Ning-advantages?

The vice-principal at the elementary school where I 'play' has started a Ning for staff members. Not initially knowing what a Ning was, I was skeptical, but joined. After using the Ning, I can see advantages over a blog for certain situations. Using a Ning has allowed us to create and participate in a social network exclusive to Cedar Hill staff members. Participation is by invitation only, keeping the Ning private which allows posts between staff members on education related ideas and input. Our Ning does contain advertisements (this can be minimized if a fee is paid, however, we use the free version) yet the advertisments are not too intrusive. Ning is easy to use and offers over 50 design featuresso its appearance can take on the personality you'd like. I did find it a little clunky at times when trying to manipulate photos and such, but I worked through it. Content can be moderated before being posted, and members can set up ther pages to be private or public according to their preference. Ning competes with Facebook and MySpace, yet I found the privacy allowed with Ning to be greater than with either of them.

How to add a playlist to a MySpace profile page

I've tried to show in this screencast how to add a playlist of your favorite songs to a My Space profile page. Follow the dancing cursor...I tend to use it as a pointer (gotta break that habit!) !

Facebook and MySpace--Sticky?

Having had a Facebook account for some time now, I never really thought of it as being sticky. While there are a few gadgets on Facebook such as "pokes" and words automatically linking to other Facebook pages (example, names, titles, fan clubs), most if not all were internal Facebook links. Facebook's emphasis is definately more on communication, friends and sharing than MySpace. After setting up my account in MySpace, I was "stuck" ! Not only did I spend too much time figuring out my profile page and the like, there are more options to play with. (examples: music, videos, applications, my blogs, etc.) I could easily get lost in another world of videos or music by simply clicking the music or video tabs. The advertising on MySpace is more blatant, and once again I could get lost in a game or featured application by simply clicking any of the flashing ads on the right. I could also spend time setting up My Music and My Video on my profile page and change it whenever. While I find myself connecting to Facebook to visit my friends and communicate, as well as to have some fun, I'm not sure I need all of the "stickyness" of MySpace to do that. Perhaps younger users would welcome the distractions.

Our You Tube videos

Wow, if I were to borrow from Dan's title, now that's entertainment ! What creativity and really great subjects. There wasn't one video I didn't like, but my two favorites were Did You Know? by Stephanie Lewis ( animals and shelters) and Funtime in the Park by Mary Davis (little guy having a great day in the park--this video captures the innocence of being a kid). Both are videos of subjects close to my heart- pets and kids. They were put together really well, with the music choice for each one extremely mood setting. I have to say that Laser Bugs Movie Trailer seems to me to be the entertainment stuff the You Tube audience would love. As far as 'how to' videos, Dan's How to Tune up Your Bike is great. Not only do I love his voice, the background music is a nice touch. How to videos are something I would look for on You Tube since I find combining visual with audio instruction to be entertaining and a great way to learn.

Screencast-Novelist K-8 Tutorial

This screencast was produced using Jing--a free software that allows the addition of visual content to audio content. Jing allows immediate capture of content on your screen, and immediate sharing of that content. This tutorial is for Novelist K-8, an online database that allows students in grades K-8 the ability to locate fiction and nonfiction materials. Features of special interest in Novelist K-8 include excerpts, reviews, popularity ratings, Lexile ratings, cover images, various search methods, a user friendly interface, and the capability for the user to find similar items.