What is Socialbookmarking? Social bookmarking is a way for internet users to manage bookmarks by storing, searching, tagging, organizing, commenting on, sharing and highlighting websites. When using a social bookmarking program, you save links to pages you want to remember or share but not just the links; you are able to make comments, highlight certain sections and share those thoughts to the people you select. Privacy options vary; your account action (sites, comments, highlights, etc) can be seen by everyone, a specific group, certain people, depending on your preferences. You need to be specific when setting up your profile and adjust it to be as open or private as you'd like. People who can see your action can then see it in different ways: by date, tag, category, person, etc. You can even e-mail sites and comments to people without opening your e-mail!
Why would I use social bookmarking when I already have "favorites?" There are lots of extra features to a social bookmarking site that make it more interesting than a one-sided list of websites. One big difference is the purpose--a social bookmarking site is all about 'metadata' meaning it is created, shared, collaborated with, added to, commented on, and is its own collection of information. You aren't just saving a link--you are able to keep your comments, highlight certain sections, tag areas to return to later. The other major feature is the social aspects. You are able to share all of this work and collaborate with peers, coworkers, friends, and students! You are all able to exprience a site in a similar way with comments and hightlights that are only visible to those you allow.
How can this apply to my classroom? Visit Classroom Ideas for some thoughts.
Do I have to tag/mark stuff? No, you can get an account and follow what other people tag and comment on. You are able to find people that have similar interests and join networks. You can establish a 'network' or 'group' for each of your class periods or student groups allowing you all to share related ideas with each other.
This all sounds nice, now what? As with any new Web 2.0 tool, you should play around with it before turning your students loose. There are LOTS of great classroom applications to social bookmarking, so don't shy away from it if it doesn't feel comfortable right away. Students today often flock to the systems once exposed--it would be too bad to limit them just because you aren't sure. Be sure you have a clear understanding of tagging (visit the glossary if you aren't sure). Pick a site below (I recommend Diigo if you're just beginning, but Edtags has lots of great teacher contributions so that's a great starter too)
Most popular Social Bookmarking tools:
Still want to know more? Click here to learn more about Diigo