Week 12: Collections of Stuff

Almost every day I read something online that makes me think one of the following thoughts:

• "This would be perfect for class next fall!"
• "This article falls right in line with the project Joe Smith and I are working on."
• "I'd love to read this when I have more time."
• "I need to read this again when I'm 70 (or next summer, or when I'm ready to prep a new class, or before I buy a car.)"

Then, I do one of three things:

1. I bookmark the article using my Delicious account. Admittedly it's an OLD tool and I have an account that's somehow stuck around through multiple iterations of Delicious (all the way back to when it was delicio.us and it was tied to Yahoo). *
2. I email the link to myself, forever to be lost in the ether of my inbox.
3. I email the link to someone else, forever to be lost in the ether of his/her inbox.

*I've also occasionally created a Google Doc and copied a number of links on to the document. Just recently I opened up an old Google Doc I'd labeled "references" and it contained two websites that are no longer even online. I have no idea why I saved them!

Now, I'm experimenting with a few different tools to help me organize and share my collections. I'll share some of the tools I'm experimenting with; perhaps you'll find them useful, too.

 


LiveBinders calls itself 'your 3-ring binder for the web.' It allows you to create a "binder" of content (with notes to yourself!). You can share the content of each binder or keep it private. Picture it as a shelf in your office with multiple binders based on a topic of your choosing. Some users choose to make their binders public, a way of publishing collections for the greater good, if you will. Check out the "featured" binders for examples. At a recent conference, one of the presenters shared her LiveBinder full of resources she'd mentioned in her presentation, the presentation itself and many other related resources. It was a nice take-away.

PROs: I like the organization functions. I'm creating LiveBinders for a Tech Lab I'm teaching. I have a binder for PE teachers using technology and another binder for elementary teachers using technology. I have tabs for PE in the news, PE educators to follow (links to blogs or Twitter feeds or websites created by PE teachers) and PE Tech Tools. I can add websites, images or videos (with a paid subscription, I could upload content). I've changed the layout of my binders to add a text box next to everything I put in, so I can write my own commentary. I can make the binder public, or require a pass code to see the binder. Students can add comments.

CONS: Haven't found any yet!

Padlet (formerly known as Wallwisher) is the digital version of your office corkboard filled with post-it notes. Create a "wall" and then populate it with sticky notes containing URLs, embedded videos, images and upload files. You can have lots of walls - one for each subject matter you're collecting. You can allow other users to post to your wall, you can make your wall public or you can just keep them all to yourself.

In addition to using Padlet as a collection spot, I've used it collect input from students. In this Padlet, I've asked each student in a Reading Methods class to post a link to an eBook he/she created, listen/read the ebooks posted by peers, and then give each other feedback - all on one wall.

PROS: I like this tool because it has multiple purposes (which can also be a CON). The ability to upload documents is nice. Items can be tagged and no one is required to log in (unless the creator of the wall requires it).

CONS: walls can get filled up and there's no search function within a wall.

Dropbox is a nice alternative to Google Docs. It seems a bit cleaner and more straightforward (there are folders that look like folders and are called folders!).  I can create a folder for each collection of content I'm interesting in keeping. I can share the folder or the individual documents within the folder. Two major downfalls for me:  1) having to use a 3rd party add-on (URL Droplet) to add weblinks, and 2) the inability to attach a note to any of the elements within my Dropbox.

What do you use to collect your digital things?

Thing 7: Social Bookmarking

Yay! We're just past the half-way point in our 13 Things adventure. Boo! Summer is half-way gone.

Thing 7: Social Bookmarking (week of July 12-18)

The next Thing we'll be looking at is social bookmarking using Delicious, which will help you organize all of your favorite websites.

Watch this explanation from Common Craft and then sign up for a Delicious account. When you first look at Delicious, check out some of the "Fresh Bookmarks" and "Popular Bookmarks" to see how they have been tagged.




Once you've created a Delicious account, add and tag some of your favorite websites. Post your Delicious username on your blog (mine is lisa.wiebenga), then, once other people have started posting their Delicious usernames, add a few of your colleagues to your network. You can add me first just to see how it works. When you're finished, create a post and reflect on your Delicious experience. Do you see this as a useful tool? Would you actually use this? How could it be helpful in a school setting? If you already use one of the other social bookmarking sites, feel free to share that and your thoughts about it rather than create another account (but at least look at Delicious).

Discovery Exercise:

• Create a Delicious account and add websites
• add me to your network (lisa.wiebenga), then add a few of your colleagues
• Create a post about your experience AND post your Delicious username

Just for fun:
Look at Stumbleupon; you don't have to create an account (unless you want to after learning more about it here), but this is an interesting way to see what the general public is discovering on the web. Click "Discover" and you'll see current sites getting top rankings. On the right-hand side you'll see a list of popular tags. Look around a bit and perhaps you'll find something exciting.

Diggo is another bookmarking site to check out. Diggo is quickly gaining popularity with new features like post-it notes and the ability to create thumbnails of saved link pages. Feel free to complete your discovery exercise using Diggo if you prefer.