Thanks for joining the Freshman Transition Network. This network -
which is called a Ning - is intended for those interested in better
transitioning freshmen into high school for the benefit of the
freshmen and for the benefit of the entire school. If you believe
that by transitioning freshmen you can transform a school from the
bottom up, then this is the place for you. Here are a few ideas for
making this network become the best it can be:
1.
Make Friends: One of the great benefits of social
networking is meeting folks from around the country and world. Be
sure to invite members to be your "friends" by going to the
member's page and clicking on "Add as Friend". This will allow you
to see what others are doing and posting and will give you the
opportunity to connect with others who might benefit you personally
and professionally. Also be sure to let us know who you are by
replying to the "
Introductions" forum post.
2.
Make Suggestions: I (
Scott
Habeeb) am serving as the network administrator. If you have
ideas for making this a better site, please let me know.
3.
Make it Grow: The more the merrier. Invite other
educators from your school or that you know. When you go to
conferences or workshops tell others about the site and encourage
them to join. Use the
Invite
tab if you'd like.
4.
Make it Your Own: Be sure to decorate your personal page
and make it reflect who you are. You might want to change the
colors to match your school colors. Perhaps you could add a school
logo. Consider using the "Text" portion at the top as a way to say
who you are, where you work, and what you do. Add links and
information that will help other members get to know you, your
school, and your efforts to transition freshmen. Share ideas and
thoughts that will benefit one another. Just like with Facebook,
you have great flexibility to make your "Ning" your own.
5.
Make Contributions: Remember that the quality of a
network depends on the contributions of its members. This network -
or Ning - operates just like Facebook. You're welcome to look and
see what others have posted or done, but it will work best if each
member contributes ideas, thoughts, suggestions, resources, etc. It
really only takes a few people speaking up and sharing to turn a
forum like this into an amazing place. Here are some ways you can
do this:
- Your
School: Go to the Your
School tab and tell us about your school and its Freshman
Transition Program. Be sure to include a link to your school's
website and any info about what you're doing with freshmen.
- Quick List of Transition Programs:
Besides the Your
School page, there is also on the main page a quick list of
links to schools with Freshman Transition Programs. Please send me
(Scott Habeeb) a link to your school's Freshman Transition website
to add to the list of links. You could do this by leaving it as a
comment on my
page or by emailing me at shabeeb@solutionsetc.org.
- Forum: This tab
is for discussions. It would be wonderful if every single member of
the network would start discussions and add to those that are
ongoing. Discussions like this will make us better educators.
Please get involved in them.
- Blogs:
Have some thoughts to share? Want to post ideas regularly? Use the
Blog tab. Someone out there has ideas to share and could turn this
tab into a must read for the rest of the members.
- Quick List of Freshman Transition
Resources: On the main page, a quick list of links to
Freshman Transition resources has been created. Please send
additional links to be added. You could do this by leaving it as a
comment on my
page or by emailing me at shabeeb@solutionsetc.org.
Enough one-way communication. Let the networking begin!