meL’s Word

An attempt to use Web 2.0 in the classroom


Diigo

I started playing with Diigo recently and am rapidly becoming an advocate.  I frequently run across pages that I don’t have time to give a good once over, so I will put it in a Favorites folder called “Look at Later”.  Over the years I have gone through that folder and looked at sites and wondered why in the world I bookmarked it.  With Diigo’s highlighting and sticky notes, I can highlight the important stuff and write myself a note for later.  What is not to like about this?

My daughter (3rd grade) is embarking on her first science fair project.  I used my teacher tools to create a group and account for her.  Last night we bookmarked and highlighted pages for her to come back to when she needs.  The bookmarks and highlights are private.  If this were a class working on a project those would be shared with other members of the group.  Creating a student account was super easy, and I liked that I could choose whether or not she could alter her profile (not allowed for under 13s).  Had I been creating a whole class of usernames/passwords I could then print those and cut into strips to hand out to students.

As an ITRT I can bookmark, highlight and make notes on pages to share with other ITRTs or teachers.  I can also see what pages are bookmarked/highlighted/”stickied” by others in groups to which i belong – this allows me to see what others with the same interests are reading.  Again, what’s not to like about this?