50. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7
• Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse
media and formats, including visually and
quantitatively, as well as in words.1
ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.8
• Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific
claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning
as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the
evidence.
ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.9
• Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes
or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare
the approaches the authors take.
How do I start? Content curation can be like getting sucked into an online vortex. You could easily disappear for days, forget to eat, and be discovered wandering the corridors in a dazed stupor, so you need to have a plan before you start. 1. Decide on a goal for curating content – why are you doing it? 2. Set a schedule – curate regularly, even if it’s just 1 hour a week 3. Choose your topic – make sure it is linked to your goal/ brand 4. Choose your sources – don’t wander aimlessly online 5. Scan, evaluate & select the best content 6. Read the best content in depth 7. Think about the content and decide why it is important to your curation 8. Annotate/ comment on/ evaluate the content to give it context for your audience 9. Share it and engage your audience – ask for comments, contributions
1. Decide on a goal for curating content – why are you doing it?
3. Choose your topic – make sure it is linked to your goal/ brand
2. Set a schedule – curate regularly, even if it’s just 1 hour a week
4. Choose your sources – don’t wander aimlessly online
. Scan, evaluate & select the best content
7. Think about the content and decide why it is important to your curation
6. Read the best content in depth
8. Annotate/ comment on/ evaluate the content to give it context for your audience
9. Share it and engage your audience – ask for comments, contributions
How can this concept of “curation” of information be brought into the “classroom” (however you define the classrooms of the present/future and how it should/could look like)? If we can use Cobb’s suggestion and teach/coach our students to Number 1) find and connect to great curators and Number 2) be great curators for their own network, then we have moved closer to understanding Shirky’s warning about information overload and filter failure. “Quality” curation takes higher level thinking skills. It requires responsibility towards your network who rely on you to filter information on a specific topic. Curation requires the ability to organize, categorize, tag and know how to make the content available to others and to be able to format and disseminate it via various platforms.
The first thing I realized is that in order to have value-added benefits to curating information, the collector needs to move beyond just classifying the objects under a certain theme to deeper thinking through synthesis and evaluation of the collected items. How are they connected? What does the act of collecting add to understanding of the question at hand?
I think the following questions are worthwhile exploring for the learner in ourselves, but also for our students (elementary school and up). Facilitating the role of being a curator fits in perfectly with the role of “researcher”, Alan November suggests in his Digital Learning Farmmodel.
What tools do I use to curate?
How can I use my network to filter and find quality information?
How can/do I contribute and become the filter for others?
What tools do I use to curate?
How can I use my network to filter and find quality information?
How can/do I contribute and become the filter for others?
How can we increase our collective intelligence by work together to be filters for each other?
Book Report: Collect online content related to the book with the purpose of “selling” it to you audience.
Glossary: Define terms for the current unit study using a variety of media.
Current Events: Students create a collection to reflect the 5 most important events of the week.
Introduce a New Topic: A collection to introduce a new topic of study and peak the student’s interest.
Identify Trends: Select a trend in fashion, entertainment, politics, business, etc, to explain with a collection.
Puzzle: Which of the things doesn’t belog here? How are all these items related?What historical character is represented here?
Historical Event: Create an exhibit of a historical event with a variety of media including primary documents.
Expert Tips: Students create a guide filled with expert tips on a topic related to the current unit.
How-to: A collection that demonstrates how to do something such as help endangered species.
Character Analysis: Choose character of literature, history, or current events to create a collection around. What would be in Alice’s collection?
Statistics, Data, Graphs: A collection of data on a specific topic.
Research: As a part of a larger project, students collect their research in a as Scoop.it topic for easy reference and documentation of sources.
About Me: As a team builder, have students create collections that reflect themselves.
