Social Networking

Mount Tamar School - MTSocNet

Background

It is not possible for pupils to access Social Networks from educational establishments so Mount Tamar School decided to h=go one better and set up their own so that pupils can experience the benefits of using a Social Network in a safe and secure environment. Mount Tamar's Social Network is based around the software package [1] elgg and has the following facilities . . .

• Blogs
• Messaging
• uploading files
• Viewing resources
• Downloading resources
• Photo galleries
• Chatrooms - both public and private
• Groups
• Presentations
• Calendar

To be able to access Social Networking @ Mount Tamar users need a username and password which is obtainable from Mr Berry. All Mount Tamar School pupils and staff have their username and password.

The History of Social Networking @ Mount Tamar

In 2007 Mount Tamar School began to look at different 'Social Networking' software as it was agreed that pupils need to experience Social Networking as part of their ICT experience. The one that was being developed the most and already being used in higher education was a package called elgg [2]. It meets the requirements of the [Mount Tamar School] software policy of using Open Source and free software wherever possible. Also it is actively being developed.

The elgg [3] software was installed and at the same time a small group of pupils were added to experience and discover the facilities. Other the next few weeks further facilities, staff and pupils were added to the site.