructional designers might find this scary, but I like the fact that I can create a truely student centered space, with instructor oversight (rather than instructor control). Unlike Jenny, I think the more informal "hi, how are you," is appropriate on a class Ning, as long as it is on individual walls, not in discussion forums. While Ning allows for different spaces within its walls for different types of discussions (as a university building would have some areas where more "serious" discussions take place, and other less formal community building discussions can take place), LMS does not seem to offer any space for more informal community building to take place.
Ning vs. LMS (Student perspective)
My initial impression is that students are much more comfortable with the set up of Ning as they are familiar with Facebook. They are apt to check the Ning on a regular basis which is much easier to do than the LMS. In most cases, the LMS is already populated with passwords and account names. This means that students can get away with never signing on to a LMS (which happened to many of my students). On the other hand, students had to be invited, create accounts, and then sign on to the Ning. This required a much more active participation in the initial stages. For some reason, I was able to get all of my students to sign on and participate initially on the Ning which I never was able to do when all they had to do was sign in.
Students also are using the Ning differently than the LMS. The Ning is perceived as a communication tool--someplace to go when they need answers to their questions about the class. The LMS is perceived as a repository of resources, someplace to go when they need to access resources. Communication on the LMS is perceived as one-on-one whereas students already feel comfortable jumping in on discussions whether the person posing the question is in their class or not. They perceive the Ning as being a community, multi-party/-dimensional communication tool. I think this is helping to establish a feeling of class community much quicker than even a traditional class would create.
These are still the early days for using this Ning. But I look forward to seeing how the rest of the semester progresses (especially in the next couple of weeks when we have winter break with assignments due after.)
Then another colleague told me that he used a non-school sanctioned wiki very successfully. As long as this software is not required and students have the option to opt out of reveling information (thus meeting FERPA laws), I felt comfortable about using another program. I decided to use Ning as I had enjoyed using it for a couple of online conferences.
Difference between Ning and LMS (Teacher's perspective)
Jenny Luca is currently blogging about using the Ning for secondary school students. As I read her postings (only 2 for now), and looked at my own experience only in the early days, I have seen similiar results and differences between using a social networking site like Ning and an LMS. So I have tried to figure out what the difference is.
From a teacher's point of view, what I have seen is that there is a lot more input from students (students helping students), so far. Within the last two weeks, I have had more postings on the class Ning than the entire semester last year. I find that the format allows for more interaction and exchange of information in the Ning than the LMS.
I think this can be explained by the structure of a LMS which requires a lot more teacher input and instructional design which is teacher centered. For example, the first page of most LMS's I have used is a structure that the teacher must populate first. Although the 4 programs I have used for the last 12 years are somewhat different, all of them require the teacher/instructional designer to create the discussion and the structure for discussion. Even my most "learner centered" instructional designs required teacher permissions to initiate the discussions. Nings give instructional designers the option to allow students to begin their own discussions, post their own resources, create their own blogs, etc...
Another main difference is the way information is presented on the front page. There is a greater level of communication between students so there tends not to be a one-on-one teacher/student dialog as the default means of communication. Rather the default tends to be student/student, allowing students that ability to pose and answer questions without the creater ever being notified.
Some instructors or instructional designers might find this scary, but I like the fact that I can create a truely student centered space, with instructor oversight (rather than instructor control). Unlike Jenny, I think the more informal "hi, how are you," is appropriate on a class Ning, as long as it is on individual walls, not in discussion forums. While Ning allows for different spaces within its walls for different types of discussions (as a university building would have some areas where more "serious" discussions take place, and other less formal community building discussions can take place), LMS does not seem to offer any space for more informal community building to take place.
Ning vs. LMS (Student perspective)
My initial impression is that students are much more comfortable with the set up of Ning as they are familiar with Facebook. They are apt to check the Ning on a regular basis which is much easier to do than the LMS. In most cases, the LMS is already populated with passwords and account names. This means that students can get away with never signing on to a LMS (which happened to many of my students). On the other hand, students had to be invited, create accounts, and then sign on to the Ning. This required a much more active participation in the initial stages. For some reason, I was able to get all of my students to sign on and participate initially on the Ning which I never was able to do when all they had to do was sign in.
Students also are using the Ning differently than the LMS. The Ning is perceived as a communication tool--someplace to go when they need answers to their questions about the class. The LMS is perceived as a repository of resources, someplace to go when they need to access resources. Communication on the LMS is perceived as one-on-one whereas students already feel comfortable jumping in on discussions whether the person posing the question is in their class or not. They perceive the Ning as being a community, multi-party/-dimensional communication tool. I think this is helping to establish a feeling of class community much quicker than even a traditional class would create.
These are still the early days for using this Ning. But I look forward to seeing how the rest of the semester progresses (especially in the next couple of weeks when we have winter break with assignments due after.)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Teaching with technology in a non-tech room: solutions
As I mentioned previously, I am teaching two sections of the same class, one in a tech room, the other in a non-tech room. Well, come to find out the second section is only in a semi-tech room as I don't have a computer monitor, although I have access to the internet through a lcd projector.
I do have a video and DVD monitor, and have received some information from other blogs that have given me some ideas as to how I might use technology. All of my students have access to e-mail, the internet (at least through the school library), and a computer. However, one consideration has to do with the school filters to certain sites. So working through the library, at home, and my school office, I tested different sites and have decided on a few. In additions to the constraints listed above, I also have be considerate of the FERPA laws, that insure privacy for students over the age of 18. Our school interprets this as students are only required to use the technology that has officially been recognized through the university, requiring password protection. As a result, any outside technology I use must be optional, with the possible use of aliases.
I have decided to use a Ning, in which I post links, resources (I am not using a text this semester), discussion forums for student questions with the option of online class discussions when the weather requires the cancellation of class (such as tomorrow when 12 inches of snow is expected). The ning also allows for videos to be posted (for those that have the technology), groups to be created, and a chat function. Since I have two sections for the same class, I have one site. Today I informed my students that some of the questions posed will be appropriate to both classes or one class or another. As a result, as I answer questions, I will need to identify whether the answer is true for both classes, or class 1 or class 2 only. I have also decided to create two groups within the Ning for online discussions, one for each class.
I have also decided to use delicious as another format for students to find links, especially for video clips I want them to watch. Most of the video clips will be through YouTube, which is one of the few programs not blocked (due to faculty request). Students will be able to submit assignments through e-mail. One quirk about our e-mail is that during the semester, e-mail may take up to 48 hours to post. However, e-mails are time dated at the moment it is posted. I have found e-mails posted 2 days earlier, despite the fact that I check the e-mails daily. I opted not to use the LMS for assignments because assignments that were posted (I had actually seen them) were disappearing after they were posted. As our ITS department were not able to identify what the problem was, I decided to use a more reliable technology (albeit, late in access, the posting date and time is accurate).
I am still trying to download clips and format them into a usable form for the DVD playable. I also need to look into hooking up the laptop to the TV or the LCD projector. However, I will need to determine if I can get internet access in the room as we are currently having our buildings converted for wireless access in all of the classes. This conversion will take place over the next 3 months on a rolling basis. If I have internet access, both my students and I will be able to access additional resources. I will place students into groups according to laptops so they can access and analyze video clips of speeches.
Hopefully, this will be helpful for those who have limited or no access to technology in the classroom. I am open to more ideas on how to integrate technology into a non-tech classroom!
I do have a video and DVD monitor, and have received some information from other blogs that have given me some ideas as to how I might use technology. All of my students have access to e-mail, the internet (at least through the school library), and a computer. However, one consideration has to do with the school filters to certain sites. So working through the library, at home, and my school office, I tested different sites and have decided on a few. In additions to the constraints listed above, I also have be considerate of the FERPA laws, that insure privacy for students over the age of 18. Our school interprets this as students are only required to use the technology that has officially been recognized through the university, requiring password protection. As a result, any outside technology I use must be optional, with the possible use of aliases.
I have decided to use a Ning, in which I post links, resources (I am not using a text this semester), discussion forums for student questions with the option of online class discussions when the weather requires the cancellation of class (such as tomorrow when 12 inches of snow is expected). The ning also allows for videos to be posted (for those that have the technology), groups to be created, and a chat function. Since I have two sections for the same class, I have one site. Today I informed my students that some of the questions posed will be appropriate to both classes or one class or another. As a result, as I answer questions, I will need to identify whether the answer is true for both classes, or class 1 or class 2 only. I have also decided to create two groups within the Ning for online discussions, one for each class.
I have also decided to use delicious as another format for students to find links, especially for video clips I want them to watch. Most of the video clips will be through YouTube, which is one of the few programs not blocked (due to faculty request). Students will be able to submit assignments through e-mail. One quirk about our e-mail is that during the semester, e-mail may take up to 48 hours to post. However, e-mails are time dated at the moment it is posted. I have found e-mails posted 2 days earlier, despite the fact that I check the e-mails daily. I opted not to use the LMS for assignments because assignments that were posted (I had actually seen them) were disappearing after they were posted. As our ITS department were not able to identify what the problem was, I decided to use a more reliable technology (albeit, late in access, the posting date and time is accurate).
I am still trying to download clips and format them into a usable form for the DVD playable. I also need to look into hooking up the laptop to the TV or the LCD projector. However, I will need to determine if I can get internet access in the room as we are currently having our buildings converted for wireless access in all of the classes. This conversion will take place over the next 3 months on a rolling basis. If I have internet access, both my students and I will be able to access additional resources. I will place students into groups according to laptops so they can access and analyze video clips of speeches.
Hopefully, this will be helpful for those who have limited or no access to technology in the classroom. I am open to more ideas on how to integrate technology into a non-tech classroom!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Top Ten Tools Summary
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been posting my top ten tools list. Here a summary of my top ten tools:
Delicious
YouTube
Blogger.com
PowerPoint
Google Calender
Zotero
Wisemapping
Many Eyes
Ning
Periodic Table of Videos
Delicious
YouTube
Blogger.com
PowerPoint
Google Calender
Zotero
Wisemapping
Many Eyes
Ning
Periodic Table of Videos
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Top Ten Tools: Ning
This year, I have not used Ning as an instructor but rather as a student. I have participated in the work literacy course and the Corporate Learning Trends and Innovations 2008online conference.
Ning is a very powerful and flexible environment in which social networking, resource sharing, and forums can all be included in one location. An individual can start a Ning (for free), then invite members into the Ning. There are different levels of privacy, but, like facebook, a member needs to ask for membership to enter the Ning.
How it works
I am not familiar with the set up of Nings, although those that used it have said it is easy to do so. A person must first register with the site. As a participant and member, I have the option to create a profile with as much or little information as I want, including a picture, location, profession, and gender. This is done very simply by answering questions after you have registered for a Ning. This profile can be modified (adding more information, changing pictures, etc...)at any time.
I would log into the home page of the Ning in which I was participating. Although this page may vary depending on who is managing the Ning, usually there was a menu which included announcements, new posts to discussion forums, and new additions to the membership, resources, and video section. There are tabs at the top of the homepage which allows you to go to your own home page and have "private" conversations (not broadcasted to the group at large, but still viewable to your "friends"), access uploaded videos, review the forum discussions (including identifying new posts), seeing the newest tweets or other feeds, or even blogging within the site.
Affordances
This is a social networking site that allows for participants to create their own space within the Ning. Those that prefer to learn through discussion forums, can do so. Those that want to blog to learn, can do so. There is also great opportunity for collaboration and sharing of resources, all within on area.
However, for the Ning to work and be sustained, there does need to be a facilitator who will facilitate communication both within and outside of the ning to maintain interest. This might include e-mail updates to members (which the Ning has the ability to do), creating and organizing some structure for discussion forums, and maintaining social protocols to ensure group interaction.
Ning is a very powerful and flexible environment in which social networking, resource sharing, and forums can all be included in one location. An individual can start a Ning (for free), then invite members into the Ning. There are different levels of privacy, but, like facebook, a member needs to ask for membership to enter the Ning.
How it works
I am not familiar with the set up of Nings, although those that used it have said it is easy to do so. A person must first register with the site. As a participant and member, I have the option to create a profile with as much or little information as I want, including a picture, location, profession, and gender. This is done very simply by answering questions after you have registered for a Ning. This profile can be modified (adding more information, changing pictures, etc...)at any time.
I would log into the home page of the Ning in which I was participating. Although this page may vary depending on who is managing the Ning, usually there was a menu which included announcements, new posts to discussion forums, and new additions to the membership, resources, and video section. There are tabs at the top of the homepage which allows you to go to your own home page and have "private" conversations (not broadcasted to the group at large, but still viewable to your "friends"), access uploaded videos, review the forum discussions (including identifying new posts), seeing the newest tweets or other feeds, or even blogging within the site.
Affordances
This is a social networking site that allows for participants to create their own space within the Ning. Those that prefer to learn through discussion forums, can do so. Those that want to blog to learn, can do so. There is also great opportunity for collaboration and sharing of resources, all within on area.
However, for the Ning to work and be sustained, there does need to be a facilitator who will facilitate communication both within and outside of the ning to maintain interest. This might include e-mail updates to members (which the Ning has the ability to do), creating and organizing some structure for discussion forums, and maintaining social protocols to ensure group interaction.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Corporate guidelines for social software
Tony Karrer's posting on corporate guidelines for social software/web 2.0 had some interesting links. Of all of the corporate guidelines, I liked the Sun corporate policy. First off, I have a bias towards open communication within a company. It is next to impossible to keep secrets in a company, and often the effort backfires and results in hard feelings to the employees. Sun's seems to have a balanced approach:
What surprised me about these guidelines, however, is that they assumed that all social software was the same. How can a social book marking program such as del.icio.us be on par with a wiki? A wiki acts very differently than a blog. And shouldn't there be more codes like Sun which recognize the difference between the use of these tools internally and externally? In looking at these codes, the one question that kept popping into my head was who do the management feel own the products of the social networking tools (often they feel it is the property of the individual when something goes wrong, but the property of the corporation if it adds to the corporate value).
Likewise, I wondered who users of social software imagine is their audience. I know that my students rarely think of others reading anything they write except for those in authority or their friends (another reason I like the Sun code as they point out that others might be reading blogs, wiki's, etc..., not just those the author intended should read).
This brings me back to who bloggers write for. I think many write with an imaginary audience (I do) whether that is true or not. I was surprised when Tony Karrer mentioned that my blog was "specialized" as I thought it was very broad. In fact, I tried to write my profile as broadly as possible (which I guess made it specialized).
Blogging vs. Wikis
While bloggers write either for their thought processes or an "imagined" audience, wikis are the result of group interaction. The product of the blog is a record of thoughts, often with little evidence of the thought process that created those ideas. On the other hand, wikis show the thought processes that created an idea. The importance of the wiki is the thought process (and group cognitive development) whereas the importance of the blog is the final thought.
Social networking software such as Ning and Facebook is still another tool that creates totally different dynamics and insights into the creators and contributers. Like a wiki, the process is important, but so is the development of social relationships. Unlike blogs and wikis, the final product is a "feeling", usually of trust or belonging (confirming or disconfirming behavior as group communicators term it). What is important to users are the patterns of communication, the roles that individuals play in their network, and the building of communication.
As a result of the differences in each of these tools, doesn't it make sense to create different "rules" for their use within a corporation? I think the real difficulty is in balancing "rules" with the affordances these tools can bring to the corporation.
Don’t Tell Secrets · Common sense at work here; it’s perfectly OK to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but it’s not OK to publish the recipe for one of our secret sauces. There’s an official policy on protecting Sun's proprietary and confidential information, but there are still going to be judgment calls.
If the judgment call is tough—on secrets or one of the other issues discussed here—it’s never a bad idea to get management sign-off before you publish.
In my mind, Sun treats their employees with respect and as grown ups with intelligence.
What surprised me about these guidelines, however, is that they assumed that all social software was the same. How can a social book marking program such as del.icio.us be on par with a wiki? A wiki acts very differently than a blog. And shouldn't there be more codes like Sun which recognize the difference between the use of these tools internally and externally? In looking at these codes, the one question that kept popping into my head was who do the management feel own the products of the social networking tools (often they feel it is the property of the individual when something goes wrong, but the property of the corporation if it adds to the corporate value).
Likewise, I wondered who users of social software imagine is their audience. I know that my students rarely think of others reading anything they write except for those in authority or their friends (another reason I like the Sun code as they point out that others might be reading blogs, wiki's, etc..., not just those the author intended should read).
This brings me back to who bloggers write for. I think many write with an imaginary audience (I do) whether that is true or not. I was surprised when Tony Karrer mentioned that my blog was "specialized" as I thought it was very broad. In fact, I tried to write my profile as broadly as possible (which I guess made it specialized).
Blogging vs. Wikis
While bloggers write either for their thought processes or an "imagined" audience, wikis are the result of group interaction. The product of the blog is a record of thoughts, often with little evidence of the thought process that created those ideas. On the other hand, wikis show the thought processes that created an idea. The importance of the wiki is the thought process (and group cognitive development) whereas the importance of the blog is the final thought.
Social networking software such as Ning and Facebook is still another tool that creates totally different dynamics and insights into the creators and contributers. Like a wiki, the process is important, but so is the development of social relationships. Unlike blogs and wikis, the final product is a "feeling", usually of trust or belonging (confirming or disconfirming behavior as group communicators term it). What is important to users are the patterns of communication, the roles that individuals play in their network, and the building of communication.
As a result of the differences in each of these tools, doesn't it make sense to create different "rules" for their use within a corporation? I think the real difficulty is in balancing "rules" with the affordances these tools can bring to the corporation.
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