Annotated Bibliographies - Web 2.0 style

In the process of working to research, analyze and write the history of of a particular topic, we work to retain the trust and respect of each other and the public at large.  This includes a shared strong belief in the integrity of historical productions and the records on which those creative works are based.  In other words, the ethics of history require us to be open about how and where we found our resources - using scholarly formats of bibliographies and annotations so that the public may discover the process by which the historical interpretation was crafted. Acknowledging the work of other historians is not only an important part of scholarly integrity but also an important way to build an academic community. Historians believe that there should be multiple and conflicting perspectives and that public critical inquiry enriches and deepens the dialogs in the historians scholarly community and improves the larger communities in which we all live.  According to the American Historical Association's "Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct" (www.historians.org/pubs/Free/ProfessionalStandards.cfm), historians should:

• "practice their craft with integrity"
• "honor the historical record"
• "document their sources"
• "acknowledge their debts to the work of other scholars"
• "respect and welcome divergent points of view even as they argue and subject those views to critical scrutiny"
• "remember that our collective enterprise depends on mutual trust," and "never betray that trust."

One of the key tasks for any historian is to keep notes on what is being read and discussed among scholars and the community at large: some people call it a research log and others prefer an annotated bibliography type of format (for more on traditional annotated bibliographies, see the Purdue Online Writing Lab, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01).

If you keep a public record of the sources you acquire (or chose not to use) even in the earliest stages of your research, your personal research log or annotated bibliography will help build the common knowledge base that enriches all of us who study history. Use a public group of bookmarks as your place to store your favorite images, highlights of online resources and bookmark links to websites, articles, data sources, pictures, videos, etc. that are relevant to your shared exploration of a particular topic in  history.

There are many different ways to share your annotated bibliography with the public and to get input on your findings from an interested community from around the world. 

Social bookmarking Web 2.0 applications that are good for community building endeavors are: BookArmy (bookarmy.com); Delicious (delicious.com); Diigo (diigo.com); Goodreads (goodreads.com); LibraryThing (librarything.com); Listography (listopgraphy.com); Notepub (notepub.com); Shelfari (shelfari.com); StumbleUpon (stumbleupon.com); Tumblr (tumblr.com); Wattpad (wattpad.com); WeRead (weread.com),

Social bookmarking allows you to bookmark URLs and categorize them for future use from any place, making it easy to find saved websites - and your notes on why you saved them.  Many of these programs have downloadable applications for smart phones and other mobile technologies also.

The software I use regularly is Diigo (http://www.diigo.com).  Diigo has downloadable add-ons that allow users to highlight, underline and annotate text on any bookmarked page. If you are using a computer to which you do not have administrator rights (and can't download the Diigo toolbar), you can access your Diigo library directly or download the "Diigolet" which allows you full access to the toolbar without having to download the client software.  Diigo, like many other social bookmarking tools, also allows users to create networks and groups which is great for working together in a group on a project.

Here are some users of Diigo.com who have written about their experiences with this tool and why they used it:

• Saurav , a student at St. Xavier University, Illinois (http://www.slideshare.net/Sauravanju/diigo-2679040)
• Derek Bruff, author of Teaching with Classroom Response Systems: Creating Active Learning Environments (Jossey-Bass, 2009). I’m also an assistant director at the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching and a senior lecturer in the Vanderbilt University Department of Mathematics. -  http://derekbruff.com/site/blog/2011/01/07/social-bookmarking-with-diigo/
• Dianne Krause & Jason Heiser presentation (including videos and handouts) at KTI2010 - http://kti2010.wikispaces.com/diigo
• Michael F. Ruffini, "Classroom Collaboration Using Social Bookmarking Service Diigo" EDUCAUSE Quarterly 34, No. 3, 2011 - http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/ClassroomCollaborationUsingSoc/236685

I use Diigo to share bookmarks of great sites that exemplify educational innovations, and I am a member of the public group "Diigo in Education" (http://groups.diigo.com/group/diigoineducation).  Join us!  I'd love to see what you contribute.