Elluminate Adds Advanced Privacy Options to Education Social Network
Elluminate has announced the introduction of private versions of its nascent education social network, LearnCentral.
In addition to the standard social networking tools, including real-time chat, blogs, discussion forums, and collaboration tools such as private meeting rooms, the site now offers LearnCentral Portal, a introductory route for new users who want to take their time getting acquainted with all the network has to offer before delving into its full range of capabilities. In addition, there is now LearnCentral Private Community, which allows a community manager to set privacy controls and permissions and determine which of the network's functions will be accessible to members.
LearnCentral is moderated by Steve Hargadon, founder of Classroom 2.0 and a columnist for School Library Journal. Launched in June 2009, the network claims about 25,000 members all interested in the benefits of social networking specifically geared to education professionals.
"In addition to using Learn Central as a meeting and sharing place for Flat Classroom projects, I am excited about its use here in China," said Julie Lindsey, IT and e-learning coordinator, Beijing International School, and co-founder of the Flat Classroom Project. "One of the challenges in China is reliability of access to educational networking tools. LearnCentral provides a portal for global collaboration and will help to connect educators from geographically diverse locations."
Elluminate has also published a new white paper, authored by Hargadon, titled "Educational Networking: The Important Role Web 2.0 Will Play in Education," which discusses educational networking and its value in professional development, as well as the pedagogical value of Web 2.0 tools.
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