Using Social Bookmarking in the Classroom
Posted by Eric C. on December 6, 2006 in Internet Research
The web is a great resource for the classroom, but it can be hard to find just what you want, let alone find it a second time. Most of us are familiar with bookmarking favorites and use this feature often. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to manage those favorites, especially when you use multiple computers or have more than one person trying to find resources on the web. Fortunately, as web resources have grown, so too have the tools to manage them. One of those tools is social bookmarking. Social bookmarking allows you to store and share your bookmarks online. Anywhere you can get to the Internet, you have access not only to your bookmarks, but also to the bookmarks from the vast community of online users who are looking for similar information. The organizational scheme that these sites use, folksonomy and tags, can also be a much more efficient way to catalog the sites you have visited than the traditional folders you find in most browsers. Teachers are beginning to think of creative ways to use social bookmarking in their classrooms. Check out the links below to get started.
- Del.icio.us (Social bookmarking site that is unblocked in Seattle Public Schools. You need to register to use. (free))
- More information on social bookmarking and tags
- 12 uses for social bookmarking in the classroom
- 7-things-you-should-know-about-social-bookmarking
Note: Social bookmarking does have it’s downsides. Users can easily post inappropriate sites. If you are a Seattle School’s employee and find an inappropriate site that is not blocked by our filter please email the link to “filterreview” at seattleschools.org. Also tags and folksonomy can lead to messy information and brain overload. See Will Richard’s thoughtful post on the issue. Tags vs. Trusted Sources
3 Dimensional Modeling with SketchUp
Posted by Eric C. on December 4, 2006 in Math
Creating and manipulating 3 dimensional models is a great way for students to understand key concepts in geometry. Google has a free and easily used program called SketchUp that allows students to create, measure and manipulte 3D objects. You can even geolocate these objects so they can be placed in Google’s virtual representation of the world, Google Earth.
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