Springpad just launched a new set of bookmarking tools that strikes me as being part Pinterest and part Livebinders with more functions and better aesthetics than both of those services.

In Springpad you organize your bookmarks, notes, and files into notebooks. You can make as many notebooks as you like in your Springpad account. Each notebook can be made public or kept private. Springpad notebooks can be constructed collaboratively if you invite others to work on them with you. You can add content to your notebooks by clicking the “new spring” button in your notebook or by using the Springpad browser bookmarklet.

The visual aspect of Springpad notebooks is where Springpad stands out to me. When you create a new notebook you have a great variety of colorful themes to choose from. Inside of your notebooks you can rearrange elements by simply dragging and dropping them into a new order.

Springpad’s iOS and Android apps allow you to add content to you notebooks by dictating notes, by taking pictures, by scanning product barcodes, or by clipping the URL of a website you’re viewing.

Applications for Education
Springpad could be used by students to create digital portfolios or work they have created online and offline. Students can create notebooks of work that is available online by linking to their examples. They can also upload files that they have stored on their computers, but haven’t put online anywhere.

Teachers and students could use Springpad to create shared notebooks of their favorite books. And of course, students and teachers can use Springpad to create shared notebooks organized around a topic that they are researching.