Schoology (www.schoology.com), a cloud-based learning management system and configurable social network for academic institutions, has secured its first institutional round of venture capital funding from Meakem Becker Venture Capital, following a successful angel investment from a prominent New York investor in May 2009.  Glen Meakem and Alan Veeck of Meakem Becker will be joining the Schoology board. Schoology will use the funding to expand its workforce and grow its service.

Schoology leverages the familiarity of popular social media tools to improve communication and collaboration inside and outside of the classroom.  In particular, Schoology provides a full suite of learning management tools, including an online gradebook, attendance, test/quizzes, discussion boards, blogs, homework dropboxes, and collaborative course and group pages. The social network permits cross-school networking allowing for multiple organizations to participate in shared classes, groups, and discussions.

“As the popularity of social media continues to grow, we are committed to bringing these same technologies into the classroom by creating a safe and secure academic environment,” said Jeremy Friedman, founder and CEO of Schoology. “Our goal is to create a fun and engaging tool that students and teachers are already familiar with using, while eliminating cost as a barrier to adoption.”…