Teacher

bee 1Swarm 2: Curators

Digital learners need tools for organizing, storing, and accessing information.

The Old Way... Create static pages with static links.
The New Way... Create dynamic pages with constantly updated information.

Content is now dynamic. You can add to the work of others or create your own. Both students and teachers need to constantly locate, evaluate, select, organize, and share resources on topics of interest. This is called content curation.

To learn more about curation, go to Joyce Valenza's Curation page.

On this page, explore tools for content curation, content contribution, and content collaboration. Then, choose three practical applications to keep your classroom "hive alive"!

Content Curation

swirl by swirlYou can organize content for your own use or the use of others.

Weblists are useful when you want students to work their way through a series of pages or you want students to share a list of resources they've identified.

If funding is available, consider a subscription to libguides. This service provides an easy-to-use interface for creating classroom materials and embedding Web 2.0-type materials.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is the format for web feeds. These syndicated works may be news articles, blogs, podcasts, or other types of frequently updated content made available for subscribers. An aggregator known as a feed reader is used to manage and organize collections of web feeds.

You may also wish to organize documents and other materials for your own use of use by others.

Content Contribution

You can add to the work of others. Most of the Web 2.0-type environments allow users to participate and make contributions. Look for websites were you can share your experiences. For instance, Did You Feel It? asks you to log your earthquake experience. Projects like Journey North involve participants in sharing data.

Content Collaboration

You can create your own collaborative content curation project by establishing a wiki or other collaborative space for sharing content.

Teacher Examples:Daring Tech, Monarch Academy Library

Student Project Examples: Salk Periodic Table

Keeping the Hive Alive

To help students become more effective curators...

Use the following activity starters to practice the role of curator:

  1. Choice. Use these tools to provide students with choices.
  2. Media. Incorporate varied media such as audio and video.
  3. Questions. Use the description area to ask questions.
  4. Evaluation. Use the description area to provide an evaluation or review of the article or website.

Try some content curation using the quality content at the websites below. Find three articles or pages for your students to use as part of a project and create page with links to these resources.

Art

Social Studies

Science

General


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