A5.1: Response to Social Bookmarking Readings

Date: September 26, 2008

Source: Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikkis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2^nd ed.). In H. Perigo (Eds.), The social web: learning together (pp.85-98). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

 

Purpose: The main purpose of this chapter is to define and describe the scope of social bookmarking as well as the ways in which social bookmarking sites can be utilized to expedite and increase the amount of information one can receive via web-based applications.

 

Question: The key question that the author is addressing is, “How can my readers used group-based information application(s), such as del.icio.us or Diigo, to aid them in more efficient and effective ways of researching, gathering, and organizing information that can be used personally or shared among a group with similar interests?”

 

Information: The most important information in this article is when the author describes the premise of social bookmarking. In addition to this description the author gives examples of how community collaboration can facilitate learning and the sharing of information. By tagging and organizing information found on the web, users are able to access desired information quickly because they have put it there. One other key fact is that by using web-based applications, information can be accessed from any place that has an internet connect, like have a backpack on the web.

 

Inferences/Conclusion: The main inferences/conclusions in this article are social bookmarks are a great way to access and organize information that can be shared with others to create a collaborative community desired by its participants.

 

Concept: The key concept we need to understand in this chapter is that social book marking is like creating a map and its legend. The map is the ‘big picture’ or all the information that is desired and gathered. The legend aspect can be understood as the way people can organize and share information on a macro level. By creating these types of spaces on the internet users can facilitate information accumulation and that can make good resources for themselves and others.

 

Assumptions: The main assumptions underlying the author’s line of thinking is that readers are willing to go through the steps of learning these applications and then use them to the applications maximum potential. Assuming that one implements one of these applications at first, it seems there is not enough time to sit down and learn how to use it to its full capacity so people may get discouraged and feel that it is not a time saving or effective experience because it takes them more time to manipulate these programs then it does for them to gather information. 

 

Implications: If we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are that the World Wide Web will be limited if people are not willing to use applications that allow for social bookmarking. Great possibilities and pools of area specific information can be available for people who are seeking specific information to aid them in researching for personal, professional, and educational use.

 

Points of View: The main point of view presented in this chapter is that the author uses social booking marking in his personal and professional life to fulfill his needs of information gathering that is easier and more efficient. The author advocates for informing others about these types of web-based applications that allow for community involvement to advance the way people use and define communication through the web usage.