realized they must be over 13.
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators [mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.=
EDU] On Behalf Of Elizabeth Davis
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 12:15 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: One Easy Way to Prep for Possible Extended Flu-Related Closure=
s
Fred,
I blogged about your experience.
http://edtechpower.blogspot.com/2009/05/technology-to-rescue.html
Thanks for sharing it!
-Liz
On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 10:30 AM, Elizabeth Davis <lizbdavis@gmail.com>wrote=
:
> Fred - This is a great story of turning adversity into a learning=20
> opportunity. I have a Ning set up for our school, but haven't yet=20
> pushed it out. It has a few members, but no real content. I have=20
> several teachers who have created Nings for their classrooms and they=20
> love it. Your Ning had a true pedogogical purpose and thus it thrived.=20
> I think that is the key to most technology successes. As Chris Lehmann=20
> <http://www.practicaltheory.org/serendipity/> says, Effective=20
> technology is like oxygen, ubiquitous, necessary and invisible. I will=20
> be interested to learn how the ning continues to function now that=20
> your school is back in session.
> -Liz
>
> Liz B Davis
> Director of Academic Technology
> Belmont Hill School
> Belmont, MA
> http://www.belmonthill.org
> http://www.edtechpower.com
>
>
> On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 8:32 AM, Fred Bartels <fred_bartels@rcds.rye.ny.us=
>wrote:
>
>> We had an interesting experience with a forced closure this week=20
>> related to possible H1N1 cases. The closing was initially announced=20
>> as being for two weeks, but after one day being closed, new CDC=20
>> recommendations allowed us to reopen. (All our students with the flu=20
>> are doing well.)
>>
>> For most of one day, we all thought we would be closed for two weeks,=20
>> so we started to quickly ramp up possible solutions for keeping=20
>> courses moving forward. You can read more about the day on this ISEnet p=
ost.
>>
>> http://isenet.ning.com/forum/topics/closed-for-two-weeks-due-to
>>
>> As luck would have it, we had created a school Ning a few days before=20
>> the closure. We viewed it as just an additional=20
>> communication/collaboration tool should we ever happen to be forced=20
>> to close. The Ning was basically a shell with only three members. I=20
>> sent out an email to faculty about 8 pm on the evening of the closure=20
>> annoucement, letting them know about the ning site, and suggesting=20
>> that for some things -like discussions- the ning might be a good=20
>> optional resource. By 4 pm the following day the Ning site had over=20
>> 200 members, 30 course groups, and a very rapidly developing sense of=20
>> community. To put in slightly differently, we experienced with our=20
>> own little social network, the same explosive growth that happened with =
Facebook and MySpace.
>>
>> The rapidity with which the ning site developed gives us a lot of=20
>> confidence that we could maintain a strong sense of community during=20
>> an extended closure. The ning is just one of the tools we would use=20
>> to facilitate communication, but it is now very clear to us that it=20
>> would be an important one.
>>
>> So here is one easy way to prep for a pandemic. Encourage your=20
>> faculty to become members of the Independent School Educators ning=20
>> (http://isenet.ning.com). This will provide a double benefit.=20
>> Immediately it will help them develop their own personal learning=20
>> networks and it will have them comfortable and familiar with Nings=20
>> should your school ever need to use one in an emergency. Oh yeah, and=20
>> you might want to create your own school Ning, and have it ready to=20
>> go should you ever need it. You never know. :-)
>>
>> Fred
>>
>> -------------------------
>> Fred Bartels
>> Head - Computer Department
>> Rye Country Day School
>> 914-925-4610
>>
>>
>> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ] Submissions to=20
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>
>
>
> --
> Liz Davis
> http://www.edtechpower.blogspot.com
>
--
Liz Davis
http://www.edtechpower.blogspot.com
[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ] Submissions to ISED-L =
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