The second assignment was to create a Diigo account and post a certain number of links or resources. This was an easy assignment, because I used it before. Years ago, I held a Intel course and taught teachers to use Diigo. The hardest part of this assignment was finding suitable links and/or resources that others had not already posted. The scavenger hunt for resources was quite interesting. Since this class is about emerging technologies, I found myself using all kind of words and phrases. I searched for resources related to the different assignments we would be creating this summer. I also read a number of articles then searched for technologies mentioned in the articles. Because we had a certain number of resources we were responsible for, I was forced to become more creative than I probably would have been had the required number been less. Well, maybe forced is too strong of a word. Perhaps I should say I felt compelled to get creative.
Diigo is a great site. In the past, bookmarks were limited to your computer. If you wanted to visit a site you bookmarked, you’d either have to be at the computer where the site was bookmarked or remember the site. With Diigo, the ability to see sites or share sites with others became easier. By simply logging into the site, all the resources and links you’ve bookmarked are readily available. This is a great feature for teachers who spend as much time at home working on lesson preps and activities as they do at school. No longer is it required for you to remember or write down a site.
Another great feature is the group feature. Having invitation-only groups adds a level of safety to students. However, there is something that changed from when I first taught teachers to use Diigo. There is now some sort of sticky note feature that I’m not sure I like. I kept seeing sticky notes from people I didn’t know. It was the weirdest thing. At first, I actually thought someone was being funny or trying to hack my computer. It took me a second to realize what was going on. I can see the use of the feature; but I’m not sure how I would like it for student use. Students could use Diigo in groups to gather information and resources. They could also be given topics or certain items to look for. This could be a scavenger hunt of sorts.
Diigo has changed a bunch over the last couple of years and has much more polished and socially-oriented. The sticky notes threw me for a second or two before I realized it was other people's Diigo notes - sorta overkill. I do see though how it could help an instructor direct student's attention to parts of a website or page.
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