Google Sites, Docs, and Diigo

Of these three new technology tools, I can see myself really using two quite often.  I am not so sure I am sold on the third one quite yet.  It could be that I am so new to it, or it could be that it just simply doesn’t work for me.  Google Sites and Google Docs have some great advantages for me and my ELL classroom, but Diigo isn’t showing the same potential.  

Google Sites was new to me when we first began looking at it in class.  After creating and setting up many of the pages during class, I realized how easy and truly beneficial it could be for my students (and colleagues).  At this point, I don’t know how beneficial it would be for the parents of my students.  I see the face-to-face contact or phone calls being more used and working better with them.  Within Sites, I like how I am able to use so many Google features, such as Translate (words, sentences, paragraphs, or even entire websites), which happens to be extremely valuable for my newcomer student.  I am really excited about being able to share all my links/websites for ELL games and activities again with my students.  After our district website changed, my links were removed from the school page.  It has left me writing down websites for students and having them copy them into their browser.  Not only will a simple click be helpful for my students, but it will also be helpful to my colleagues once I create a Resource page with sites I find relating to their content areas.  The resources for my colleagues may be more useful in Diigo, but I’m just not sold on it yet. 

I just recently became a more frequent user of Google Docs, but it was more because I had to rather than by choice.  At first, I really did not like them.  I found the document to be so limiting because I was so used to Microsoft Word.  I am beginning to like the document more because of the ease of sharing, the automatic saving, and the fact that I can access it from anywhere and on any computer/mobile device.  It is more convenient, which happens to be how technology is sold.  The Forms were a brand new concept for me when it came to creating one.  I had filled out surveys for others before without realizing they were done through Google.  I like that the Forms are not only surveys but also used as quizzes or assessments.  It’s nice to have the data right at my fingertips and be calculated for me.  I could see myself using the Forms with my colleagues to get feedback on the ELL program in my building.  I could also see myself using Forms with my small groups of students.   

The Google Sites and Docs should work well for my students because our district has given all students a Gmail account.  The ease of linking directly to the site after logging into their email account will make it a much easier find.  I’m hoping it will also be so easy for the students that they will actually use and refer to it. 

I do not have the same feelings for Diigo as I do for Google Sites and Docs.  I found Diigo to be frustrating and sporadic.  I felt like I had to go to so many places for various things just to bookmark a site.  I realize Diigo is more than a bookmarking tool, but I do not see the value in it yet.  It may very well be that I do not understand it well enough.  At this point, I don’t plan on using Diigo with my students or colleagues unless others can show me the true benefits.  Vicki Davis from Solomon and Schrum’s Web 2.0 (2010) states that Diigo Lists is a “powerful feature,” but I haven’t experienced that.   I didn’t refer to the tags or lists much, if at all.  Also, I’m not sold on the tag feature considering the user is the one tagging.  I think it’s too easy to only list a few tags.  One or two features within Diigo I do like are the highlighting and sticky notes.  It works well for my brain to be able to have “marking” on a page, so I can quickly find the information I need.  I’m hoping to have someone else work with me to show me the true value Diigo could offer. 

My plan is to continue to use Google Docs with my colleagues and receive them from my students for writing samples.  I am hoping to create and use my Google Site in the near future with my students.  Diigo will be put aside for now until I learn more about the benefits of using it.