Confessions of a Diigo Addict

Hi, my  name is Amber Hooks and I’m a Diigo addict.   

I can honestly say that I will try almost anything once - food, adventures, teaching strategies, and new tools.  Occasionally I get stuck on something new and quite frankly, I exhibit all of the symptoms of an addict.  That’s where I am now with Diigo, and my friends and family may secretly be planning an intervention.

How did I get here?

I spent some time last school year experimenting with different ways to bookmark sites and remember Diigo being one of the tools I looked at, but I just didn’t do anything with it. Recently I’ve been reintroduced to it by an administrator and can’t seem to get enough.  Housework, grading, face-to-face communication - these are all currently being ignored because of my obsession with Diigo.

What is Diigo?

Diigo is a browser add-on extension that is basically a social bookmarking website.  This sums it up pretty well, but doesn’t explain much.   I use Diigo in the following ways:

• Online bookmarking.  I have previously bookmarked things in my browser and NEVER go back to that list.  It was pretty much useless.  I didn’t remember I had something there to fit what I was looking for or forgot what it was called.  Now I can tag my bookmarks. I can easily find them in my library or when I enter a new query in Google, a Diigo reference appears before my results list telling me what I’ve already bookmarked on that topic, if anything. Or more likely, I had bookmarked it at school, and not at home where I was now working.

• Highlight and Sticky Notes. Do you remember a time when you had to print a website to take notes on it or highlight it? Perhaps you’re still there.  Diigo’s toolbar allows me to pin a sticky note or highlight sections of websites. Both tools are easy to use and easy to find.

• Building my PLN. The social part of Diigo allows me to join and create groups on specific topics of interest.  This give me immediate access to sites others have already bookmarked and includes their notes and highlights.  I’m able to follow other Diigo members and to see their bookmarks, notes, and highlights on given topics of interest.  

So now what?

Hopefully Diigo is going to save me some time when researching various topics.  Maybe this will make up for the time spent looking on Diigo that could have been spent grading, vacuuming, or just spending time with others.

You can't "DO" PBL

I realize that I've only been officially trained in Project Based Learning for about three months, but I've learned a lot about how I feel about it in that short amount of time.  Don't get me wrong, the training was excellent and I learned many valuable things through the training and would probably be floundering somewhat without it.

With that being said, here are some realizations that anyone venturing into the world of PBL should know.

1. PBL is not new.  I was doing this before I knew what it was or had any sort of training.
I've recently heard many teachers say that this is not new. They were teaching using a PBL model 20 years ago, but didn't call it that.  I think on some level this is true, but I'm not sure completely accurate all the time. When I think about PBL being a project as a channel for learning to take place, I don't think this means learn something and do a project at the end.  Yet this dessert project is what I perceive many of those claiming to already get it to be talking about.

2. There is not one right way to teach using PBL.
I feel like I've always been one of those teachers who never does the same thing twice and this supports this whole idea that there are many ways to teach using a  PBL model.  It all depends on what company published what your are reading or who is training you.  BIE seems to me to have the most comprehensive information regarding the implementation of PBL right now, but I've also read some  valuable pieces from Edudemic, Edutopia, and blogs of teachers sharing their successes and struggles.

3. There are some protocols that aid in the management piece of PBL.
Like I mentioned in #2, there is a lot of good "stuff" out there regarding PBL.  Many of these resources and protocols are meant to help in the design and implementation phase, but they are invaluable for classroom management.  Thorough planning is imperative to successful completion - or at least to retain sanity of the teacher in the room.  Task Management Charts, Need to Knows, and Team Contracts are invaluable pieces.

4. Like everything else in teaching, don't reinvent the wheel.
There is no need to start from scratch if you feel the urge to try PBL.  There are tons of ideas on the internet. GOOGLE! I definitely advise those who want to give it a shot to find a unit that's already been created.  This doesn't mean you have to use every piece or teach it exactly as written.  I would advise against this, actually. Recently I found a unit titled "We've Got Issues" using the BIE database. It was not written with my state standards in mind, nor was it written for my grade level.  However, it was very planned out, extremely thorough, and fit the standards of nonfiction that I was aiming for.  My students are currently working their way through our own version of "We've Got issues."

5. You can't just "DO" PBL.  It has to be a shift in culture. 
I propose that you can't wake up one morning and say "I'm going to do PBL today." It is a shift in mindset.  It isn't something you can just walk in and do. It isn't a canned program.  You must really reflect on what you believe, what you value, and be willing to give up control.  At it's very core, it is allowing the students to control their learning, the what and the how.

Google Power Search

I had the opportunity to take a Google Power Search course over the last few weeks. It may be one of the best on-line PD courses I've taken in a long time. AND - the timing was almost too good to be true. My students are beginning their research on a particular social issue that effects teens as part of our PBL unit on nonfiction, "We've Got Issues."

This course is designed to help you become a better searcher using Google. Classes focused on operators, what words to use in a search and in what order, how to interpret results, and how a Google search works.  Each class is a short (under 10 minute video) and a couple of practice activities.  Mastery of the course includes a mid-course assessment and a final assessment. Both are hands on activities that require Google searches to answer correctly.

My students will begin the research process tomorrow when we visit the Library/Media Specialist for information on evaluating sources and then I will guide them through the searching process of understanding exactly what they are seeing on a search results page an how to use operators. I am so hoping that it turns out well and they actually use these Power Search techniques to help them refine their searches and sift through the inordinate amounts of information out on the web.