Now look, my thinking about tech tools is that they have to serve everyone: teachers --administrators, students, parents -- basically all stakeholders to be truly of value. I'm into the reality of teaching which means if it is not going to improve the outcome for students academically by supporting their learning, most teachers just don't have the time to deal with it. But, I'd like to think I'm a realist and if there's a tool that makes a teacher's life easier, then preparing for lessons, classes, professional developments and, yes, our other life is easier, and that translates to a happier educator who has more time to work on supporting those students learning. So, here's the deal: Diigo has to be the single most valuable tool that I have on my computer.
Now, that's a bold statement and one I don't take likely. Folks joke with me because I'm the first one to admit that I get emotional about technology in education and what it can do to improve student learning and darned if I'm not feeling that way right now. I don't want you to miss this tool and what it can do for you.
So, I'm asking...if you aren't a Diigo user, take a moment and go grab a free account, transfer in your Delicious (or whatever its called now) bookmarks and start exploring.
There are some must haves: Please get the extensions for Firefox or Chrome or the toolbar for Firefox or IE that make bookmarking, capturing, annotating a simple click. Here's the annotated page for it: http://diigo.com/0i7j6. By the way, you can see other people's annotations at websites....it's like being part of a special club and getting the inside scoop.
Now, here's what I absolutely love the most! When I bookmark something using one of the extensions or the toolbars, it provides me suggested tags. The tags are keywords that mean when I go looking through my library and all I remember is that I'm looking for a math lesson with fractions, I can just search "math lesson fractions" and boom, there it is. Fast, easy.
Have I convinced you yet? If not, check out this video:
And, there's more...there's always more...I've just touched the surface..but you can get an educator's account and work with your kids in Diigo! Become a Diigo Pioneer!
Join me folks...let me know you are there...I promise you won't be sorry!
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