Did Ya Know About Diigo?

What I Did

I had never even heard of such a thing until I received this assignment in technology class. A social networking add-on that allows you to search, view, and make your own notes of any text online, and store the bookmarks to be shared and discussed with the Diigo community? How much cooler does it get?!

I was able to get this add-on to work for me by simply getting started on the Diigo main page. I filled out the necessary info to get started and did install the add-on tools to the toolbar. After setting it up all I had to do was use regular Google search to find interesting information that I wanted to add to my "bookmarks." On one site I wanted to comment on a selection of the site so I highlighted and put a sticky note with it. Talk about easier than reading a regular book and trying to file sticky notes into it while writing or highlighting! You can access my Diigo bookmarks and see how I have used Diigo as a tool to communicate resources I find for my blog journey as a growing artist and potential teacher.

Giigo is an example of a browser add-on that I now use to enhance my online experience. There are many types of add-ons that serve different purposes but all function with the preexisting systems to fulfill various tasks that change the overall experience, like pop-up blocker. My pop-up blocker acts separately from my internet browser when it prevents additional internet tabs from high security risk sites and advertisements from opening.

I use lots of add-ons that shorten the amount of time that it takes me to conduct searches, such as Google Toolbar. Other add-ons help me watch videos or read documents. My Adobe add-on is used a lot since I read many PDFs online. Many of the add-ons shown on my computer (in the snipping above) are things I have never even heard of!

What I Learned and Application

Sometimes there are so many add-ons that become available that I become too overwhelmed by the options. I was using Google Chrome for a while and it was too much so I got rid of it. Things change so fast in the world of technology that I really detest the new at first. (I still don't even text!) It's like trying to keep up in an endurance race when I am not even in shape! Now that I am getting some practice working with new technology I might actually see the benefits of having additional tools that can do numerous things I never imagined it could do. I now know how to use a social bookmarking add-on!!!

This tool would be a great way to get students who don't like to read involved in reading. I could relate to the article presented for this technology assignment when it referred to students who were too intimidated by the amount of words and information in a textbook. I HATED reading in grade school and didn't start loving it until college. I learned new ways of reading. I had a whole new outlook on articles, newspapers, and textbooks. Sometimes the reading was small and our conversation about it was long. It got my brain working and the ideas pouring out- this kind of thinking is perfect for art too. Putting new ideas together in different ways is part of creativity. Social bookmarking is a MUST!

The use of social bookmarking, or Diigo, most strongly reflects ISTE Nets-T standard two. Teachers would adapt traditional lessons to incorporate the new technology so that students would get the most out of the activity while being creative. Students would have to be creative because bookmarking gives them the freedom at their own computer to explore and comment rather than receiving assignments with black and white clarity in what is the right or wrong answer or what direction they must go. There tends to be less stress on spelling, handwriting, and grammatical formalities of sentence structure when communicating online and almost all students will feel familiar and comfortable online so that more attention can be paid to content and meaning. Students are allowed to "pursue their own curiosities" while making their own Diigo library and may have power in their own education facilitating their own learning styles.