Some people have asked why have a place such as ESLspace.com in the age of Facebook, the behemoth of social networking sites. My answer is simple. Facebook is a place for my friends. It is purely social and sometimes not something I want to invite my students into, especially if those students are minors.
I was receiving so many requests from my students for my FB account, my personal email, my Blackberry Pin, etc. but I was not comfortable providing these. Regardlesss, I wanted a place to share and communicate with them because I felt the needed and deserved this. While they are not my "friends", my students are special.
ESLspace.com provided me with all the tools that FB provides while I allowing me to create an environment that is more centric to education and learning. My adults friends would not have to wonder why I was receiving the cute buttons, cartoons, etc. from young kids. In addition, they would not be confronted with video about conjugating verbs when they looked at my FB status...not among the top 10 videos for online viewing! :-)
In short, ESL Space was never meant to replace FB but was to supplement my interaction with my students in a controlled, private area away from my personal life.
