Tuesday, May 7, 2013

App of the Week: Diigo


I first got excited about online bookmarking when I completed a 23 Things course about four years ago.  And while I really liked the idea, it fizzled out for me.  

Then I took this job, and in February, I found a NEED for social bookmarking (to support our Extended Essay students) as well as a TOOL (via Katy Vance's blog) with which to do so.  

At Diigo, I have created "groups" for each of the six Extended Essay general topics.  While student use is slow to get off the ground, I can see that some teachers and students have already joined and are adding sites.  As I continue to meet with EE groups, I anticipate more will join.  But I expect it will really be next year's group that benefits from this tool.

Since joining, I have added Digolet to my Chrome toolbar and downloaded the app.  Both are easy to use, but in all honesty, I prefer to use this tool via my computer.  The app, however, keeps improving and is an easy way to access my favorite sites while on my iPad.

In addition to curating websites for our six EE groups, I have created a number of lists for myself - library related as well as personal interests.  Some are public, others I have chosen to keep private.  

I can't put my finger on why this bookmarking site is working for me when others have failed, but Diigo has become my new favorite tool.

What bookmarking tools do you use?

2 comments:

  1. Dr. Bell had us use Diigo, but I just don't use bookmarking tools. I am going to have to try this Cindy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Cindy,

    Thanks for the shout-out! I am also having low engagement with Diigo as we start, but I think introducing it is just the first step. Next year I will be having more regularly scheduled workshops with EE students, and I am going to spend a large chunk fot ime on organizing their research. My hope is also that by getting teachers engaged in Diigo (or other bookmarking sites) for personal use, it will naturally bleed into their instruction. Like you, I think next year's group will benefit from this more than this year's group.

    Keep up the great posts!

    Thanks,
    Katy

    ReplyDelete