Educational Social Networking-Edmodo

Edmodo is an online social networking resource designed for educational purposes.  Edmodo claims to promote "anytime, anyplace learning. Functionally, it allows teachers to post messages, discuss classroom topics, assign and grade classwork, share content and materials, and network and exchange ideas with their peers ."  Last year I used Edmodo with 5th grade book club students.  Edmodo allowed students to discuss their thoughts and ask/answer questions about the book before our face-to-face meeting.  Edmodo enabled students to make connections and collaborate about book themes, etc. before  ever setting foot in the library for "formal" discussion.  Because of this online tool, we were able to delve deeper into the book's meaning in the limited amount of time we have during a school day.