helps students understand concepts and formulate their own ideas

student contributions would be visible to a global community through the Ning network,

With a public forum, students would be required to stand behind their work, encouraging them to take the activity seriously and put forth their best efforts.

multimedia capabilities.

I would say seeing what other people wrote in their posts helped my writing. I could also see a different perspective on the topic which helped me by knowing what other writing styles students were using.”

Ning gave them the opportunity to hear other opinions on the material covered in class. It helped them prepare for class discussions. It sparked new ideas for paper topics.

students appreciated the chance to learn from each other, which helped them learn to develop ideas — an important element of any write-to-learn activity. Instead of periodic peer-editing sessions, our students were exposed to each other’s styles of writing on a daily basis and could always refer back to any posting.

the online conversations spilled over into classroom time because students regularly initiated class discussion with their thoughts about the postings. In essence, their work on Ning fueled the level of participation inside the classroom, creating a link between the online written work and oral discussion. Having the opportunity to read their fellow students’ opinions led them to feel more prepared for class, and in effect class time became an extension of the online work, with both elements simultaneously nurturing each other.

Its ability to help students prepare for class Their perception that their writing improved over the course of the semester

this element of the tool helped create a sense of community and encouraged what Barbara Ganley and Barbara Sawhill term social learning, “the forming of close bonds with the learning community itself and with the outside world.”6

the course Ning site ended up being largely their own creation.

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