Dedicated Pearler

Pearltrees isn’t as well known as its cousin, Pinterest, so “pearling” may not become the next internet verb to enter the lexicon, but I have entered the ranks of dedicated (non-knitting) Pearlers, and I’m here to advocate for you to do so, too. I have been playing with Pearltrees for about a year now, and I began using it for this blog in November. It is a social bookmarking site that describes itself as a "free, visual and collaborative library that lets you organize web pages, files, photos, and notes" ("Pearltrees FAQs").  Not only does it allow you to collect and share online resources, but also it permits users to upload their own files, making it a cloud storage site and an even more useful visual way to collect, store, and display resources. It is a free site, though there is a premium package that can be purchased for additional services such as private collections, additional design capabilities, etc.

One distinguishing feature of Pearltrees as a visual bookmarking site is that it does not require an image to capture a page; it captures screenshots that you can later scroll through then click on to be taken directly to the site.

The other most important feature is the organization:  You begin with a central pearl that is your username. From that pearl, you add “pearltrees,” which are similar to Pinterest’s boards but visually designed as bubbles (pearls) on a cluster map. You can upload a different image for each pearltree to represent that topic, and when you click on a pearltree icon, all the webpages you have bookmarked, or “pearled,” under that topic will appear. Clicking on any pearl will bring up a preview screen, and from that screen, forward and back arrows allow you to move through all of the pearls you have gathered in that pearltree. The preview screen of each pearl a sizable visual snippet of the webpage, as well as text from the website that can be read without opening a new window. 

So how is this site important for writing centers or writing-related projects? A writing center could create an account to organize their in-house and external resources (remember, you can upload your own docs, pdfs, photos, videos, etc.!). You can embed your Pearltrees in your writing center website or connect your Pearltrees to your social media accounts. Writing centers could even collaborate and create teams to share resources together across institutions! If you are working with a writer who is starting a research project, you could recommend Pearltrees as a way to capture and organize resources during the internet research process. Teachers could even use Pearltrees as a requirement for an annotated bibliography assignment, since notes can be added to each pearl.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Pearltrees over its social bookmarking cousins, like Pinterest, Diigo, or Delicious, for its interactive, mind-map-oriented user interface that allows for notes, sharing, exploration, and file uploads. Let me know if you use Pearltrees or try exploring www.pearltrees.com/wctechtime to see how I use it for the blog.