News and Trends
Top 20 Social Networks for Education
8/31/2011 By:
What follows are T&L Advisor David Kapuler’s picks for the best social networks for educators.
1 Twitter: Far and away one of the
most popular social networks
around. This micro-tweeting platform
is used worldwide and especially in
education (search hashtags: #edchat or
#edtech). Plus, with the soon-to-come
parental controls, Twitter becomes a
more viable option for educators.
2 Classroom 2.0: Created by Steve
Hargadon and used by thousands
of educators on a daily basis.
3 Facebook: ‘nuff said!
4 Google+: The highly publicized
social network by Google. While it
is still in its early release, there are a lot
of features that make this an attractive
option for education such as: hangouts
(the impressive group video chat) and
circles (the way to control posts with
privacy settings).
5 Plurk: A social network similar to
Twitter (micro-blogging) with a
timeline view and fun “karma” rewards
system for being an active user.
6 Educator’s PLN: Built by Thomas
Whitby, this social network features
some of the top tech innovators.
7 Sophia: A new (beta) social network
for education. Lots of great
features can be found here, such as
free lesson plans, private groups (for
student study groups or educator
sharing), and online tutoring.
8 LearnCentral: Sponsored by elluminate,
LearnCentral is an ideal place
for educators to host/learn in real time
through virtual conferences.
9 ISTE Community: A great place for
educators to come together and
collaborate on technology issues.
10 WhoTeaches: A new (beta)
network designed to bring students,
parents, and educators together.
WhoTeaches offers the ability to collaborate,
share documents and create
groups. Also, this site offers high-level
education for online learners looking
for tutors or to study.
11 Edutopia: A very popular
resource created by the George
Lucas Educational Foundation.
12 Technology Integration in
Education: Created by Greg
Limperis, this social network is similar
to Classroom 2.0.
13 The 21st Century Teacher: A
new social network designed to
help teachers facilitate using technology
in the classroom.
14 Better Lesson: Thousands of
resources can be found here
as well as opportunities to collaborate
with other educators.
15 Diipo: A wonderful new (beta)
social network that is similar to
Moodle and Gaggle.
16 Intel Education Teachers
Engage Community: A nice
online community designed to facilitate
online collaboration and increase
teachers’ technology literacy.
17 Everloop: An excellent social
network designed to teach students
how to network appropriately.
18 Edudemic: An online community,
magazine, and social network
with lots of information on technology,
education, and integration.
19 K12 Advantage: An online environment
with lots of resources,
such as forums and chats.
20 IT4ALL: A nice site for educators
to share ideas on best
practices for technology integration.
David Kapuler is an educational consultant
with more than 10 years of experience
working in the K-12 environment.