Social Bookmarking vs Curating: A look at Diigo vs Scoop.it

I have never heard anything about social bookmarking or curating until I explored both Diigo and Scoop.it. Both websites allow users to collect, save and share information found on the internet. I found both pros and cons with each website. They are both equally useful, but very different.

First, let's take a look at diigo. It is a great website to save information and websites for the future. You are able to create an account for a specific topic, or even for personal use. I created my account with the intention to save websites for foreign language teaching. It's a lot like bookmarking websites, or putting them under your favorites, but with diigo you're able to save websites easier. With each url (lets say I use wordreference.com a lot) you are able to create different tags. Under this website, I would tag "foreign language", "reference", "Spanish," etc. Diigo saves these tags and organizes each website that you've "bookmarked" on your account under these tags. That way, you can just click on the side bar under "Spanish" and it will show you every website you've saved with the "Spanish" tag to find them easier. I think its very simple to use and you can copy and past the url right into your library. I like the fact you can also share the information and follow other people who have like-minded websites.

Scoop.it is a website where the user is able to pick a topic of their choosing and "curate" that topic. One of the topics I chose was "Foreign Language Classroom Teaching Ideas." You are able to enter different tags (in this case I would type in "Spanish language", "teaching ideas..." etc) and there are different links automatically generated that would fit this topic. You can then create "scoops" under this topic in which you choose a website, article, video relating to the topic and it will save all this information for you. I found this a little harder to use than diigo.

In my opinion, I prefer diigo. You are able to chose exactly which links to put in your library. With scoop.it, I found it difficult to find information relating to my topic. It doesn't give you the option to put in your own links, it works based off of the tags you used for your topic then finds links that it thinks would fit under your topic. Both websites make suggestions for you to add to your library or your topics, which I find helpful, and you are able to follow others on both websites. If I were to continue using one of these, it would definitely be diigo. I find that it could be helpful in the classroom by having students or even colleagues follow your account to get ideas, or help with certain things.

Shift Happens

 

When I sit down and really think of the technological advances I have witnessed in my 29 years, it is really quite astounding. When I sit down and look at specific statistics that have shown the growth of technology and even the population of the world, (and how rapid it's growing,) it's almost overwhelming. A quick look at these statistics are shown in the following videos: Social Media Revolution 2011, and Did You Know?/Shift Happens. Although they are short videos (less than 5 minutes each,) they are filled with a wealth of statistics shown through info-graphics.

The Social Media Revolution

This video (although only 2 1/2 minutes long) really took me by surprise. I know technology has advanced quickly over the past 10 years, and even quicker in the past 5, but I didn't know how fast. Here are some things that I found interesting:

• E-readers have surpassed traditional book sales
• 1 in 5 couples meet online
• Kindergarteners learn on iPads in the classroom (not chalkboards)
• Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the US
• 1 in 5 divorces are blamed on Facebook 
• If Wikipedia were a book, it would be 2.25 million pages long

I remember when I was in school, Facebook, Wikipedia, iPads etc. didn't even exist. (Wow, I feel old saying that!) The rapid growth of social media has an impact on everyone, whether we like it or not, but it's all about how we use it. I can't even imagine growing up now, already having access to the technology we do now. I look at some of my students carrying around their iPhones, iPods, hearing them talk about Snapchat, Instagram... and they're only 12! I didn't have my first cell phone until I was 18. It is very interesting to see this generation growing up with everything they have now, and I'm excited to see what else is going develop in the next 10 years. One of my favorite quotes about social media is this: "The best thing about social media, is that you're connected to the world. The worst thing about social media, is that you're connected to the world." I'm always telling my students to be careful how they use social media, because it could be a blessing, or a curse.

Did you know/Shift Happens

 This video had a lot to do with the rapid growth of technology in relation to the growth of world population, but also about general changes that have occurred worldwide (just within the past 5-10 years.) Just like the previous video, it was full of info-graphics showing mind-blowing statistics. Here are a few of them:

• China will become the #1 English speaking country in the world
• 25% of India's population with the highest IQ is greater than the population of the entire US
• The top 10 jobs in demand for 2010 did not exist in 2004 (We are also preparing students for jobs that don't exist)
• Half of what students are currently studying will be outdated by their junior year of college
• There are 12 billion searches done in one month on Google
• There are 800 million Facebook users. If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd largest in the world

I really enjoy the title of this video: Shift Happens. I think that is a perfect way to describe the statistics shown in this video. The world is not static; it is always changing. I was just shocked at how fast these changes occurred. To think that what students learn now in the classroom will be outdated in the matter of 5 years is crazy to me. Even now, I hear students talking about certain popular things, (Snapchat, for example) and in my head I think "What are they talking about?" (I often ask them what it is, just out of curiosity.)

To see all of these ongoing changes, and really taking a look at the statistics was surprising, and like I previously said, it's overwhelming. I'm wondering if there will be a point in my life where I'll get so overwhelmed with the growth of technology, I'll become scared of it, or have no idea how to even begin to use it. Even looking at my own parents trying to navigate an e-reader (and struggling,) it's hard for me to figure out why they can't do certain things. It's like second nature to me to use it, and figure it out (and very frustrating to help them!) because I grew up with all of this technology. I wonder what my kids will grow up with in the future.

Blogs in the foreign language classroom

I think that once I am able to really figure out how a blog works, I can definitely see how it would be effective and useful in a foreign language classroom. For one, I could create a blog for any homework assignments and a short description of what needs to be done. It would be a great way for my students to create a forum too, if any student has problems with an assignment. They can receive help without having to be in the classroom. I also like the idea of self reflection, whether that be the teacher reflecting, or even the students reflecting on their own language learning and their own understanding of certain concepts throughout the school year.

A second way I could use blogs is for any type of writing portfolio. I could give the students a prompt in which they would have to respond on their blog for homework (in Spanish of course!) This will allow them to keep track of all writing assignments they have done in their portfolio and see any progression they've had since the beginning. It would also be helpful because I would be able to post resources online for them to use that I recommend, not something that would give the students wrong information. The fact too, that I would be able to comment on their blog post would give them timely feedback and any suggestions.

ACTFL standards link

Two standards that I could meet using blogs:
Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions
Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
(through blogging)