Last Friday at SIDLIT I presented on one’s alternatives now that Ning has adopted a pay-for-use model. See my slides below. The gist is this–you have three options:
Stick with Ning (and either pay for it or get sponsored)
Switch to another hosted solution (with no guarantees that they’ll stay free)
Host your own.
For option three, I demonstrated Elgg, an open source social networking platform that anyone with a little bit of web development know-how and some server space can set up. It’s come a long way in the last couple of years–within a few minutes after installation you can have a full-featured social network exclusive to your group. Another package worth looking at, especially if you’re familiar with the popular WordPress blogging platform, is BuddyPress.
One thing I want to stress, though: Even though software like Elgg and BuddyPress are free, they do require some setup and maintenance. And even though some of those upstart Ning competitors are free or cheap, you may find that you get what you pay for (or that they may disappear from the Internet out of the blue). I’m not defending Ning, but they do have a right to charge for their services–and I think the age of free everything on the web is coming to an end. My point is that if you want to leave Ning, that’s fine–but please think twice if your only reason is because they’re charging money now.
On Friday we participated in a poster session at the 2010 SIM International Conference. We had some great discussions about uses of iChat and Flip cameras related to the Distance Coaching project. I’ve listed some follow-up information for those of you interested in trying this on your own. Right now we are only supporting our teachers in Michigan, but if you’ve got a Mac, reliable Internet connection, and some type of recording device you can try it out too.
As some of you may know, Amber and I have spent the last year experimenting with technology to assist with the instructional coaching process. There are still some rough edges to our process, but we’re ready to share what we’ve got so far. Keeping with our belief that we can get the best bang for our buck with consumer-oriented technology, we’re putting Macintosh computers with iChat to use with Flip cameras to allow teachers to record video, then share it at a scheduled time with a coach or mentor. We’ve created the Distance Coaching Technology website to share our plan and best practices we’ve come across.
We just launched a project with the Michigan Department of Education to use this technology in a Striving Readers project. A few times per semester, teachers will connect via iChat to share and discuss video clips in a secure online environment. Using iChat’s built-in iChat Theater feature, participants are able to watch the same clip at the same time–it’s like sitting together watching a video tape on a VCR, but they happen to be 1,000 miles away from each other instead of on the same couch.
We’ve also developed a little utility to help optimize video clips from Flip cameras for better use with online streaming. After a round of testing we’ll share this tool on the new website. As new developments occur in this area, both in terms of technology and best practices, we’ll share them on the site.
Check out our Distance Coaching Technology website and let us know what you think! We’ll also be happy to talk about the project next month at the SIM Conference in Lawrence.
We just found out that our pre-conference workshop at the 2010 SIM Conference has been cancelled. We’re sorry for any inconvenience. If you’re heading to Lawrence for the conference and have any questions, you can still talk to Amber or me and we’ll be happy to chat about Stratepedia or other technologies we work with.
We’ve gotten word from SIDLIT organizers–it looks like we’ll be representing the Center for Research on Learning and Stratepedia in three sessions at this year’s event at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas:
Beyond Ning: Rolling your own social network: Ning has recently announced plans to discontinue its free service, requiring network creators to pay for service or leave Ning altogether. In this session we’ll look at how this decision affects educational users of Ning, as well as alternative, DIY social networking software packages such as Elgg, Buddypress, and Community Engine.
Posterous: Nate will be presenting how he uses the blogging platform Posterous to maintain a simple, team-manageable blog. I believe this will be part of a larger session on Web 2.0 tools.
Web developers special interest group: This special interest group is for SIDLIT attendees who are responsible for developing and supporting web-based applications for their institutions. We will discuss tools of the trade, best practices, and how we keep our skills as developers/programmers sharp.
What is SIDLIT? SIDLIT is an annual distance education/education technology conference held in Overland Park. This year’s sessions will be Thursday, August 5, and Friday, August 6. Registration is now available–and have I mentioned that it’s free to attend? If you’re at a college, university, or K-12 institution around the Kansas City area I recommend attending.
Last week Don Deshler traveled to Washington D.C. and met with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to discuss low literacy and graduation rates among teens.
The video below is Don’s segment. Visit KUCRL.org for more information.
SIDLIT, our favorite Kansas City-area education technology conference, returns this summer and is open for registration now. This year’s edition is scheduled August 5 and 6 at Johnson County Community College. Best of all it’s free to attend. If you live near Kansas City and are interested in seeing what your higher ed colleagues are doing with distance learning technology and instructional technology, you won’t want to miss it. SIDLIT has a little something for everybody, from tips for better e-mail productivity to ways to improve your videography skills. The best part about SIDLIT is its colleague-to-colleague nature–presenters share real world use of technology. I always enjoy learning how different institutions address their challenges through technology, imagination, and good old fashioned sticktoitiveness.
Amber and I have presented in the past at SIDLIT, and Stratepedia will have a to-be-determined presence this year as we sort out our presentation proposals. (SIDLIT is also an excellent opportunity for you to add a presentation or two to your vita!)
Effective today, February 25, 2010, we are changing our policy regarding the Learning Labs service. We will no longer add new groups to the Learning Labs. We will continue to host and support existing groups using the site.
Why? As you may know, the Learning Labs site is the only part of the Stratepedia toolkit that we don’t develop in-house. Due to this unique status, maintaining the Learning Labs requires additional time and effort. While we are able to maintain the site in terms of stability and security, we are limited in what we can do to improve its functionality. As we move forward with integrating the Stratepedia applications with one another, we’ve learned that keeping the Learning Labs up to speed with Coaching Calendar, Dossier, and Depot is in some cases not practical and in others not even possible.
My group is already on the Learning Labs. Do we need to find a new collaboration tool? No. If you’re already using the Learning Labs, you can keep using it. If you’re interested in moving to another service, please contact us for assistance.
Can you recommend any alternatives to the Learning Labs? Watch our blog in the coming days for suggestions about other online collaboration tools. (If you’ve found a collaboration tool you like and would like to share with others, please mention it in the comments at the end of this post.)
Can I ask you more about this change in service? Sure–just drop us a line online or leave a comment below. You can also call me directly at 785-864-7088 with your questions and comments.
A few weeks ago, we hosted two similar Depot webinars to serve as a refresher for Depot members. You can now view the recorded sessions in the archives on Stratepedia’s webinar site.
