HiTechHall’s Tech Waves

During the ETC conference in Borneo last week, tech presenter and fellow Bangkokian Jeff Utecht mentioned something  that I did not know to mention in my last Tech Tip: If you create a Ning for educational purposes, you can request that all advertising be removed from the site. This is common practice with many web-based services, but I had not thought about it regarding Ning.

In order to remove the ads, first create a Ning (for your class, department or club, etc.). Then follow the steps below, which I’ve borrowed from educator Steve Hargodon’s blog:

1. Please sign in to the Ning “Help Centre” first: http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/ning_login.php.  This will also allow you to see the status of your “ticket” or request.  You can submit a ticket without signing it (use the “skip” link next to the “sign in” link), but you won’t be able to track the progress of your request.
2. Click the “Contact Us” link at the top of the page.
3. The “Ask Our Team a Question” form then appears.
4. In the first field (“I have a question about”) select “a network that I have created.”
5. A new field with a pull down menu will appear (“I specifically want to know”) and you should choose “General Question.”
6. A window will appear where you need to choose a specific topic. Please choose “other” at the end of the list.
7. You may skip the “I’m Feeling” field if you’d like.
8. In the “Network URL” field please give the network address of the educational network you are asking Ning to make ad-free.
9. In the message portion of the ticket, please specifically write that you are requesting an add-free network for education.
10. Click the send button!
11. Join the Ning in Education community to get help, hints, and tips for using Ning in educational settings.
12. Consider thanking Ning by placing a “Ning in Education” badge on your frontpage by following the link on the right side of that network that says “Get a Ning in Education Badge!” You can then add the HTML code into a text box on your network.
13. If your network isn’t ad-free within three working days, please check the status of your help request at the same web address under “View Tickets.”

I’ve just completed the steps above for a Ning site I created for Ruamrudee teachers, called: ruamrudeeteachers.ning.com/

Please sign up and take a look around. Maybe post a thing or two. Tell a neighbor. Let’s see if we can build a community of teachers, and then think about how we might do something similar with our students. For more examples of educational Nings, be sure to check out my previous tech tip about Ning.