Assignment 8 - Diigo and Portaportal
Part of your requirements for Assignment 8 asks you to share your experiences about creating accounts in Portaportal and Diigo along with your journey of adding a few bookmarks to each site and finally, sharing why you chose one site over the other. I look forward to reading your stories:)
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After creating an account in Diigo and Portaportal I found Diigo to be easier to maneuver in and understand. I can be an impatient person when it comes to learning new things but also am a visual learner so I like to have step by step instructions along with pictures which Diigo provided and was easily accessible. In Diigo the instructions were easy to follow and easy to find. It even provided pictures to go along with the steps which helped me know what to look for. Diigo provided an extension in which I added to my tool bar which made it easy to bookmark my pages. The pages then quickly saved into my library where I have convenient access to them. All I have to do is click on the title and it sends me to my page. I do not bookmark a lot of pages for my personal or professional life but I think it would be helpful to start especially with the profession I am going in. Now that I have a reliable bookmarking site that I understand how to use I will have to start bookmarking more often. I love the idea of having my bookmarks on a site so that if my computer or phone crashes I still have access to all of my bookmarks from any computer. I will be using this site in the future and would recommend it to others. I love how easy it is.
ReplyDeleteI did not like Portaportal at all. When I did finally find the instructions on how to use Portaportal I still wasn't understanding how to save my bookmarks. There was no extension that I could put at the top of my tool bar like there was with Diigo, at least not one that I could find. The site was not helpful for visual learners like me who likes to see pictures of the instructions step by step. The site took longer for me to understand and learn how to use which I didn't like. When I look for new reliable sites I like to look for how convenient their information is. If it's hard to find the instructions or hard to understand then I will not use the site in the future. I would not use Portaportal nor would I recommend someone else to use it. With this said others may understand Portaportal better than Diigo it just depends on others opinions, how they look into new sites, and their learning process. After I created a portal which I still don't understand what a portal is, I couldn't figure out how to add bookmarks. When I clicked on tools it gave me the option of importing bookmark files. Is that I was supposed to import bookmarks? Was anybody else confused by this site? I messed around with this site for awhile and was not able to figure out how to get my bookmarks on the site. Was anybody able to figure out how to get bookmarks on the site?
When working with Diigo, I had a bit of trouble figuring it out at first. Signing up was really easy, but I had some trouble figuring out how to add the tags. I am still not sure I completely added my websites correctly. My literacy tag still doesn’t seem to be showing up on the side, like the professor’s example showed. What I did like about it was when you add the URL, it automatically puts the website or the game’s name. Furthermore, I was able to copy and paste the full description that I had written out on my spreadsheet, which made it easier. This is unlike portaportal.com, because it only allows you to have a certain amount of words for your description. I had to cut my descriptions down short. Signing up for portaportal.com was also very simple, but I also had trouble getting started in the beginning. When I went to add a portal, I was very confused on what that meant. I first thought it meant the subject, like math. However, when I typed in math, it kept telling me that a math portal had already been created. Then I tried typing my name and a few other things and it kept saying the same thing. Finally, I put my first and last name with no spaces and added the number 13 at the end and it worked. After I got through that part, the rest was easy, as far as adding subjects and the URL’s. I think it would be nice if it automatically added the activity name, like Diigo did, but it didn’t.
ReplyDeleteAfter using both sites and seeing the layouts, I decided that I like Portaportal.com better. I think the layout looks a lot nicer and it was easier for me to navigate. Although there were some things I liked about Diigo more, like the ease of adding URLs, activity names, and descriptions, I think that layout really matters. Portaportal makes it easy to see the different subjects and the different activities under each subject, which I think is very important. I don’t think I would use a bookmarking site in my personal life because I don’t really have things I need to bookmark, that I can think of. However, I could definitely see using it in my professional life. I have bookmarked certain websites to my toolbar, but I can see using one of these sites being so much easier. Furthermore, I wouldn’t have a whole bunch of sites taking up my toolbar. I also like that it’s organized by subject, so it makes finding the activities you need so much easier. I would probably sort the tags by studies as well. That way, anytime I do a study, I can just look at the bookmarking site to find specific activities for specific studies.
When it comes to bookmarking, it is not something I know anything about. Therefore, I usually don't use any type of bookmarking to save my work. I never had the need to save the items I was working on or viewing on my laptop because it wasn't anything important. However, when I start working as a teacher, I can see that will change. This is something that I need to know more about beforehand. " Social bookmarking is an online service that allows you to create and publicly share website bookmarks with other members of a community by simply tagging a web page with a web-based tool so you can easily access it later. Instead of saving them to your web browser, you are saving them to the web". When reading that part of an article I found on the internet, it makes complete sense. As a teacher, you are using many websites and would like to save them. What better way than finding a bookmarking site you like.
ReplyDeleteWhen using portaportal, it took some time to figure out. After playing around with it for a little, I found it to be simple and right to the point. You create your account using an email address and password and you're all setup. You then click add folder on the top right to add a folder and then you rename it with the description that you want. It's that easy and it's saved there for whenever you want to go back or share it with a friend or parent. I enjoy when things are as simple as possible. I don't like having to sit for hours trying to figure something out because they wanted to make things more complicated than it needed to be.
Visiting Diigo wasn't that complicated. It is similar to the first bookmarking site that i mentioned. I do however, feel that it offers more to keep your sites organized. After you have set up your account, you click on the tab for bookmarking and add your URL and description. You can make it public or private as well as annotate and add pictures to it so when someone clicks on it the information, it pops up the the information to you want them to see. I would see a teacher in the older grades using this one because of what can be added and have the option to upgrade to add more. If I only wanted a place to save the website so I may go back to it later on, I would just use portaportal.
Both websites are very useful and can work for whatever you may want to save for later. It is just a preference of what you feel more comfortable in using.
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ReplyDeleteThis week’s assignment of creating a bookmarking site was something that I had not done before but surprisingly I had heard of a bookmarking site but did not know how they worked or what they were about.
I first tried Portaportal. I followed the link to the webpage and signed up for my account, but that was where the trouble started. I was first trying to name a folder, and everything I tried to name it was not being allowed. Either I was using spaces in between words or the name had already been taken. I finally was able to come up with something that wasn’t already taken. For the longest time while I was trying to figure out Portaportal it was acting like I couldn’t do anything without signing up for a paid account. When I was finally able to find the instructions of how to use, I was unsure from the start. There was not a web extension like Diigo had and there also was not step by step picture instructions, also like Diigo. All of these technology topics are new to me and this is the first thing I am not liking about online classes. I am a sometimes a visual learner when I am doing a project or assignment, I need to see how it is supposed to look like step by step.
Diggo was much easier to work with from the start. For me to think that a computer program is easier to work with says a lot because I have not worked with many computer programs at my job, getting field hours, or in general. It had picture instructions with the steps. There was a plus sign in the upper right corner that you clicked on and then added the URL, a description, and the tag. I have never used a bookmarking website before, but if for future assignments or work needs it I know one that is easy to use for someone who doesn’t know much about technology.
This week we tried out two different sites for social bookmarking all the sites that we have found from doing this course. After trying out both sites, I have a few things to say in regards to each.
ReplyDeleteThe first site I am going to talk about is Portaportal. When it came to this site, setting up the account was easy and I did not have any issues with it. I was able to sing up with ease. I had some trouble when I first got in because I did not know what to put for the portal name. Once I figured this out I was able to follow the directions for adding the sites. I did like that everything was broken down in folders and how it was easily organized. If I was someone on the outside, it would be easy to follow and access all the sites. The one thing that I did not like is that when you click on the site it takes over the tab. I do not like this because then you have to go all the way back to access the other sites. This was a good site, but it was honestly not my favorite one and I only added the two websites required to it.
The second site I am talking about is Diggo. When it comes to this site, setting up the account was easy like the first one. I was able to sing up with ease and navigate the site easily once I was in. I liked how everything was right there and it was easy to edit when I needed to. I also liked that when you clicked on a link it opened up a new tab. I liked this because then I could have the site on one tab and the list of the other sites on another tab. I felt like the information was easy to add. I also liked that things are done in a list because it made it easier to follow. This one was simple, easy to follow, and all around my favorite. I also felt it was more straightforward and I didn’t have to do folders and suck in something else.
This assignment was all around a good thing. It was because I got to do something new and I got to learn about a new tool that I could use. This is something that I would use in my own life because it would help me organize everything. This would help my keep track of the websites that I have used for my lesson planning. This would allow me to go back and share my resources with other teachers as well. It would allow me to go back and use old resources if need be. I am glad that I got to do this assignment and there is nothing that I wished I earned. I will keep this tool in mind when working in my classroom. I will also spread the word about it and show it to my fellow teachers as well.
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ReplyDeleteThroughout the quarter we have learned a lot new ways to incorporate technology into our classrooms. This week we were able to create our own bookmarking sites to share the data that we have gathered throughout the quarter on different web sites that could be used in the classroom. I have personally never done any bookmarking before, other than saving a web page to a browsers bookmarking folder. The bookmarking sites we used allowed for us to organize information in one place. I think being able to incorporate this into the classroom in the future would be very beneficial, but am worried as to how I will be able to do so with primary grade special education students. I think this might be challenging for many students to do on their own. I would probably take some time to show this to students as a whole class before allowing students to venture off on their own. This way students will already be familiar with how to navigate the sites and work on activities and find information on their own.
ReplyDeleteOne of the sites that we used this week for bookmarking was Diigo. It was fairly easy to sign up for this site. Diigo had a very nice section that explained how to add our bookmarks, but I didn’t like the way the information was organized. I felt like there was an overload of information. Sometimes too much information is not appealing, especially to students. I also didn’t like that the directions were always underneath the bookmarks as I was adding them on. I felt like I was scrolling up and down constantly just to find a site that I wanted to edit. I think this site might be something to use for upper grade students since we could also add sticky notes, highlights, images, and annotations.
I personally preferred Portaportal. For this site, it was also easy to sign up. The only issue I had was finding a site name that wasn’t already taken by another user, but that was a quick fix. Although it didn’t give written directions like Diigo, I find it was easy for me to figure it out. I feel that most people with basic internet knowledge would be able to figure out how to add their bookmarks, as did I. I also like how the different folders allowed for a well-organized site. I was able to easily create new folders for each subject to organize my information. I do wish that we would be able to add a picture or icon for the bookmarks to help our diverse learners navigate easier. It would also be more child friendly if it had pictures on it.
Overall, I think this was a good lesson to be able to organize all of the 29 sites that we worked on throughout the quarter. I hope that I can continue to learn more about bookmarking and how to incorporate it with special education students. I will definitely have to make some modifications to be able to host these in my own classroom, but with some practice I think most students will eventually be able to use these bookmarking sites on their own.
I first opened Portaportal and although it was easy to sign up on, I found it harder to navigate. There were no clear instructions how to use it or how to start saving bookmarks. It took me awhile to figure it out. I had to Google the instructions to make sure I was doing it right. I also thought that this sight was not as professional looking and organized. If I was going to use this site or have my students use it, I would have to write out instructions on how to use it properly so they know what they are doing is right.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was using Diigo, I immediately found it much easier. Signing up was easy. From there, the site was easy to navigate and even though it did not have instructions either, it was much easier to see the Add button and figure out how to add, save, and edit bookmarks. Everything on Diigo is labeled or has clear signs on what they stand for, edit, tags, delete, everything was easy to read and understand. This site also has the option to add a description, annotated notes, pictures, and more to make finding and seeing what the site is about much easier. It also gives a time on when the added bookmark was last edited, this would help see how long ago this source was used or updated. Diigo has a more professional look and feel to it. I could give this site to students and they would most likely be able to figure out how to use it with very little instruction. While adding all the sites to this site, it was easy for me to go back and edit anything I needed to as I continued. It was simple to add tags and understand how to because it would tell me, “to sperate tags just use a space”. Instead of going in time and time again to add single tags to each saved tag. The sites were displayed nicely and easy to read. Titles were bolded and larger font size, while the tags and descriptions were in smaller font and in a lighter color.
I would definitely use this in my professional life. I would use this site to save websites, activities, information for my classroom, parents, and center. Instead of having my work bookmarks mixed with my personal ones, this site would keep all my work sites in order and organized. In my opinion, I much better prefer Diigo to Portaportal. The look of it is more professional and cleaner, with little to no ads. The use of it was self-explanatory and easier to use. Overall it would be a better fit to something I would use, over Portaportal.
Both apps had their pros and cons. Sign up on either app was easy and straight forward. I rarely use websites or accounts I used in a class in my personal life so I was able to easily name both accounts KlarsonSOE308. Diigo was slightly faster to sign up, as it auto filled my information and Portaportal did not. After that neither was extremely forthcoming in how to use the software. I had to dig around to find the information I wanted.
ReplyDeleteDiigo was the more visually appealing of the two. The colors and visually enhanced layout caught my eye quickly. Adding websites was easy enough to figure out. The giant + button made it easy to see how to add them. It also autofills the title after you link the website which is a nice addition.
Portaportal on the other hand is very basic. Sign up is easy but it did take me a minute to figure out how to add a website because I didn't initially think of adding different folders. However, the vertical lineup of subjects ends up being much more visually appealing to me then the feed like feature in Diigo.
The extention for Diigo is a nice feature and would make the process faster in the future. However, I opt'd to go with Portaportal for this class since I already have everything saved to an excel sheet and don't really care to reopen every single website just to use the feature. Not to mention, I probably wouldn't use either outside of class and school related activities so I didn't want another extension clogging up my toolbar. What I liked most about Portaportal is the clear setup and view of the folders. I know for a fact what is listed under each one. I am struggling to understand how to group Diigo and the tags seem to be hit or miss on if they take.
Similarly, I know that I have the right link to share my portaportal page, but am taking a straight guess that the diigo site will be the correct link or even set up for the page. Unfortunately, it will be a hard pass on using either of them in my personal or professional life.
This week I explored with two different social bookmarking sites. One site was Portaportal.com, and the other was Diigo.com. As I created an account for both sites it seen to be easy to enter my personal information to create the accounts. However, I had to play around with both social bookmarking site to input the data from my spreadsheet. For example, with Portaportal.com at first, I didn’t know what the portal meant I entered in a few pieces of different information until I figured it out, by inputting my name and four number digits behind my first name. Next, I had to play around with the folders to add the category titles, then the web site that we explored in this course. After that, I found my page to represent and display information as the example, which I found was tremendously helpful to know what I should be doing with this assignment. I also had some trouble with limiting some of the information for the descriptions of the web site. I didn’t want to leave out the essential facts about the web site because this bookmark will be used as resources for other people to use. I wanted the information to be clear and detail for the viewers. After completing the steps a few more time the assignment became very easy to complete. As for the other social bookmarking site Diigo.com. I found this site a little complicated because of all the information displayed. I notice the example icons and step by steps directions, but I would end up somewhere else on the page, not sure if I was completing this task right. I enter the information from the spreadsheet in three different places, such as my outliner and my groups. I realized that my outliner was the wrong place when they only allow me to create five categories before displaying the message that I need to upgrade my plan that was free to add more information for a fee. So, I exit out of that, then somehow went to my groups, which only allowed me to create one group to share.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, I knew that this was not the right spot either. I went to the beginning of the page again to understand the step better since this was a new challenge for me and click on the tab on the right of the screen that shared bookmarks. I tested the option with the URL, continuing to enter the rest of the information to complete my list of resources. I like the fact that I could type or copy and paste the URL address in the box, and the data appeared, and I didn’t have to limit my description of the web site, or activity. This was helpful to complete the task a lot faster. Also, I think it is a lot simpler to add an extension to google chrome for bookmarks to save the site and view anywhere when need it. This option reminds me of Kindle electronic book reading app when you can access the information on any computer, laptop, or phone device that is selected, to access the information that highlighted or with a note that displays and shares information for yourself or other readers.
Continuing post,
ReplyDeleteNow personally, if I had to choose between either of the social bookmarking sites, I would select Portaportal.com, because the layout looks more professional and detail with the information displayed. Yes, I had trouble trying to learn how to work the site, but it was much simpler to me than then Diigo.com social bookmarking site. Furthermore, the Diigo.com social bookmarking site, it has its advantages to input information in more comfortable, but I felt overstimulated and confused with all the information that was shared on the web pages. Then the layout of the website was dull and didn’t share enough information for me without opening the tab to search. However, I do feel that people with more experience would be able to navigate through the website very quickly to find the information they need. I would use Portaportal.com in my professional life like with other educators and parents, to share different resources to collaborate with for various tasks or studies. As for my personal life besides school, that would be the only time, I would probably need to use a social bookmarking for one of my courses to help find different information that I have used to complete an assignment.
Social bookmarking is a way for people to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web pages. User save links to web pages that they like or want to share, using a social bookmarking site to store these links. Social bookmarking sites are useful because users are able to add, annotate, and share bookmarked web pages. Bookmarks can be public, private, or shared with specific groups. Two examples of social bookmarking sites are: Portaportal and Diigo.
ReplyDeleteIt was simple to create an account with Portaportal. I noticed that I had to create a portal name that was not already being used by another user. After creating my account and portal name, the next step was to add folders. The title of the folders became whatever term I used in the subject field for each site. The folder featured the name of the site, as well as a description. I found it easy to navigate the site and add all of the information from my spreadsheet.
I also found it simple to create an account with Diigo. I notice the plus sign right away and went to hover the mouse over it. I clicked on bookmarks and began entering my information. The first thing I entered was the URL. After entering the URL, a title automatically appeared. I really liked this feature. It is easy to enter a URL incorrectly, and with this feature you would be made aware of the mistype. After entering the URL and verifying the title, I entered a description of the website. The subject of each website is what was used as the name of each tag. I found it easy to navigate this site as well and all of the information from my spreadsheet.
This week’s assignment introduced us to two social bookmarking sites. It allowed us to explore the purpose and usefulness of social bookmarking. In my personal and professional life, I do not know if I will ever have to use a bookmarking site. There have been times when I have save web pages as a bookmark. I think using a social bookmarking site will allow the sharing of sites in a convenient way. I can see myself using one to share with my students. This will help them have access to the information that they need, instead of wasting time searching for it. When it came to using Portaportal and Diigo, I actually enjoyed using both. I found that although they are both social bookmarking sites, the differed in many ways. I feel like I enjoyed them for these differences. I would probably consider using and introducing both to my students. Although when it comes down to it, I will have to say that I like Portaportal more than Diigo. The reason that I have this preference for Portaportal is because of organization. I like the way the folders were positioned on the Portaportal site. Each folder was titled with the subject name and included a title and description of each site. I found this to be more visually appealing than the list of sites and tags on Diigo.
For this week we were able to look at two different book marking sites. The first one I went to was PortaPortal. I signed up and that was as easy as it was going to be. I had a hard time using this site and didn't like it. The part I had a hard time in was the title. Every title I tried to put it would say it was already used up. So I didn't like this site. As for Diigo, I thought it was much easier to use. I didn't have any trouble using it. It was easy to create the tags and it didn't take a long time to do it. I will say, I like how in PortaPortal, it was much more organized. In Diigo, there was just a list. Maybe if PortaPortal had been easier to use I would have used that for all my sites. That way it would have been more organized. I had never used these types of bookmarking sites. I can now see why teachers would have them. They are a good way to keep track of important sites and by adding the descriptions, it makes them easier to find. I also noticed that in both sites it let you pick the type of plan you wanted. If you wanted to pay for a plan it gave you more benefits. This could also be useful to some people. Overall, I thought it was interesting how similar and different these two sites were. I liked Diigo better, it was much easier to use. It might not have been as organized but I didn't have any trouble using it.
ReplyDeletePortaportal.com
Diigo.com
Portaportal versus Diigo
ReplyDeletePortaportal seemed difficult at first to set up. It took me several minutes playing around with the tool to be able to enter three bookmarks. However, I seem to have the hang of entering bookmarks and the related information about the activities. The page design seems a bit dated to me and I am not sure how students would like the look of it. Perhaps many of them would not care but I do feel that some would perceive the site as old and wonder if the information and resources listed are old also. I like this site and I can see how I may be able to use it right away with current students. I am actually thinking of using this tool with students that I am coaching at a Junior High School nearby. It would put all online resources in one place for them and remove the need for students to type URLs and perhaps misspell domain names. The descriptions would also allow them to see why I have included the websites, what the objectives of them using the site may be, or what they may accomplish by working on the designated sites. The problem would be the limited space provided for adding descriptions. I would have to think “tweet” versus “text message” in order to get to the point and convey the intended thought.
Diigo is a very frustrating site to begin using. I felt pressured to install a Chrome extension, which I did not think we needed to do to use the site. Turns out, I was correct and now I am frustrated that I wasted time searching for the extension to find that it is not necessary. The look of the site is nice, reminding me of an email program with the way it is designed. However, I do not like that I cannot edit and revise errors. I have tried twice and the program will not update my corrections. [Correction: I have just checked on the site, and after the time it has taken to write the above, the site has finally updated. I do not like having to wait and see if things like corrections will be fixed. This should be instant or there should be directions asking you to update the page.] Although the page design is appealing and I believe students would like it, I will not use it because it felt frustrating to do so. This is a shame because this site provides much more space for adding descriptions and allows me to convey the purpose of using each website listed to the students clearly. I would actually be able to use complete sentences instead of partial phrases and choppy wording such as in a “tweet”.
Portaportal vs. Diigo
ReplyDeleteApplying critical observation to authenticate the website, I regret confirming that I allowed first impression to make my decision for which “bookmarking” site I would upload my spreadsheet of information towards. After reviewing each site, I can see myself applying Portaportal and Diigo professionally and privately for integrating the latest technology into use. Each are accessible from any device, mobile or desktop and you really do not need to upgrade the apps for better service, unless you will be an avid user.
Both, Portaportal and Diigo are great sites to store all your bookmarks into one place for organization in categories by subject, just like a library card catalog or the ancient business office roll-a-dex. However, Portaportal lost its opportunity for me to utilize privately when I noticed the free account would allow 3 to 4 advertisements constantly being displayed while reviewing my account. Professionally, I can see myself using Portaportal to store information pertaining to my students as well to introduce this site as an option for them to create and use as an account for bookmarking. Professionally, Portaportal will hold information for my educational work - related portals. Since the free site only allows 5 portals, I will categorize them according my core subject classes. When I created my portal folder, I tried to see if I could retrieve my Google Spreadsheet to import the bookmarks but because the sheet was not stored within my computer documents it was a copy and paste moment. Overlooking the advertisements and considering the annual economical fee to obtain an account, there is still potential use for Portaportal.
As for Diigo, of course it was easier to install for access and this extension will be used for professional and private access. I chose this app because I use Google more often than usual, especially since my job created every employer and student a Google work account. With this app being a part of Google, it makes the transition of connectivity and transferring information easier. Also, for any updates or improvements will signing in Being aware that the app is being scheduled for future updates, eases the mind that access options will improve. After installation to transfer information from the Spreadsheet to Diigo, the tool bar for highlight worked well. However, I did learn a slight hard lesson. I originally created a group account to upload my spreadsheet which under the free account only 1 such account can be made, along with it is member invite only. Yet, I was able to redeem myself and send and save the information to my Library with ease. Now the app might become a little annoying when visiting other sites because the mini tool bar pops up or the annotated suggestion helps when it might not be needed. It does go away if not being used, but it is just the fact that it does display. I will be utilizing this app for my personal use, to store sites pertaining to college, work and personal. I have even informed my current college sons to install for their future classwork of websites as a reference storage use. Thanks for the introduction Professor.
SOE 380 TCHarris
For Portaportal access: InterWebSitesFolder.
For Diigo access: https://www.diigo.com/user/tcharris
-or- Groups SOE 380 = https://www.groups.diigo.com/user/tcharris