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I've started using Diigo. I haven't quite let go of Delicious but that's one of the good things about Diigo. It allows me to automatically export my bookmarks to Delicious so I don't need to use that service directly anymore. It lets me filter my tags and works directly with Blogger so I don't have to do a tortuous backdoor route to get my bookmarks into my blog. And the toolbar - I have to say that although it takes up more space than the the Delicious buttons... it's fab! You can highlight and make comments on pages and it interacts easily with some of the main social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook. It does the things you didn't realise you wanted Delicious to do, but now you've got a taste for those features, you don't really want to go back...

Clearly, the note-taking factor contributed to the overall scores. As someone who was in college before podcasting became popular but after sending students home with PowerPoint printouts became all the rage, I know from experience that many students think that printed slides are merely notes in prepackaged form.

McKinney acknowledged that the students who downloaded the podcast simply seemed to do better with taking notes and paying closer attention to what was being said, as they were able to go back and repeat parts of the lecture they had trouble understanding. "It isn't so much that you have a podcast, it's what you do with it," she told New Scientist.

As for whether podcasts can replace professors, McKinney stops short of suggesting that all classrooms become virtual. She refers to them as a supplemental tool to a traditional lecture that can help students gain a better understanding of the material and also help free up professors from answering repetitive questions. The takeaway? Go to class, take notes, listen to the podcast, and take more notes.

Rheingold points to five reasons for teaching students social media: Developing students' literacy in our new online environment is as crucial as developing their abilities to read and write. Communication is moving toward social media. We can either help students thrive in this environment or leave them flailing. Many students bring their computers to class. Why not work with this trend instead of fighting or ignoring it? Social media is just that: social. Students who use Twitter for class are "learning collaborative skills that are particularly important today." There is only so much class time. Rheingold makes mini-lectures on video that students comment on between classes, allowing more time to engage the issues through in-class discussion. Shy students who hold back in class often speak up online. "If you can extend the discussion to an online message board, you enable students who may not jump into the discussion," he said, to "make a thoughtful contribution."