As educators some of us already use Bookmarks or Favorites in our computers to save Web sites that we frequently use. However, Social Bookmarking is about collecting and storing bookmarks online, tagging them with keywords so they become searchable and shareable with others. Today there are so many social bookmarking sites, but the most popular is Del.icio.us.
Del.icio.us, like all social bookmarking tools, can be used for many different purposes and in many different ways. I’ve been using Del.icio.us for quite a while now in my school. I have a delicious account for my school where my students can find different links to websites according to subject, grade level, and also games and activities that go with the curriculum. In using this application in the classroom I have found it to be useful in many ways. It can show students resources for any project they are working on. It allows them to share not only the resources, but also allows them to leave a note to one another about what they found helpful from that resource. It can give the students direction when searching for information. It also gives teachers the ability to share sites that are not only age appropriate but are approved for finding specific information.
I also use this social bookmarking tool to build a growing list, which is not only produced by me but, also by my students and other teachers in the building. I believe that developing self-organizational skills in today’s world of overwhelming technology information is key to enhance your professional and personal learning practice.
References
EDUCASE Learning Initiative, 7 things you should know about….. SOCIAL BOOKMARKING.
Retrieved November 6, 2009 from
http://educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf.
Education World, Sites to See: Social Bookmarking.
Retrieved November 6, 2009 from
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/sites/sites080.shtml
BlogSpot Fequently Asked Questions, Social Bookmarking in Education.
Christina-I like how you listed the uses for a social bookmarking site for school use. I have not used something like this before and although I like the idea of bookmarking and sharing, I was not exactly sure if / how i would use it for my classroom.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you however, I am reminded of how social bookmarking can help organize my students when working on projects and give them a starting starting point with approved sites.
I have not learned all of the tools available on Delicious but like the idea that the students can leave messages for each other. I like the idea of community learning here.
Thank you for adding to my limited list of uses for social bookmarking in my classroom. I have a research project scheduled in the near future for my class and I am in the process of organizing some bookmarks on Delicious to help move my students forward on their lesson.
Great post! It is a bonus to hear from someone who has been using the tool and can attest to the validity of uses:)
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