Delicious Reflection

One of the first things I thought when looking at the delicious website was that someone had a strange sense of humor in naming the site. I had a hard time surpressing a giggle when I would mention my Delicious websites. In using it with this class and exploring the tool more, I have come to realize that that what makes this so delicious is the powerful effect it can have on student learning.
Through the tagging system, students can organize and access the sites they find helpful without all the unnceessary pop-ups, ads, shopping and product pitches with a standard search-engine. With Delicious these tagged sites are available with any computer not limited to a specific computer or one connected to a specific server. The flexibility is a key feature because it accomodates the mobility of our students. They truly can access it from at any time.
When looking at the sites found by the class I did find a few which I will add to my own list. I tended towards those that assisted with technology and curriculum integration, my age level and my content area. I found that many of us had similar tags which helped in the sharing process.
I did make some changes in my tagging as time went on. I typically used the same tags, working different sites into the existing tags. I did add new tags as new topics became part of my information gathering. I tried to use multiple tags so I could access the information even if I didn't bookmark it or couldn't remember how I got to a particular page. I know I need to get in the habit of tagging and saving pages the first time I consider them interesting so I don't lose them. I did find myself often using the recommended tags when they coincided with my tags but I did not follow only the recommended tags for any sites. I think thsi is good because this is my thought process organizing my sites and no body thinks exactly like me (My husband can vouch for that, as can my children and my students). To easily be able to return to saved sites, tey need to be organized and tagged in a way that makes sense according to my twisted little brain.
Since I am going to be implementing Diigo accounts with my Spanish I students next fall, I have been thinking about how I will teach them about tagging. I will have access and moderator privileges so I can manage the information when needed but it is better to teach them to properly manage their account on their own. For the same reasons I did not merely accept the tags of all others all the time, my students will need to be able to tag their own contributions. I think the best methods, in my \discussion on this with my Library Media Specialist, would be to walk through and demo what we can do and then have them complete a training exercise similar to a webquest but using the social bookmarking tool.
I did not purposefully bundle tags together but I did explora how to use that feature in this program. It would be helpfult o have similar categories of sites connected loosely similar to the "related links" that come inherently on cedrtain websites. This could help a student review information from a whole semester just before exam time, or a class could organize the many facets of the story surrounding Picasso's Guernica such as the basque history, ETA and other separatist groups, etc. They could separate grammar practice sites like Quia.com from the the culture sites we will have like those dealing with our imaginary shopping trip to El Corte Ingles in Valencia, Spain. Tag clouds and tag bundling help students see what they have already associated and how others see those same resources. This is very helpful in collaborative work when you must learn to share brain power in order to be successful.
I started using Annotations and found that I needed more time to get a list of sites organized if they were to all have annotations. The annotations are helpful in communicating with others what makes a particular site so helpful and noteworthy. Without this detail, it would be easy to dismiss sites others bookmark and tag if the tags and site content don't seem connected. Annotations allow us to clear thos misunderstandings which enhances cooperation and collaboration.
The network, follow and shared tags would be effective ways to extend one sphere of professional development to encompass teachers of the same content area outside your building, district or even state. This would be helpful in sharing ideas for collaboration on presentations at the state conference and workshop or to connect with colleague using the same textbook but in other districts. I found I had many tags and interests with those at my grade level and content area as well as those who had similar technology reluctances.
As already stated, I intend to use Diigo (has a nice Spanish connotation though that is mere coincidence) with my students next school year. I look forward to being able to share with them consistent and organized websites in a format that they can access from any computer rather than the restrictions already identified which Delicious, Diigo and similar programs supercede. My students will be able to collaborate at an unprecedented level. I think it would even be helpful in communicating with other Spanish I students in my building anm.d my district. Ideally, they could even communicate outside of our district, perhaps share ideas about Velasquez's Las Meninas with the Prado museam's scholar program. The information and technology possibilities are endless.