This paper compares two projects that adopted
social bookmarking (SB) technology in different educational contexts at the
same institution, a large, research-intensive university in the north of
England. The first study used social bookmarking in a multicultural
postgraduate class to increase interactivity within the whole class and to
produce an archive of course-related online resources to engage potentially
isolated students. The second study used social bookmarking to support first
year undergraduate students' independent research activities, to facilitate
collaboration and to aid the tutor's preparation for seminar classes. The paper
provides an outline of the two studies, including a description of the
pedagogic approaches adopted in them, developments in the pedagogy over time
and evaluative and usage data that were collected. The discussion focuses on
five main issues: SB literacy; SB benefits; SB costs and risks; SB pedagogy;
and SB alternatives.