Social bookmarking is a highly useful tool for educators since it allows specific categorization of websites for easy access and sharing. It works on the basis of the user creating tags or categories in which websites are then placed. Unlike standard search engines that are generated by computers and therefore often misclassify or categories websites, social bookmarking is done by people, usually people that are knowledgeable and informed on the particular subject.
Individuals can set up social bookmarking tools similar to how they have bookmarks grouped on their own computer. Teachers and educators can then make these sites available to students, other educators or groups to facilitate information dissemination in logical and simple fashion. Typically all social bookmarking tools will allow users to develop their own tags or categories, plus provide a short description of the website. Educators can view each other’s social bookmarking tools to enhance or more further develop their own list of reference sites. Through this shared research and categorization or tagging it is possible to cut down on search times and wading through websites that aren’t relevant to what you are looking for.
The following social bookmarking tools can definitely help out in the classroom, both in sharing information with your students as well as other educators in the field.
