Thing 17 - Nings and Microblogging

Coming soon! Under construction!!!
My Twitter ID = scottkingnc
My Plurk ID = scottyking

Hey, guess what? I created an Interpreters' Ning at:
http://interpreter.ning.com/
I really need to work on it, but I can use it for interpreters that I train everywhere. It is exciting!
Created another one for medical interpreting:
http://medicalinterpreter.ning.com/

I've started using the Plurk account (www.plurk.com/scottyking), very slowly at first, but I have a few Kansas friends already, thanks to a "shoutout" from Caroline today!

Now, on to the reflections:
Nings

* What was your first impression of Classroom 2.0? My first impression was that it was huge (# of members unbelievable) and overwhelming, but as I explored more, I saw that you can narrow down considerably your needs and interests fairly rapidly!
* Was it what you expected? How did it differ from your expectations? Was more than I had imagined was "out there"!
* Did you find any discussions or resources of value? -Well, yes...I just bought an IPod Touch as it came free with the new MacBook I bought, and so I found a discussion about how the IPod Touch could be used in the classroom helpful to orient me to the new "gadget" I have!
* Would you benefit from participating in a Ning related to your professional practices? Yes, I have already started to benefit from joining the ning! I found a great textbook!
* Were you able to find a ning at this site related to what you teach? If so, did you check it out? - Also, here I struck gold! Foreign Language Resources abound! as in this discussion
* How could participating in a social network such as a Ning improve your instructional practices? I created a Ning for a class I teach for UGA. It's for Medical Interpreters. It should aid in the presentation and feedback from these adult learners, and mainly to gleen from their personal expereinces. I want to assign them topics to research and post to the network.
* For those of you who teach older students (middle school and above), would you consider creating a Ning for your classroom? Do you have any ideas for how you could use it? Definitely I can use this for adult learners!!!

Microblogging

* What is your past experience with microblogging and sites like Twitter and Plurk? None whatsoever!
* Given the testimonials above from others who use microblogs as a part of their PLN, could you identify with any of their reasons? Yes, I thought the need for finding quick answers to questions very valuable...like instant research without all the work!
* Could you see microblogging becoming a component of your PLN? Why or why not? It already has!
* For those of you who teach older students (middle school and above), would you consider using a private microblog community such as Shout'emor Edmodo in your classroom? How could you use it? I hope to start using Edomodo, and have it set up now, and I am exploring it furtther!