I’ve used several (social) bookmarking and content curation tools, apps and platforms (e.g. Diigo, del.icio.us, netvibes) over the years.
My criteria
This time, I was looking for an app that was
- visual and visually attractive
- easy to learn and use
- quick to add content or links to
- available online in different browsers and as an app for different systems
- embeddable on my website
I had a few other features on my wish list, such as different privacy settings, being able to add notes, etc.
I looked at many different tools (e.g. Scoop.it, Flipboard, Pocket, Pinterest, Padlet), which all had their advantages, but also things I didn’t like for my purpose.
My shortlist
In the end, two were left on my list: Elink.io and Wakelet. In fact, Elink.io was my favourite because it really allows to create visually appealing pages and is very flexible. But I had to admit that it was a bit like a top-notch swiss-knife when I only needed the basic three-function one, which also meant quite an investment of time to learn to use it. Also, it is mainly used by marketers rather than educators.
I was up and running with Wakelet in no time at all without having to read any instructions. It also helped that there were no templates to choose from…
Additional features and fenefits
Two other extra benefits Wakelet offers to educators are:
- It allows for social content curation, which is great if you want to use it for collaborative work with your students or collaborate with other teachers)
- Like on Pinterest, you can browse other people’s public collections, follow them, bookmarks or share their collections.
- They support educators (e.g. with this guide) and there’s a large teacher community.
I’d love to use Wakelet with students for project work and for teacher training, but for now, I’m using it to curate and share content on my website.
How I use it
On my Virtual Reality page, you can click on any of the topics you are interested in and it will lead you to the page with the curated links on that topic. Whenever I add new content on a particular Wakelet, it will update on its page on my webiste automatically.
Final note
If you don’t have a website or blog, or don’t want to embed your content, you can simply use Waklet on its own online or on your smartphone or tablet, and share content by sharing the link to your Wakelet profile or any of your public spaces and collections.