If you are hesitant to use Facebook with your students’ there is an amazing alternative in Lore. I am currently working in a district that has a dedicated Facebook Page and Twitter Account yet has access to both blocked on all campuses. While this seems hypocritical, if I wanted to integrate social media into the classroom an alternative was needed. While surfing for an answer I stumbled upon LORE.
LORE has allowed me to communicate with parents and students’ as well as post links to my blog and class website. I can let them know when an important event or assignment is on the horizon and can even securely post grades. It has proven invaluable in communicating with students who have questions but are not yet comfortable asking them in class. I can provide immediate feedback and assurance when they are stuck on a problem or project allowing them to move beyond the frustration of not being able to find an answer.
“Lore is a community of curious people, spanning every discipline, campus, country, and age. It’s a platform for learning: a new venue for education that allows you to explore.”
This is the mission at Lore. They aspire to compliment existing education, and push into the future. In my opinion they have succeeded.
Science's Alphabet Soup 
I’m signed up for Lore and I give it props for including vocational, but for me the teacher community on edmodo is too valuable to pass up and makes up for the somewhat younger target audience of that site. I do agree that an online aspect of the classroom is useful and will become necessary and I’m going to keep an eye on Lore in the hope that such a community develops. Thanks for the review.