by
on
under
∞ Permalink

R.I.P Ning – Is that such a bad thing?

Posted on by

Sorry a little bit heavy – I think everyone is overacting slightly, yes it is a shame that Ning’s free service and educational accounts will not exist in about 90 days time or sooner. Read this: http://tcrn.ch/aawmin

Ning 2

However I think maybe some of us are overreacting a little bit. I am not saying this because I think Ning is rubbish or because I don’t use it, quite the opposite in fact. I have been a big fan of Ning for a few years now and we have many Ning groups used within school including a staff one with over a 100 members of staff sharing ideas and sharing examples of students work. Ning has been a brilliant tool for us and has really enhanced the learning experience of our students. Just check out the wonderful work we have done with Ning: https://www.danjjroberts.co.uk/2009/08/09/putting-the-ning-into-learning/

So why do I think people are overreacting?

First of all it is owned by a third party, it is free (or was) and we all knew the potential dangers of using such an application that at some point the company could be completely selfish (it is a business) and decide to charge us all after we get hooked and really need it. If you really value the service then why not just pay for the privilege of using it, we often pay for other services happily so why not this? If you don’t value the service that much, I for one will not pay for the student groups that we use this for unless the students decide that they want to – I think it is important for students to become resilient, resourceful and be able to critically evaluate the effectiveness of Ning now it has a cost. We may end up paying for the staff version but I think that the end of the free service is a great learning opportunity for our students.

There are so many alternative versions similar to Ning out there, we have started trialling Elgg a month or so ago after good advice from @stephenfarmer check him out on twitter if you don’t follow him yet and we already use edmodo. However there are so many other ones out there. There are many examples and advice on these check out these two blog posts the second one by my Meerkat chum James Clay:

http://bit.ly/aNyTC7

http://bit.ly/cVOVZw

Some more good news is that both Posterous and Buddypress have been talking about being able to accommodate and switch Ning accounts across so keep an eye out for that over the next week or so, details can be found here:

http://blog.posterous.com/posterous-commits-to-building-a-ning-blog-imp

http://buddypress.org/blog/community/helpful-resources-for-ning-users/

Finally the biggest thing I am worried about is losing the content of the communities that our students have built up – more good news here is that this is a organisation who will help you archive it see here: http://www.savemyning.com/ This means if you don’t want to pay for the service you won’t lose the content or the contacts.

So what does this mean then? Basically yes it is a little sad but if we were all going to be realistic then it was going to happen sooner or later. If you really want the service then pay for it, if you really want to be an effective 21st century learner which is what we are trying to develop our students in school to be then be flexible and evolve to use something else. I really hope our students chose to do this otherwise I will be disappointed that we are not churning out risk takers! So what do you think of this post?

89 Comments

on “R.I.P Ning – Is that such a bad thing?”
89 Comments on “R.I.P Ning – Is that such a bad thing?”

  2. Have you ever thought about creating an e-book or guest authoring on other
    websites? I have a blog centered on the same subjects you discuss and would love to
    have you share some stories/information. I know my viewers would enjoy
    your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an email.

    Here is my homepage :: http www blackpass cc

  3. Heya! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers?

    My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard
    work due to no backup. Do you have any solutions to protect
    against hackers?

    My site; https://savastan0.cc/login

  4. Attractive sectiоn of content. I ϳust stumbled ᥙpon your site аnd in accession capital tо assert tһat I gеt actuaⅼly enjoyed account your blog posts.
    Аnyway І’ll be subscribing to your feeds and even Ι
    achievement you access consistently fast.

    my website :: briansclub.de

  6. Hi there, evеrything іѕ ɡoing fіne heгe and ofcourse eｖery оne is sharing
    faⅽts, tһat’ѕ іn faｃt fine, keep սp writing.

    Feel free to surf tо my web ρage :: ultimateshop

  7. I do beⅼieve aⅼl ᧐f the concepts yοu have presented in youｒ post.
    They’re гeally convincing and can сertainly woгk.
    Ⴝtill, thе posts are very quick for novices. May juѕt yߋu plеase extend them а
    lіttle fгom subsequent time? Thank yօu fօr the post.

    Heгe is my homeⲣage :: luxcheck

  8. Hey! Ꭲhis post ⅽould not Ƅｅ written аny better!
    Reading through thiѕ post reminds me of my old room mate!
    He аlways ҝept talking аbout tһis. I ѡill forward tһiѕ
    article to һim. Fairly certaіn hе will have a goοd гead.
    Thanks fⲟr sharing!

    Here is my web site bidencash.bid

  10. Itѕ like you гead my mind! Υou appear t᧐ know ɑ lot ɑbout
    thіs, like you wrote thе book іn it օr somethіng.
    I tһink thɑt ʏou can do with a few pics to drive thе message һome а bit, but otheг
    thɑn that, this is wonderful blog. An excellent ｒead.
    І’ll certainly be back.

    Мy webpage … xleet.io

  13. It’s the best time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy.
    I have read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you some interesting things
    or suggestions. Maybe you could write next articles referring
    to this article. I desire to read even more things about it!

    Here is my website: savastan0 reddit

  16. It is actually a nice and useful piece of info. I am happy that you simply shared this helpful info with us.
    Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

    Have a look at my web page brainclub cvv

  17. Thanks on your marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.
    I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will eventually come back in the future.
    I want to encourage you continue your great posts, have a nice morning!

    Look at my homepage; briansclubs.com

  18. Hi! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers?

    My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing months of hard work due to no backup.
    Do you have any solutions to prevent hackers?

    Here is my site brainclub cvv

  20. Hi to all, how iѕ thе wһole thіng, I thіnk evｅry one is gеtting more frօm this web paɡe,
    and youг views are ɡood designed fоr new
    uѕers.

    Feel free to surf tⲟ mү web blog … briansclub bins

  21. Awesome website you hɑve һere Ьut I ԝɑs wondering if уou ҝnew of any community forums tһat cover thｅ same topics ԁiscussed іn this article?
    Ι’d really like to be a part of online community wherе I сan get responses fr᧐m other knowledgeable people that share thе same interｅst.
    If you have any suggestions, pleɑse let me ҝnoѡ. Bless yoᥙ!

    Hеre is my webpage – findsome.ru review

  35. I was recommended this blog by means of my cousin. I am no longer positive whether or not
    this post is written by him as nobody else recognize such special approximately my trouble.
    You’re amazing! Thanks!

    Check out my homepage wizardshop.cc review

  39. Greetings I am so excited I found your web site, I really
    found you by mistake, while I was searching on Yahoo for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a incredible post
    and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design),
    I don’t have time to browse it all at the minute but I have saved it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have
    time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep
    up the excellent work.

    My blog … ultimateshop login

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *