Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (1)

Other Options in Social Bookmarking

March 22, 2007

As we have seen, social Bookmarking tools can be considered a new search engine - only they are more human powered than math powered. Most of the sites work in a very similar way. You use a "bookmarklet" that you install to your browser or add as a "favorite" in your link bar that lets you easily save pages to your account. When you save a page, the bookmarklet will fill in the title and url, but will ask you for a description and tags. Tags are brief (one word, or two mashed together usually) descriptors that are assigned by users to help organize the bookmarks. Social bookmarking sites not only store your sites, they allow you to access the sites that other people have stored based on tags.

So far, the examples on here have centered around Del.icio.us - it being the largest and in easiest to use. There are many other great examples, however, that might meet other needs for your school library.  

A great choice for middle and high schools is Furl.net. Furl has some nice features that fit in very nicely with the library research process. For eaxmple, it will capture a copy of the page that you are bookmarking for later review (handy for things that might go away like newspaper articles). It also allows more extensive grouping so a user can track multiple topics or subjects. Furl can also be used as a specific step in the research process because it allows more extensive notes for a saved site. These site lists can then be printed as citations as well! To print a MLA, APA, etc. formatted list of Furled sites when you are logged in to the site, go to the "My Tools" tab and then click on the link for "Export."

A final choice you might consider, especially for lower grades, is Ma.gnolia.com [I know...what is it with these crazy URLs?!?!?]. This social bookmarking site has a much friendlier interface that presents fewer sites for younger users. It also allows you to create groups to control access. This means that a teacher/librarian could create a group and then add students. As the manager of the group, the teacher/librarian can have some security and only allow approved group members to view the resources or add links. This might help for collaboration or as a way to avoid potentially harmful content.

Are there any readers currently using social bookmarking with students who could share some best practices in the comments?

Posted by Chris Harris on March 22, 2007 | Comments (1)