With the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, most of us don't realize that there are thousands of other social networking programs on the web. Teachers in my school have used Edmodo with much success. Although I can't guarantee that some on this list won't be blocked at your school, take a look and see if any of them interest you. Life CAN go on without Facebook and Twitter. Well, at least when you're in school.
Big Tent- members only site
Convofy- free account allows unlimited storage and users
Big Tent- members only site
Convofy- free account allows unlimited storage and users
CrowdVine- free account has ads
CubeTree- free edition allows microblogging, photo & link sharing and user profiles
Diipo- includes educator community, class roster, student blogs, upload files, links, resources and more.
Edmodo- social learning for classrooms; free
Everloop- safe site for tweens
Edmodo- social learning for classrooms; free
Everloop- safe site for tweens
Grou.ps- 70+ templates; make public or private; free plan allows 10 members and up to 100MB storage
Jabbster- share photos, event calendar; host discussions; free
Lefora-create a forum for free with any of the provided themes; post videos to the forum; 2GB storage
Minigroup- instant private groups
Minigroup- instant private groups
Mixxt- 1 GB space; ads on the free account pages
Ning- it used to be free, now the least expensive is Ning Mini, at $2.95/month
Papyrs- "build a personalized intranet"
Phile- create your own community
Posterbee- "discover-read-share-collaborate"
Posterous Groups- "the easiest way to post and share anything"
Papyrs- "build a personalized intranet"
Phile- create your own community
Posterbee- "discover-read-share-collaborate"
Posterous Groups- "the easiest way to post and share anything"
Qlubb- includes group calendar, invites, file sharing, group email
ShoutEm- $$ plans starting at $29.95/month/12 month subscription; recommended by PC World.
ShoutReel- record videos and share with friends and family
ShoutReel- record videos and share with friends and family
Six Groups- "turn your web site into a community"
SocialGo- free site has ads
Spokt- upload photos, share polls, post
Tal.ki- embed a forum on your website
ThatsToday- shared calendar, files, messages
Toonti- create a custom social community
ThatsToday- shared calendar, files, messages
Toonti- create a custom social community
Twiducate- free social networking for schools; post discussions, homework
Voxopop- create a talkgroup for your classroom
Wall.fm-free account allows 5GB of disk space, with a myriad of features, including blogs, photo albums, tags, forum, comment walls and more.