Edmodo

"Miss. - it's just like Facebook!" Yup, it is. Edmodo cannot fail to win over teenagers with it's social networking feel and appearance. Introducing pupils to blogging (being new to the concept myself) was a daunting prospect, but one which I don't think I will ever want to move away from in my teaching career.

But why is Edmodo better than a regular blogging platform?

Well I personally felt safer, especially as a 'beginner', knowing that everything that I wrote and that the pupils write was totally private. It means that I can upload videos and photos, pupils' work without a cloud of 'what-ifs' hanging over my head. In order to see what is posted in the group, either I have to declare it as public or allow somebody to join the group with a special code.

Additionally, I can monitor who of my pupils posts anything. I can change their passwords, allow them to 'read only' and delete pupils if ever I need too.

And of course, the pupils love the fact that they are in posession of a group that is 100% theirs, with their identity stamped all over it and where they can show off what they can do without the embarassment of speaking in front of their peers.

There are obvious attractions to public blogging too - but I think that for my class of year 8 pupils, Edmodo offers the perfect balance; protection that comes with the privacy that the site offers whilst they are still young and learning about e-safety, and liberation that comes with being able to show off and express themselves on the internet.