I didn't think that I necessarily needed to have access to my bookmarks from other computers. I typically do all of my work on my iMac in my house's office. When I need to use the internet for school work, lesson planning, etc., I'm almost always at home. I don't have much prep time at school where I could actually sit down and explore things.
However, Delicious came in really handy this morning. My new twins were kind of fussy so I wanted to sit up with them in the nursery while they were alternating between who wanted to sleep and who wanted to fuss. At first I just sort of sat there thinking about how I wish I had my iPod charged to listen too. Then, I remembered Delicious. I could grab my husband's laptop and sit in the nursery doing all of the work I wanted to because I had shared bookmarks. This is also true for GoogleDocs (which I'm actually using more right now than Delicious).
Earlier I talked about how I thought I really liked BuddyMarks for the classroom. After exploring Diigo, though, I think I'd much rather use Diigo in the classroom. In my estimation, Diigo allows for students to do more of the "learning" that I want them to be doing. Although I like and appreciate technology, I believe there has to be value in using that technology in the classroom. I don't like using technology as a gimmick to make something seem "cool" or "fun."
I really like that Diigo lets students highlight and annotate: two reading comprehension strategies that my students use every single time they read something for my class.
The annotation feature is my favorite for a couple of reasons. First, summarizing is really difficult for students. I think they need all the practice they can get in this valuable tool. By using a site like Diigo, students get to use the technology they're comfortable with while still practicing a skill I want them to learn. Second, my capstone project has to do with the benefits of summarizing on comprehension of non-fiction texts. Potentially, I could somehow use Diigo as part of my future experiment and research.
Emily - first of all, congrats on the twins! You must really have your hands full! :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I really like your idea of using Diigo as a way for students to practice summarizing. This is always a skill that students struggle with - and seems to become increasingly important throughout the years. Our district uses MAPS as a way to measure student progress - and the reading test is very heavy in comprehension questions that involve summarizing skills. I could see your idea of using Diigo to practice those skills online being very motivating for students.
I have seen lots of high schools really dig into diigo for the reasons you list. It really becomes a notetaking devices as much as a bookmarking one. It's also a good opportunity to talk about copying information from a site and then summarizing it in your own words when you write about it.
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