Using social bookmark sites for independent reading projects

Abstract

Using the internet and new technologies may change the way L2 instructors implement independent reading projects. While traditionally students have read printed material and recorded what they read on paper, having students read articles on the internet and share what they have read using online social bookmarks has several potential advantages. Using social bookmarks could increase learner interaction and could lead students to find more interesting and relevant articles. Social bookmarking could also assist the instructor in managing the out-of-class reading. This paper discusses and evaluates a project where a university-level L2 reading class in Japan read articles on the internet and summarized the content on a group bookmark page. Though there were some difficulties in the project, the results confirmed many of the potential benefits of social bookmarking.