Diipo is a new free service (in beta) that describes itself as "Education 2.0 Social Network for your Class". Diipo allows the teacher to communicate with their students and vice versa and also allows the teacher to connect to other educators and connect classes to each other. It is easy to use and the user-interface (UI) is similar to Facebook and Twitter.
Some of the features include:
- collaborative workspaces for students to work with each other and get help from the teacher
- direct messaging
- student blogs and micro-blogging
- upload and share files
- student project notebooks
- class roster
- an educator community
It only takes a minute to sign up and it is easy to use. There are "@mentions", direct messages, full search, getting started tips and videos, and an Educator lounge.
Here's a shot of the main screen when you create a new account:
This is a great way for teachers and schools to create their own social network system for students that is access controlled.. It allows communication and collaboration and is easy to use.