ERIC Number: EJ887540
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-May-12
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0277-4232
EISSN: N/A
Educators Eye Ning Transition to a Pay Model
Davis, Michelle R.
Education Week, v29 n31 p1, 22 May 2010
The author reports on a move by the online social-networking site Ning to start charging for its services which has raised worries that new fees could stifle educators' technological collaboration and creativity and touch off similar moves by other companies that provide comparable services heavily used by educators. Ning, which provides a platform for the creation of social networks, had become very popular with educators who created networks around curricular areas to trade information or bolster their skills and to interact in a closed environment with students. The company announced a new overall pricing structure for its services on May 4, but acknowledged the concerns of many educators by saying the unnamed company would cover costs for Ning's new Mini Networks. Those networks permit up to 150 members for a fee of $2.95 per month or $19.95 per year. Despite the announcement by Ning officials that an unnamed major education company would help keep the site's most basic offering free for K-12 educators, many in the field were disappointed by the company's decision to adopt a paid model. The change at Ning has educators pondering whether to shut down their networking sites, cough up a monthly fee, or move their information and members to another type of hosting platform.
Descriptors: Elementary Secondary Education, Social Networks, Web Sites, Internet, Educational Technology, Educational Change, Teacher Student Relationship, Cooperation, Educational Innovation, Educational Improvement, Teaching Methods, Evaluation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A