Tequipment: Blogging About SMART Boards, Resources, Lessons, Training, Games…

Imagine the following scenario . . . you are preparing materials for your next unit. As you complete the process of compiling videos (to anchor ideas and concepts), creating group discussion topics (to access and discover background knowledge), researching supplemental topics and ideas, you realize you have done it . . . You have created the perfect collection of authentic materials to support the unit, but unfortunately, the information is spread out amongst 10 to 12 different websites. Now, you know how all this information fits together, but how do you communicate each little bit of information to your students in a logical and succinct way? How will they provide feedback to you, as well as demonstrate their understanding?

Have no fear . . . Diigo is here! What is this Diigo thing you ask? Diigo may be one of the coolest social bookmarking sites on the web. This new web 2.0 tool (well ok, it is not that new but it is very very cool. Anyway, if you have not heard about it, it is still new) is del.icio.us on steroids! Imagine being able to highlight information directly over a web page and attach your comments to what you highlighted. Now you can leave detailed instructions on a website or create a reading coach for students that need additional support. With Diigo you can caption (add a “sticky note” to) an image or concept to enhance understanding. The Diigo toolbar is a free plug-in for Firefox and Internet Explorer. If you don’t use Firefox that is ok you can use the Diigolet for Safari. Diigo is completely free and I know you will find it helpful. I have created a quick video to accompany this post. Let us know what you think and how you plan to put Diigo to work for your classroom. BTW, this works really well with a SMART Board!

To get started visit http://www.diigo.com and if you would like to install the Diigo toolbar visit http://www.diigo.com/tools

For more information about Diigo and other Web 2.0 applications that can be used in conjunction with the SMART Board check back here often. We also want to hear from you! Let us know what sites and apps you use with your classroom. You can also find an extensive list of links on our Educator Resource Center!

Joe Dixon

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 5:48 pm and is filed under Downloads, Educator Resource Center, Smart, Tips, Training, Video, Web Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.