Thing #17

Del.icio.us, as well as the other social bookmarking sites, is quite an interesting tool. As I stated in Thing #7 (I believe that's right), I have had a Del.icio.us account in the past. Before this class I had gotten out of the habit of using it. I just didn't think about it and didn't post any links to it. When we started exploring the different tools in the previous "things," I began using the site a little more again. I have imported all of my bookmarks onto my Del.icio.us page and hope to get back sometime this week to do some tagging and a little more exploration.
I didn't like furl and ma.gnolia as much, but have known others who really like furl. I think this would be a really great tool to use in the classroom. There are so many websites that could be linked for student use. I think it would be very beneficial because I could see what others have tagged and might run across new sites for the students that I didn't even know were there. I think it would also help prepare students for their own use of bookmarking sites later on. We are preparing students for the future even as we teach them in the classroom this week. This is a tool that they might find useful down the road. It might help them to be exposed to it now.
As for teachers using social bookmarking sites, I think this would be an excellent tool for professional development. We are constantly trying to better ourselves in our professions, and what a great way to strengthen ourselves than reading up on and researching new theories, strategies, and anything education related. We often learn more from each other than we do in many professional development seminars, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to learn from someone else by checking out the sites they find are great for pro. development.