I started with Delicious because I wanted to keep my bookmarks in a location I could access from anywhere. Then, I wanted more. So, I checked out Diigo. I love it! It meets my requirement of keeping my bookmarks in a single location where I can access them from anywhere but it does so much more.
Diigo suggests tags for sites I want to bookmark which makes finding them again very easy and with little hassle. Of course, I can add my own tags, if I’d like. And, I can choose to keep my bookmarks private or public and I can add them to lists for easy organization. Diigo allows me to highlight information on web pages and adds that to my bookmark so I can remember why I liked it. Be honest, you often forget why you bookmarked something, right? Having the highlights available at a glance gives me a quick look as to why I wanted to remember it. I can also save images the same way. And, Diigo remembers my highlights so when I return to the site, they are still visible. With Diigo, I can also add sticky notes for myself so that I can view them the next time I return to the site. And, I can do all of this with the Diigo toolbar which makes it incredibly easy to make the most of the tool. There’s even a 1-click option if you are someone who just wants the bookmark saved so you can move on.
One of my favorite things about Diigo is the sidebar that allows me to easily search through my bookmarks. By simply typing in a tag in the sidebar, I am able to access all of the bookmarks that have that tag. So, if I’m looking for that website that I remember had something to do with “timelines,” for example, a simple search brings up all my bookmarks that are related to timelines.
As someone who blogs, I love the ability to quickly send one of my bookmarks to my blog. But, get this, Diigo not only sends the link, it sends anything I’ve highlighted on the web page, as well. You can do the same thing by sending a bookmark to your friends, to Twitter, or to Facebook.
As I’m discovering Diigo, I’m learning about sharing my bookmarks with others interested in the same topics. To be honest, I’m still exploring this but can’t wait to learn more. For a teacher, Diigo provides an easy-to-use, accessible, and valuable source of those sites you didn’t want to forget about.
If you look on the home page of the Diigo site, you’ll see a small link for educators. With this link, you can register for special educational access which allows you to give students Diigo accounts that you manage. Imagine teaching your students the value of bookmarking organization!
Now, I realize that I’m not sharing a brand new site that has just appeared but I also know that many of my colleagues are not taking advantage of this resource either. So, for that reason, I decided to share what I know to be an incredible time saver and, in my opinion, valuable educational tool. Give it a try! And, if you do, or if you already are on Diigo, please let me know so we can share links.
Related articles
- Diigo- A regular educators look at why Diigo is a teacher’s friend (myweb4edblog.com)
- The best bookmarking tools right now (pandia.com)
Carol Mortensen has nearly twenty-three years of educational experience. She began as a substitute teacher as she worked toward her degree. Upon graduation, Carol began teaching middle school Math and Algebra I and served as the technology liaison for her campus. She served as a teacher for 16 years and was lucky to have taught at Hillcrest Middle School, a 1:1 campus where every student was issued a laptop computer. She also worked as an Instructional Technology Trainer for her district providing training and technology integration support for campus and district staff, faculty and administrators. Currently, Carol enjoys her position as the Campus Technology Integration Specialist for Deer Park High School – South Campus. Before taking this position this year, she served for three years as the Campus Technology Integration Specialist at Fairmont Junior High in Deer Park Independent School District. In this position, Carol provides integration support and training to the students, staff, faculty, and administrators at the campus and district level. In addition, Carol is an online Math instructor for Aventa Learning and K12. The Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) named Carol the Classroom Teacher of the Year for her innovative and creative use of technology to create a 24/7 virtual classroom using her classroom website. Carol has presented at school districts throughout Texas as well as state and local conferences on a variety of technology integration topics. Her article on the use of websites as an instructional tool was recently published in the TechEdge Magazine. In February 2011, her article, Lessons Learning In a 1:1 Classroom, was published by TechEdge. The article was republished in ISTE’s Learning and Leading magazine in August 2011. She was named Fairmont Junior High’s Teacher of the Year for the 2011-2012 school year. Carol is passionate about the positive impact that technology has on student achievement. Her presentations are packed with real-life solutions, quality resources, and humor. She has an ability to connect with her audience and motivate them to take technology integration to a higher quality level.
We use it all the time for learners proving their ‘reading and summarising’ and ‘find and select information’ for ESW Communications and ICT project work.