http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html
Symbaloo, one of several existing visual
bookmarking tool services , has eased some of the stress and frustration I used
to feel about my personal learning environment. The cause of some of my previous frustration was that, like
most people, my personal, work-related, and professional lives overlapped
and interconnected. It seemed
that, inevitably, the URL I wanted when I was working at home was bookmarked on
my work computer or vise versa, dooming me to constantly send myself emails and
tote thumb drives around in my purse. In short, I needed to untangle the mess
of my chaotic digital environment .
Symbaloo was my
ticket out of the mess in that it enabled me to upload important bookmarks from
both my work and home computers, allowing me access to all of my bookmarks, not
just from both my personal and work computers but from any computer anywhere,
anywhere in the world. What a relief.
On the other hand, in his video entitled “Beware the Filter
Bubble” Eli Pariser brings up a possible negative aspect to visual bookmarking services,
suggesting that, by allowing users
to control their own digital environment, they run the danger of losing the
broader perspective that comes from an unmanaged personal environment. Management tools like Symbaloo, Pariser
suggests, might result in users creating their own personally skewed, and
probably inaccurate view of the world.
In response to this argument, I contend that everyone sees
the world through their own personal lens anyway, with or without tools like Symbaloo.
A broad, balanced worldview depends upon our own efforts and willingness to
acquire one. Also, who is to say that an unmanaged web environment will result
in a more balanced view? It doesn’t seem to have happened so far. Instead of forgoing
the ease provided by visual bookmarking tools users should be encouraged and
educated to use tools like Symbaloo to make information mixes that include
information sources from multiple perspectives. .
I made my first Symbaloo in this class. In fact, it is my first bookmarking program that I have used ever, and I am hooked! I log in at home and at work. Moreover, I have helped all my "Library Practice" students create their own Symbaloo pages, and they love it too! Even though my Symbaloo pages are complete for now, I know that I can always add and remove bookmarks, which allows Symbaloo to grow with me. thus not creating a procrustean digital environment.
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