Final Project: Ms. Meister's English 9 Ning

For my final project, I created Ms. Meister’s English 9 Ning. The first unit I intend to use this Ning is with the To Kill a Mockingbird unit, and if it goes well, I’d like to make this Ning an integral part of the class. The basic in-class components of the To Kill a Mockingbird unit are reading and discussing the novel, completing optional study guides, taking quizzes every 10 chapters or so, and writing a literary analysis at the end.

I have shaped the Ning so that most of the learning takes place in the Forum. I found the Forum to be the easiest place to achieve all that I want for this unit: starting and contributing to discussion threads, linking to outside sources, and posting helpful handouts and presentations. I still kept the Notes, Blog, and Chat sections, as I see those tools being useful if students want to use them, but I don’t see them as an integral part of the unit. A real advantage I found with the Ning is how easy it was to make outside sources available. Students always struggle with understanding the novel’s historical context, both of the time it was written (1960), and when the story takes place (1930s), and I’m very happy to have a common place in the Forum for them to access and increase their background knowledge.

Since I'm sure this is their first experience using a Ning, I would give students clear instructions in how to access and navigate it. My assessment of the Ning "assignment" would be pretty straightforward, and I would discuss the criteria with my class at the beginning of the unit. Here's the handout that I'd go through in class:

Directions on setting up your Ning account:

1. Check your email for an invitation from meisterenglish9@gmail.com.
2. Follow the link to accept the invitation.
3. This should take you to the sign-in page of the Ning: http://meisterenglish9.ning.com. Sign in using your email address and password.
4. Complete the account set-up step. Even though this is a secure, private site, and it should be safe to upload a profile picture, you do not need to provide a picture of yourself. Better ideas would be to create an avatar, upload a picture without people in it, or just not upload anything.

Participating on the Ning

1. First of all, be sure you are completing the reading assignments. Nothing on this Ning is really going to help you if you don't read the book.
2. Most of the learning will take place in the FORUM section. I have created several discussion threads, which you should familiarize yourself with. Definitely visit the "Study Guides" discussion first, as the resources there will prepare you for in-class quizzes.
3. As you read through the novel, participate in/contribute to other discussion threads, EXCLUDING the "Literary Analysis" discussion (we'll get to that after reading the book). Your participation on the forum will be graded, and should help you understand the novel on a deeper level. (See Ning Grading Criteria section.)
4. After we read the book, you will have to write a paper. Visit the "Literary Analysis" discussion thread for more details and due dates.

Ning Grading criteria

1. Response: Student responds at least 3 times to discussion forum, by set due date(s). Response is thoughtful, original, and/or responds to others in a constructive manner.

2. Contribution: Student contributes to Ning by adding hyperlinks, forum questions, text, and/or other sources that promotes further understanding of the novel.

3. Accuracy: Student is accurate in his/her responses and contributions in terms of proper citation of sources and writing conventions (spelling, grammar, capitalization, punctuation).