One could argue that links are the backbone of the web. They are part of the behind the scenes structure that we don’t see. The use of links started out as a rigid process for organizing information. It wasn’t until Microsoft, “finally catching the wave, was engineering a vigorous response to the new, upstart Netscape browser. This was to be called Internet Explorer and included a similar link manager that was dubbed Favorites” (Hammond, Hannay, Lund, & Scott, 2005). This idea of “favorites” is what most of us are familiar with. While browsing the web for research or recreational activity, you can save websites that are of interest to you, to come back to in the future.
When the use of bookmarking first came into play, it was geared more for personal use. Bookmarks are saved to an individual’s computer, and tied directly to a specific browser. If a student was doing research for example, and came across a site that might be of value or interest to others, the only way they could share the information would be to email or tell them the web address. If a student was doing research in a library computer lab, bookmarking sites there would not do them any good if they planned on continuing their work from home.
In recent years, a new phenomenon has emerged, in which we know as social bookmarking. Social bookmarking allows you to save websites that are of interest to you, share them with others, and also tag them with key words. Since these bookmarks are saved to a website, you can access them from any computer, any browser, and anywhere. “When you save a link to your collection, you tag it with one or more keywords to describe it. Multiple people can use the same words, so you can search for everything tagged with "distance education" or "RSS" and get the collected archive of everything that anyone using the service has found using that tag” (Hedreen, 2005).
This idea of collective information sharing is a great advantage to the education world. One of the concepts that is continually stressed at Full Sail University is the idea of networking. There is a tremendous wealth of knowledge available from your colleagues, co-workers, and peers. Social bookmarking allows us to tap into that pool.
One of the greatest advantages for education is the idea that social bookmarking significantly cuts down research time. Research on the web can sometimes be a painful and tedious process. Students have to sift through tons of websites to determine which ones are reliable and valid. The tagging feature with social bookmarking allows students to find reliable and relevant information right away, without having to sift through sources that are irrelevant or not up to par (Riddell, 2006).
References
Hammond, T., Hannay, T., Lund, B., and Scott, J. (2005, April). Social Bookmarking Tools. D-Lib Magazine, 11(4). Retrieved November 5, 2009, from http://dlib.org/dlib/april05/hammond/04hammond.html
Hedreen, R. Social Bookmarking in Education. Retrieved November 5, 2009, from http://frequanq.blogspot.com/2005/02/social-bookmarking-in-education.html
Riddell, R. (2006, December 29). Social Bookmarking makes its mark in Education. eSchoolNews. Retrieved November 4, 2009, from http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=42069&CFID=20209037&CFTOKEN=96904178
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