During my last doctoral course, some members of my cohort engaged in a discussion (more like a debate) about the appropriateness of using social media to communicate with students. Some claimed that they used social media sites such as Facebook to engage in discussions with students, making use of privacy settings and using features such as creating groups designated for certain discussion topics. The primary concern has been focused on how and where to draw the line between a teacher’s personal and professional lives.
Today, as I enjoy the last day of my children’s Spring break doing some web research, I came across Edmodo, which has a design reminiscent of Facebook. Yet, it is specifically designed for teachers and students. It is a secure site which enables dynamic collaboration and discussion among teachers and students. Teachers can create groups and invite students to join. Files, images, links, and videos can easily be shared in one forum. Teachers can also use the site to share information amongst themselves, sharing and storing content through each user’s library. These are just a few of Edmodo‘s features. As education attempts to keep up with rapidly evolving technological advances and the movement toward anytime/anyplace-learning, Edmodo is a site to be considered.