Diigo Review

http://www.diigo.com/user/ekstickland

Diigo
is a free Web 2.0 social bookmarking application that promises to
provide powerful research tools and community collaboration. It
allows registered users to create bookmarks, highlight text, place
“sticky note” style annotations, tag websites by
category, and then share all this information with other users.
Additionally, because all this data is stored on Diigo’s server
one can access it from any internet-connected computer. There are
two ways of adding content to Diigo; the first is a simple
bookmarklet that can be used without installing software and which
provides basic functionality, and the other is a more full-featured
version which requires a download and install. Diigo would be quite
useful for educators seeking to give students a tool to use for
collaborative research projects, and fulfills NETS-T standard 3d
“model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging
digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information
resources to support research and learning”. Overall,
Diigo provides numerous powerful methods of storing, sorting, and
sharing information with others and deserves a very high
rating in this area.

One
of the frequent consequences of creating powerful applications is
that they are often accompanied by a high level of complexity, and
Diigo is no exception. As previously mentioned, Diigo tools are
available in both a simplified and a more full-featured install.
However, while providing the essentials, the bookmarklet lacks many
of the functionality of the full install. When accessing saved
information directly via the Diigo website, users already familiar
with Facebook will notice several similarities to the layout of
Diigo, which might contribute to an easier learning curve for them.
Overall, while Diigo can be challenging to learn, this is due
only to the large number of options available and not because of poor
design. With a knowledgeable user to provide a sufficient tutorial,
any group of middle-school age or older students should be capable of
utilizing a large percentage of the application’s functions.
Overall, Diigo earns a moderate rating for ease of use.

There
are many ways that Diigo could be of use in a classroom; as a future
history teacher, I could imagine providing students with a link to an
online version of a primary source document and then asking students
to read the document and then leave annotations and highlights for
areas that were confusing, interesting, or worthy of comment.
Further, they could be asked to research and bookmark other related
pages that give information, pictures, or video that provide
additional information on the topic. For long term projects, school
administrators, parents, and other instructors could be included in
the group so they have access to track the progress of the project.
In this respect, Diigo is deserving of a very high rating for
usefulness.

Because
of the relative “density” of Diigo’s many features,
it is fortunate that it provides a fairly comprehensive set of
tutorials and how-to guides. Using these, a patient user can uncover
much of the features available. In addition to the material created
directly by Diigo, there are links from the help page to user-created
materials that provide further assistance. Finally, there is a user
forum where people can post questions that appear to be responded to
by a small but dedicated group of power users. Because of this
variety of helpful materials, Diigo earns a high rating for
online support and resources.

Overall,
Diigo is a powerful and useful tool for educators and power users.

Review of "Whiteboards Engage Autistic Students" (February 2009)

This remarkable article describes how the use of electronic interactive whiteboards in a New Hampshire school had a dramatic positive impact upon the learning experience of its students. Aged 7-20 and divided into 5 classrooms, these students had all been diagnosed with autism or other related neurological disorders. Typically, students with autism have attention deficits, and do not engage in reciprocal play or social learning. Typically, students are able to maintain attention to a lesson for 15-19 minutes before needing a break. Individual instruction is the norm, and when technology is used it typically involves individual stations for each student.

However, this school introduced the use of interactive whiteboards in an effort to try a new approach. The results were very encouraging; students showed interest in using the whiteboard to illustrate a story they created using pictures, and eagerly participated in an attendance activity where they would circle their own picture on the whiteboard to indicate their presence. Further, students greatly enjoyed an electronic book displayed on the whiteboard so much that they would sign for specific stories or website that they liked; positive social behaviors like raising their hands, taking turns, and engaging in instruction for up to 45 minutes (a three-fold increase) were among the other encouraging results.

Q1: What might get in the way of incorporating this kind of technology into existing programs?
A1: Two concerns come to mind- first, thought I don't know the exact cost of an interactive whiteboard, they are most certainly quite expensive, and would require significant dedicated funds. However, given how central they seemed to be in the classrooms described, it would seem that it is money well spent. Also, as with any new technology, veteran teachers would need to be trained to use it, which might involve some "selling" on the part of those desiring to incorporate it.

Q2: Are there any potential drawbacks to this kind of program?
A2: Because the article presents such a positive picture of a classroom totally vitalized by this technology, one wonders if it might alienate those few students who do not respond to it. Also, if the entire classroom relies upon one technology resource, what happens when it breaks down or has other technical difficulties?

Review of "Traveling the Novel" (March/April 2009)

This article describes an interesting way of utilizing computer technology to enrich a reading assignment by bringing in elements of cultural and physical geography, as well as teaching students some useful computer skills. The project described involves students who have been assigned to read Khaled Hosseini's book The Kite Runner, about a young boy who travels from Afghanistan to Pakistan, then to California, and finally returning to Afghanistan. Because the landscape is such a significant feature of the novel, students explore that landscape by using Google Earth to plot certain points in the protagonist's journey, using photos, videos, and satellite imagery to enrich the experience. By placing waypoints and notations on their own versions of a map, students can place relevant quotes from the text at locations where they were said to have taken place in the book.

Q1: What difficulties might arise in conducting a project of this nature?
A1: Though Google Earth is a reasonably accessible piece of software, it is not something that the average user can sit down with and feel immediately comfortable. This would require that the instructor attain a high level of skill with the program; not just to accomplish a similar project themselves, but enough such that they can thoroughly and competently answer students' questions and instruct them in its use.

Q2: What technological hurdles would need to be overcome to make a project like this work?
A2: Because Google Earth is a free product and does not require particularly powerful hardware, this project is not very demanding from a technology or funding standpoint. However, because students would need to spend a significant amount of time on their project, they would need either significant use of on-site computer labs or access to them at home.

Review of "We're Poppin' for Math" (Dec/Jan, 2003/2004)

This article details a project where middle school math students plan and organize a popcorn sale at their school. In my opinion, one of the most important questions this project addresses is the age-old "How is this useful?". By using algebra, TI-83 calculators, charts, and graphs to determine the best selling price this project seeks to bring textbook math into the real world.

The project actually involves two different classes, one of 8th grade algebra students and another of 7th grade mathematics students. The role of the 8th graders is to use their algebra skills to estimate cost, profit, break-even point, and other useful predictive statistics prior to the actual sale. By doing so, students gain an understanding of how limiting or reducing costs directly impacts profit, and gets them thinking about how to earn the highest profit; is it better to sell fewer bags at a higher price, or more bags at a lower price? As for the 7th graders, their role is to conduct a survey of the school to assess the price that would be acceptable and what type of popcorn is most desired (buttered, caramel, etc.) This data is then entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and graphed, and then provided to the 8th graders.

Q1: Considering my own difficulties with math while in school, would this project have been helpful or interesting to me?
A1: Most of my difficulties with math were not due to a dearth of intelligence but stemmed rather from an inability to memorize and conceptualize abstract concepts. I feel that placing these ideas in a concrete, money-centered project would be very helpful to students experiencing the same kind of challenges that I did.

Q2: How feasible is this project? Does it require specialized, costly, or difficult-to-find equipment?
A2: Aside from the calculators and a few computers, I think this project is very accessible to a wide variety of schools. In the article, the class actually conducted the popcorn sale they had planned, which necessitated the rental of a popcorn machine and the purchase of food and supplies. While this undoubtedly makes the project more impactful, I think that even if it were carried through only the planning phase it would still be very effective.

Review of "Virtual Ideology" (November, 2004)

In this article, the author describes a project where students use online quizzes to help them identify their political values. The quizzes that were selected gave results using descriptive terms like "Conservative", "Liberal", "Centrist", or "Libertarian" rather than the actual names of political parties. Before taking the three quizzes, students were asked to write down the name of the political party affiliation they supported. In the project conducted by the author, 30 of the 50 students participating found that they personal beliefs actually contradicted their assumed alignment with political parties.

Q1: Is this a worthwhile project? What do the students get out of it?
A1: I definitely feel that this project was interesting and a good learning opportunity. Especially during the late middle school/early high school years, students are becoming politically aware, but are often strongly (or exclusively) influenced by their immediate families. As the results showed, a full 60% of the students that took the three quizzes learned that they did not conform within the artificial boundaries of a limited number of political parties. By breaking away from these labels, students can learn that it is misleading to assume that all people of one political party or ideology are alike, and the power of using words like "Neocon" or "liberal" can lose their pejorative power.

Q2: How easy is this project to do? Does it require specialized technology or expensive equipment?
A2: Unlike some of the projects I've reviewed, this one is relatively simple. With the broad availability of computers in schools, homes, and libraries this project seems like it would be well within the reach of school districts of varying levels of funding. Because it is limited to use of the internet and perhaps basic word processing, it would even be accessible to students that did not have a high degree of computer training.

Review of "Us" and "Them": Multimedia Explorations of Prejudice and Intolerance in American History (December, 1997)

"Us" and "Them": Multimedia Explorations of Prejudice and Intolerance in American History
by Ilana Rembelinsky

This article details a project wherein eighth graders produce a multimedia presentation addressing incidences of prejudice and intolerance in U.S. history, utilizing Us and Them, a book produced by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Students form groups of two and select on of the book's 14 stories as their topic. Then, they produce several written documents dealing with their topic: a brief summary of the facts of the case, a first-person narrative in the voice of one of the participants in the event, a summary of five or more other major events in U.S. history that occurred within 10 years before or after then chosen event. These written assignments are then augmented with three or more scanned images and one to two minutes of video footage illustrating the incident. Students are also required to maintain a learning log, in which they take notes and respond to questions about videos or other media which they view in class.

Q1: How effective is this project at leading to student learning about historical events as well as building computer skills?
A1: In my opinion, this seems like a good balance of these two components. Unlike the project described in a previously reviewed article (Making History Come Alive, November 2003), this one maintains what I consider a more appropriate emphasis on the history, with the computer use as a sizable but minority consideration. I also like that this project employs a number of different approaches to the event (i.e., both a summary as well as a creative first-person narrative).

Q2: Is this project feasible at schools with a wide variety of available tech resources?
A2: In a word, yes. The article was written in 1997, and the project was carried out at a school with only two computers per classroom. Through careful organization, all students were able to schedule time on the available computers and complete their projects. Twelve years later, even poorly-equipped schools probably have greater tech resources than the school at which this program was carried out. Also, more students have computers at home, and many libraries have computers available for public use which could be employed to work on this kind of project on their own time.

Software Review: Learning.com

Web Browsing: Research and Citing Sources Grades 6-8

http://learning.com/

Review:

Because I am already quite proficient with all of the components of this series of lessons, I did not learn anything of particular note. However, I was impressed with the quality of the presentations and feel that they would be an excellent method for teaching the subject of Web literacy. The only concern that I might have with using this in a classroom is due to the inability to skip ahead in the lessons. Some students who are more advanced than others might be bored by the basic information and tune out, missing the more complex information presented farther in. Aside from this, I did not experience any problems with the program; it ran smoothly and without any bugs or other notable errors.

Learning.com Web Browsing Unit. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://platform.learning.com

NETS Standards Addressed:

Browsing Basics
Standards addressed:
5. Digital Citizenship- Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
6. Technology Operations and Concepts- Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.

URLs
Standards addressed:
1. Creativity and Innovation- Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
2. Communication and Collaboration- Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
6. Technology Operations and Concepts- Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.

Web Searches
Standards addressed:
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making- Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
5. Digital Citizenship- Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
6. Technology Operations and Concepts- Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.

Validity and Sourcing
Standards addressed:
2. Communication and Collaboration- Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
5. Digital Citizenship- Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
6. Technology Operations and Concepts- Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.

ISTE Standards, (2007) Nets for students 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm