Ning!

For all of my interest in technology and it's uses in the classroom, a Ning is something I have never used or consulted in my career thus far. I spent a lot of time looking through various educational Nings and those Nings created specifically for teacher's. The one I have found the most interesting and useful for me as a social studies teacher is The National Council for the Social Studies community page. It offers a space for social studies teachers to connect with other social studies teachers, but also a forum for news, events, resources, and a lot more!  I think the feature I like the most is the forum where members reflect and provide commentary on their current teaching and feelings about the profession. There are several posts that interested me right away, with such topics as  Teaching with Textbooks vs. Primary Sources. There were several others related to literacy, resources, and activity ideas that are really pertinent to me as an educator. There is also a section dedicated to preservice teachers, a chat room, and pages devoted to resources and multimedia.

In continuting my education as a teacher, I think it would be very useful to have such connections to current teachers within the field of social studies. I am also looking for ideas for lesson plans, and this community is designed to provide just that! I also like that it has a forum where teachers can voice their concerns and opinions on current issues within the field of social studies. I have already signed up for the community and am very excited to use it as a resource during the final year of my preservice training and in the future as a teacher!