Educators Eye Ning Transition to a Pay Model

A move last week by the online social-networking site Ning to start charging for its services 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.

Despite an 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.

“Educators are easily discouraged when it comes to technology,” said Thomas D. Whitby, who started a 3,700-member Ning site called The Educator’s PLN , which stands...