Common Sense Media and Edmodo Team Up to Bring K-12 Digital Literacy and Citizenship Lessons to Schools Nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Common Sense Media, the national non-profit dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology, today announced a partnership with Edmodo, the free and secure K-12 social learning network. The partnership provides teachers with a set of student activities based on Common Sense Media's free K-12 curriculum, "Digital Literacy and Citizenship in a Connected Culture," for the Edmodo platform. The curriculum introduces the basics of using social networks and other digital technologies safely, responsibly and respectfully and is based on the work of Dr. Howard Gardner and the GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

"Teaching kids to think critically and behave responsibly in today's fast-paced digital world is essential, and Edmodo is a perfect platform on which to provide these important foundational skills. It's learning about technology by using technology," said Mike Lorion, general manager of education at Common Sense Media. "Giving teachers and students access to our curriculum through a private social learning network is a unique opportunity to put digital literacy and citizenship lessons into practice."

Through Edmodo's free and secure social network, teachers have access to the Digital Citizenship community.  The community is loaded with resources designed to spark conversations in virtual and physical classrooms about how to engage safely and smartly with technology. Additionally, educators will have a roadmap that deepens conversations about topics ranging from Internet safety and security to privacy, plagiarism and cyberbullying and uses full lessons from Common Sense Media.

"We created Edmodo as a free and secure place for students and teachers to connect in the classroom. But it's also important for students to become digitally smart and savvy as they navigate the Web both inside and outside of the classroom," said Nic Borg, CEO and co-founder of Edmodo. "We partnered with Common Sense Media because they are an outstanding resource with a successful digital citizenship curriculum. Our partnership offers Edmodo teachers a new and exciting way to teach their students critical digital citizenship skills."

Common Sense Media's educator programs also include comprehensive professional development tools and components for parents. Since their launch in 2008, the programs have been adopted by a network of more than 35,000 schools in all 50 states, and more than 200 countries worldwide.

Edmodo is the largest, fastest growing social platform for education. There over 10 million Edmodo users in all 50 states, in every country in the world. Edmodo's goal is to help educators harness the power of social media to customize the classroom for each and every learner. The site is free for teachers and students, and always will be.

For more information about Common Sense Media's education programs, visit www.commonsense.org/educators. For more information about Edmodo's social learning platform, visit www.edmodo.com.

About Edmodo

With 10 million users and growing rapidly, Edmodo provides a safe and easy way for teachers and students to connect with each other to share content and access homework, grades and school notices. Edmodo enables teacher-to-teacher resource sharing, global professional development and networking opportunities, and is accessible from any Internet-enabled device. Schools and districts can establish unique Edmodo URLs and access additional management and analytic tools. Edmodo is free for teachers and students and always will be. Edmodo is headquartered in San Mateo, CA. Make your classroom a community at www.edmodo.com.

About Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology. We exist because our kids are growing up in a culture that profoundly impacts their physical, social, and emotional well-being. Common Sense Media empowers parents, educators, and young people to become knowledgeable and responsible digital citizens. www.commonsense.org.

SOURCE Edmodo