Socio-academic network

A socio-academic network is a type of social networking service. Social networks focused on supporting relationships between teachers and between teachers and their students are now used for learning, educator professional development, and content sharing. Ning for teachers, learncentral.org, and other sites are being built to foster relationships that include educational blogs, eportfolios, formal and ad hoc communities, as well as communication such as chats, discussion threads, and synchronous forums. These sites also have content sharing and rating features. The term is originally attributed to the game and learning software developer Jonathan Stowe (2003).