Starting a Ning network for my faculty and staff
I just created a Ning social network for the faculty and staff at my school. So far 20 teachers (out of about 120) have signed up. I'm not sure if I should be encouraged or disappointed about that...
I think the big challenge is to show teachers that the network is a valuable and productive use of their time. If I don't do that quickly it is going to fade away. People are starting to post some pictures and I've started a discussion about how to use the network.
Do you have other ideas about how I can kick start my network to get it going. I know from my experience here, that once a critical mass of people really start using the space it will start to sustain itself. Any suggestions for how to get it going would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
-Liz
I think the big challenge is to show teachers that the network is a valuable and productive use of their time. If I don't do that quickly it is going to fade away. People are starting to post some pictures and I've started a discussion about how to use the network.
Do you have other ideas about how I can kick start my network to get it going. I know from my experience here, that once a critical mass of people really start using the space it will start to sustain itself. Any suggestions for how to get it going would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
-Liz
Tags: socialnetworking
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sherry Booth on
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Thanks, Connie. This is really encouraging to get replies to my post. I'm beginning to see the advantages of social networking! I checked out Fireside and joined.
In establishing Fireside, what strategies did you purposefully employ in the beginning to get people to participate? I'm trying to understand what the carrot is that pulls people in and keeps them coming back.
Sherry
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Permalink Reply by Barbara Wright on
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Our school staff ning had a rebirth this fall when the curriculum coordinator chose to use it for a discussion forum for experienced teachers holding a book discussion group. A number of new members, a new group with a little activity, but not much more movement. As a matter of fact, that is just about it. It would be letting the members of that group skip some after school meetings if they post, but they aren't following through! As the school librarian, I don't have much clout to try to get them to do it, either.
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Permalink Reply by Cyndi Danner-Kuhn on
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I understand, and trying to get teachers to any kind of staff development is a challenge. One of my responsibilities at the University I teach is technology staff development for faculty in the College of Ed. It is next to impossible to get them to attend. I can't even get them to read a short email with resources included that might be useful to them. I I would love to use Ning, but I suspect they would not participate in this extremely useful tool. It might take them 10 minutes!!
As teachers we expect our students to put in the time to learn new things, but as professionals we don't practice what we preach very often. Those of us participating in this, probably do for the most part, but .....
If anybody has any ideas on how to get through to College of Education faculty and get them off their high horses, I would love to know!! Frustrated in Kansas!!!
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Permalink Reply by Jodie on
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Cyndi,
I am in the same boat with my k-12 teachers. It is so frustrating. I spend hours finding tools that would be helpful, but they can not be bothered to read an email or attend a training. I have started just targeting certain teachers. My plan is to get one or two teachers going per campus and hope that the others will start following. Maybe some parents will start to question why student A got to be in a Video Conference and their angel was left out. This plan may fall flat too. Then I am off to Plan E....or is it F. I can't keep up anymore.
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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on
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I feel your frustration. I teach in a special ed program for gifted kids (top 1%) so I'm not in staff dev or tech but I spent almost 10 years touting technology integration in the classroom. I gave hundreds of workshops in my district, state and presented at NECC for 5 years. About 4 years ago I threw in the tech towel. I couldn't stand the resistance--it's only gotten worse, at least in K6, with high stakes testing and scripted reading and math programs.
I figured I knew enough to keep my kids active and learning new stuff until I retire. I, too, thought my kids' enthusiasm would carry over to the regular classroom--it didn't. We use blogs, wikis, video, digital cameras, Moodle, Animoto, Mnemograph, GPS, handhelds, Google Earth, Flickr, Tikatok, Mindstorm Robotics, and dozens of other tools and they go back to the regular classroom and sit. Oh well, I've got the best job in the world.
About ning--sometimes it seems all my school's teachers do is complain (which they'd never put in writing), I don't know if they could come up with anything useful to discuss on a ning!
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Hmmm. This is very interesting. 20+ years ago, I was the "computer coordinator" for a K-8 school and I ran into similar challenges trying to get teachers to use computers. Different technology, but same problem. So, what do you think it is? Are there certain characteristics of teachers that make them more or less likely to embrace (or even consider) new technologies?
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I have lots of opinions--generally it's a time issue. I have had periods of time over the years when I spent 40 hours a week outside of school surfing, designing webpages, writing online curriculum, researching, looking at new sites, and applications, etc.(Google Earth is my latest "deep dive".) I spend at least 2-3 hours a day everyday reading about technology and coming up with ways to integrate it.
I also don't think there is a big push at the college level, our young, new teachers are in the dark as much as the veterans. Then if they student teach with a non-integrator the cycle is perpetuated.
Also the emphasis on state assessments cause the refrain "If it's not on the test, I'm not doing it".
Mostly, I wonder if it's a temperment thing--many classroom teachers are not risk takers or change agents, it's just as easy to do it the way it's always been done and the way they were taught to do it. BTW, I'm 60 and about to retire--I didn't grow up with this stuff but what a wonderful journey it has been.
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It is the same problem, just different tools. Agree!!
I am not sure what the solution is, but I do know that it starts with leadership. In schools like Chrs Lehmann's or Steve Truss where the Principal is the principle learner and does not expect his teachers to do anything he doesn't do himself. The leader is setting the example, practicing what he preaches and walking the walk and not just talking the talk. I would like to spend a day in their building because I suspect they aren't experiencing what we are discussing. There is also a video on Tech Integration in the Edutopia site from a school called Mary Scroggs Elementary. Just amazing!
I do think teachers in K-12 are under so much pressure from the testing that they are forgetting to be the truly great teachers they once were. And new teachers right outta college don't have a chance. It just sucks. What happened to the joy of learning.
A professor here at Kansas State, Michael Wesch is doing amazing things in his Cultural Anthropolgy class. It is a geneal education class and he has 200 students in a section. Im sure many of you have seen his videos on YouTube------
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE
The Machine is Using Us
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o
A Vision of Students Today
But I had the pleasure of attending a presentation he did about teaching and technology last week. I used a Flip video camera and recorded some of the Question & Answer time. You can view them from my website- nothing fancy, but he makes some good points http://www.cyndidannerkuhn.info/CDK/Movies.html. I left his session wanting to take his class and excited to learn more!! How often do student leave classes feeling that way?
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BTW, I'm from OP, KS.
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Permalink Reply by Ann E Darling on
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How about having a guest blogger(from within your ning community) each week? Lots of people will be willing to contribute if the option of dividing up the work load is available and because they all would like to receive comments when its their turn, they may be more likely to comment too.
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Permalink Reply by una raimondo on
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Getting teachers to read is not a problem ref. blogging or wikis. However, the issue continues to remain if we join a social network eg. Ning does this mean that my administrator is asking me to work more? Do you have planning time during your instructional day to allow teachers to engage and think? I believe this might be very helpful. At my school we do not and this is impacting the spread of 21st century skills. Would'nt you know??
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I think you may have hit a nail on the head, time to do so. I teach at the university level in the college of ed and we do have time for research and learning, so t=there should be no excuses there!! But there its!!
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