Social Bookmarking
By Lindsey Alta Lowe Springer
What is Social Bookmarking?
A student, or any person accessing the internet, is essentially tapping into a broad database of over 15 billion web pages (“Social Bookmarking in Plain English”). As one can see an individual is exposed to massive amounts of material which may lack organization. The reality is there are just too many websites for anyone to explore all the information available on a specific topic. For this reason, both adults and children really need a way to selectively choose websites. The answer to this problem is social bookmarking. Essentially, social bookmarking is a website database which enables a person to select or tag specific articles, then save them, categorize them, and post them for the public to view. Eventually, a network can be created where people both supply and view a steady stream of new websites and information.
Caption: A picture showing visually what a social bookmarking website looks like. This one in particular is called “Delicious”. It paved the way for other website based databases. (Picture: "socialtimes.com")
An introduction to Social Bookmarking using the Delicious website:
http://www.commoncraft.com/bookmarking-plain-english
Other support resources:
- http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf : Gives teachers another more detailed perspective on what Social Bookmarking is including the implications for teaching, general information on how this tool works, and possible downsides to using these sites.
- http://www.ehow.com/how_2279133_use-social-bookmark-site.html : Gives a step by step account of how to set up a Social Bookmarking site plus valuable suggestions on how to get the most out of this tool.
- http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-use-delicious-social-bookmarking/ : Gives a detailed guide on how to work the Delicious website. Although not every Social Bookmarking website it the same, knowing how to work one will help with learning the others.
- http://www.webhostingfan.com/2010/02/how-to-use-social-bookmarking-to-enhance-search-engine-optimization/: Provides general information about the process of advertising a website laying out the way Social Bookmarking can get a site noticed.
- There is software available which makes the process of loging into and taging "bookmarking" sites easier. The simple explanation is these softwares are scripted to search the Social Bookmarking sites they are compatible with not only signing the user up to these websites but also searching these databases for keywords. These softwares are also great for advertising new websites. The one disadvantage is this software costs money, however, most are affordable. Here are several links to a few popular software tools:
- http://www.socialbookmarksubmit.com/: Although a website advertising Bookmarking Demon, this site provides a great overview of how this Social Bookmarking software can work for you.
- http://www.socialmarker.com/: A website which avoids all the hassel of buying a specific software to promote new websites and submit articles to Social Bookmarking websites. Everyone has access to this website for free and it targets all major Social Bookmarking sites. One can also target all of the "best" Social Bookmarking sites available with the click of a button. This makes the whole process of Social Bookmarking easier especially when using multiple Social Bookmarking databases.
Caption: Picture of the “Socialmarker” website. When a website becomes popular within Social Bookmarking databases they automatically begin gaining rank on search engines like “Google”. These search engines scan Social Bookmarking databases for valuable websites. (Picture: "stayonsearch.com")
So what can you do on a Social Bookmarking website?
Using the website database, “Delicious”, one can explore the many possibilities which exist with Social Bookmarking. There are other websites which also use Social Bookmarking including “Propeller”, “Newsvine”, “Stumbleupon”, and “Digg”. “Delicious”, however, seems to be one of the easiest and most basic systems to use in addition to "edutagger" or "Diigo" for children and teachers. Through websites like "Delicious" people can add icons such as browser links which allow a person to easily access tagged items or to tag an article. Additionally, on "Delicious" (and most other websites) one can organize these tags according to "recently bookmarked", "most visited", alphabetically sort these tags, and see whether other similar tags exist for a specific topic. Another useful piece of information is that almost all of these websites have ways of connecting to groups or “networks”. Here one can either invite people to join their own network or join networks already established sharing the tagged information with them. Additionally, “Delicious” and other websites have ways of establishing privacy where one can choose which articles and personal information are displayed to the public. Finally, every website will usually include additional features like “Anchors” with “Propeller” or “Write Article” and “Earnings” with “Newsvine”. In this way people can choose what website database best suits them.
If one is using Social Bookmarking websites to promote a new website, as suggested above, this is another feature of Social Bookmarking sites. Through the simple act of using a website like "Socialmarker.com" one can advertise a new website as users of these databases become familiar and tag your website onto sites.
Steps in the process:
- Follow the login process of the website (Username and Password setup)
- Choose what toolbar features you would like to install (i.e. My Delicious, Save to Delicious, Delicious). They usually make the process of tagging items while reading articles easier.
- Finally, begin tagging items/making comments/inviting people into your social network.
Caption: Picture showing the networking capabilities possible with Social Networking. Also hints at the process of folksonomy which is when information is categorized and derived from collaboratively creating and managing tags (Wikipedia) (Picture: "masternewmedia.org").
So how can you incorporate this technology into your classroom? (Upper Elementary 4-5th grade)
Writing-Subject Based Research
As suggested by this wiki page, one can incorporate this technology into the process of writing and finding a “Good” or “Reliable” resource. An essential part of research is learning how to navigate different databases. By encouraging the use of Social Bookmarking websites, a teacher can assist students in choosing databases and inputing searches which yield successful outcomes. One concern with some Social Bookmarking sites is that they may contain information with more advanced vocabulary. As a teacher one must instruct students on how to navigate these databases for age appropriate material. Additionally, by providing examples for students and allowing them to explore these websites they will be better able to operate these website systems independently in the future. To make teaching this tool easier one can use Social Bookmarking websites like “edutagger” or "Diigo" which are specifically designed for educators. Finally, during an investigation period like this, it may be beneficial to have students complete a worksheet on what characteristics make a particular website reliable. This could include topics like "is it an edu? .org? .net?", "what kind of information is provided? statistics, facts, opinion?", "does the information have a copy right date listed?", "any work cited page?", "is the source wikipedia? what must a person know when using wikipedia?". As an extension, or part of the lesson, students could complete a research prompt incorporating other subjects like social studies, math, or science.
News Column
One could establish a classroom based Social Bookmarking page via the database “Newsvine”. Through this website students help research and create a published news column collaborating on the content of a recent current event. As a class, students determine what categories of information to include and then work together to gather the necessary research material for the news column. Warning: Students should not complete research using “Newsvine” alone as the articles may not be age appropriate. Teacher guided research through this website is imperative. To assist in this process one may need to establish a classroom digital library (described below) or collect articles ahead of time from which students can can gather the needed information. However, many schools have "filtered" children's access to inappropriate material which may prevent this from becoming a problem. Essentially, students may find it inspiring to help create an article which is "published" for an audience to view.
Digital Libraries
One can create a huge inventory of well known scholarly articles to help students in their research. These resources can be managed through Social Bookmarking websites which help assemble, catalogue, index, preserve, and present these articles to students. A helpful Social Bookmarking website I found is called “Diigo” designed like “edutagger” for teachers. The privacy controls on “Diigo” are great as they allow the instructor to ensure children have communication only with their peers and participating teachers. It also allows students or teachers to highlight, take notes, add sticky notes, and save pictures to their own personal or classroom based “libraries” ("Diigo").
"Blogging"
One could show students how to make comments on the articles tagged into a classroom based Social Bookmarking library. Children through their own research on a specific prompt highlight and find articles which they deem important recommending these articles to the classroom library. Students then access this library database for information on the specific prompt. Articles which they find interesting or helpful in their research they can comment on providing a short explanation on why they felt it was useful. Once again, a good resource to use for developing a thorough "blogging" system is "Diigo".
Teacher Resource Database: Research Resources for Teachers
One can compile a huge database of material related to teaching and share this information with fellow teachers. This includes, but is not limited to, lesson plans, books (children’s books), important articles etc. One resource as suggested above for possible use is “Edutagger” a Social Bookmarking website designed for teachers ("About Edutagger"). What is great about these databases is that many times, since they are built for education, they are also geared toward young children providing resources like subject based websites which children and instructors can use to enhance their understanding of a particular subject. One which I found focused on how to become more eco-friendly. However, there are many more available including resources on learning language, music (specifically lullabies) written/sung in different languages, and poetry websites for older young adults. Edutagger is a place with a great deal of information but other websites like "Diigo" or "Delicious" also have substantial amounts of material. One must simply make sure to help children monitoring their access to the internet.
Widgets
Teachers now have the ability to add Widgets to their own personal websites for education. With “Edutagger” these widgets can be imbedded into the website database allowing students, or whomever, to not only tag great articles to this Social Bookmarking website but also bring attention to one’s own website so that the valuable educational content you have provided can be available to everyone. This is a way for websites in general to get noticed because if the information is worth reading people will begin tagging your website to Social Bookmarking databases. Widgets can be placed almost anywhere in the internet world including facebook, twitter, cellphones etc.
Create Website: Promote through Social Bookmarking
As a class one can create a website (using sites like www.web.com) with the class as a whole. Like the other projects suggested above students can help create this website choosing the content they would like to present. Through Social Bookmarking databases the content of this website can be explored and essentially advertized to the public. By tagging this website people automatically promote it to other users. This can work to the advantage of both teachers and students as each one can create their own website and promote it through Social Bookmarking.
Standards: Reading, Writing, and Communicating
- 5th grade Research and Reasoning: 1. High-quality research requires information that is organized and presented with documentation.
- 4th grade Research and Reasoning: 1. Comprehending new information for research is a process undertaken with discipline both alone and within groups.
So....what resources exist for teachers? (resources to help teachers incorporate this technology into the classroom)
Friendly Reminder
Make sure students understand that any information loaded onto a Social Bookmarking website must be reliable. Students should always put their best foot forward when accessing Social Bookmarking websites. This helps keep the class, its students, and the website credible.
Work Cited (other then those websites used above)
**The websites listed above helped me to form general ideas for activities or research general information on Social Bookmarking.**
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