Social Bookmarking Use in University Courses: Student Perceptions and Behaviors

Abstract

This exploratory study describes the social bookmarking perceptions and behaviors of students in university courses. Although an emerging discussion regarding the value of social bookmarking tools exists, how users adopt tools in practice is not well known. Students were asked to utilize the bookmarking tool del.icio.us to store information relating to course projects. They were also asked to comment how they employed del.icio.us for course projects. The study analyzed student perceptions and behaviors when using social bookmarking tools for university coursework. The study noted that the use of tags, notes, and networking within these social bookmarking tools remained less active and social bookmarking services in Web 2.0 as shared collaboration, shared communities, and vertical search were less present. Utilizing social bookmarking tools to facilitate personal information management includes the activities of information use, information re-use, and mobility.