Exploring Tools of Curation

 

For a moment visualize this: What would an earthquake- hit library look like? Pile of books everywhere. They all are rich source of information and knowledge .Even though you may pick any book but will it help you in getting desired information?

 

‘Curation comes up when search stops working’ says NYU professor Clay Shirky. People start curating in order to synchronize the information because the content abundance on the net is overwhelming. I think that of all the advantages of curation, few important ones are:

1. It helps in organizing good resources on a particular/specific topic in one place.

2. It helps in gathering the resources on same topic with different perspectives. So finding out pro/con on same topic becomes pretty easy.

3. It helps  in building ‘community of learning’. (While curating we get to know other bloggers and curators)

I had the opportunity to curate the information (in my last graduate course) in my Twitter feed to get Tweeted Times and Paper.li. At that time, out of the two, I found Paper.li much better because of its aesthetically appealing layout.  It gave me a feel of reading a newspaper.  But when I signed up for Scoop.it, and explored how to use it to curate, there’s no looking back! It’s just like scooping any information that I may find interesting on any website. The Paper.li curates the information  in the Twitter feed (based on who we choose to follow) whereas  Scoop.it provides ample freedom to personalize the information from any website.

I chose Scoop.it for curation because of approbation it received from some of my classmates in my grad class. They had used it extensively and found it much better than other curation tools. I was eager and curious to use it since then. So as soon as I got an invite from my professor, I jumped at the opportunity. I found that scoop.it not only allows us to scoop extensively from variety of websites; it also allows us to ‘explore’ the information from variety of curated topics’ pages. After curating with scoop.it I feel I’ve more control over my topic page. On the other hand, I find Paper.li a better option than going through all tweets on my twitter. It provides a visual, summarized version of information, which is quite easy to glance through and decide which one to read in detail. For me, both are very good resources  for the classroom. The students can use the teacher curated information quite appropriately to work on their projects or complete other assignments.  I don’t think that students should be given a free hand in this sphere, as chances of inappropriate use are high.

Irrespective of the curation tools usage in the classroom, it is known to us that creation and curation go hand in hand. We all also know that the Gen. Z learners are creative and  believe in sharing their creation with the whole world,therefore curation tools will come in handy for all of them.




References:

• Clayman,M. (2011) Let's Talk About the Advantages of Content Curation.Retrieved Oct. 27,2011 from http://www.margieclayman.com/lets-talk-about-the-advantages-of-content-curation
• Information Overload [Picture] Retrieved Oct.27,2011 from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=overload&ex=1&ctt=1#ai:MC900234649|
• Rosenbaum,S.(2010) Why Content Curation Is Here to Stay. Retrieved Oct. 27,2011 from http://mashable.com/2010/05/03/content-curation-creation/

Web 2.0 Resource for Science Class

 Robert Fritz comments that " The most important developments in civilization have come through creative process, but ironically, most people have not been taught to be creative".

   

I understand that Gen Z students are fond of creating things. They love to create because it gives them a sense of accomplishment and control. They produce wonderful things that we can't even imagine or expect from them.  I think that web 2.0 resources have the capability of unleashing the captivated imagination of all learners. 

As part of my new assignment when I had to look at variety of web 2.0 resources for my class, I found  Xtranormal (movie maker) very interesting. I had never used any movie maker earlier for assigning projects to my students. This tool is simple to use; who so ever can 'type' can create a movie using this movie maker. After one signs up, some virtual points are given to create and publish the movie. Later on if one wants to create any more, then there are charges, but I think the initial free virtual points are enough for couple of times. There are many features (such as number of characters, background, emotions, movement, angle of camera, voice and so on) which provide ample freedom to customize.

This tool can be used to assign small projects to the students where they can create short movies on different topics to express their understanding of the content. It can also be used to assess their knowledge. I think it will be more appealing to the students who are visual learners. It offers another option to them other than creating slides.  A rubric along with this movie making activity will help in directing the students as to how they have to use it to create effectively. 

I have created a short movie on 'asteroids' as an example so that the learners get a fair idea of what is expected from them.  

Asteroids
by: cter_2

References:
Morris,W. Creativity in Education (Feb.2006) Retrieved Oct. 13,2011 from http://www.jpb.com/creative/Creativity_in_Education.pdf 

What to Keep and What to Change

Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.

                                                                           -M.K.Gandhi

We all know that change is necessary for growth, yet some of us have a tendency to cling to old ways. Whether we like it or not, the scenario of future learning spaces is going to be very different from what it is today. In future, more and more learners will opt for online learning in order to let their learning fit in their busy schedules. Learning will be mobile, learner-centered and it will not end after school or college because life-long learning will be a need of everyone. The teachers will take on the role of a facilitator; they will no longer be an epitome of absolute knowledge. The vast amount of knowledge will be managed by curation. Moral ethics of using the information will also be very important and copyright issues will be hot (or should I say hotter) topic of debates. Personal Learning Networks and Connectivism will help in the enhancement of knowledge. Amongst the subjects, Science and Technology will share the platform along with Art and Music. Creativity in all the spheres will be of  utmost importance as it will ensure the job status of a person.

I think the the aspects of current environment that I'll prefer to keep will be learner-centered teaching, differentiated instruction, project-based learning, use of technology to enhance the understanding of contents and collaborative work (Finnish schools are a perfect example of collaborative work success). I understand that these aspects will be relevant in future also because they help in making the learning meaningful and applicable to real life.


Thinking of aspects that I wish to change regarding current environment are letting go of teacher role and  taking on the role of a facilitator. This would mean letting go of 'absolute control' and providing the 'scaffolding' to the learners so that they are able to perform to their maximum potential. Thus future education will transform the teachers into facilitators; learners will have more autonomy and room for creativity and educational institutions will still be a place of learning. The video given below depicts how we can teach for the future using digital technology and student centered learning.

References:
Rhonneiful (Aug.31,2009) Teaching Tomorrow Today, Preparing for the Future [video] Retrieved October 6,2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF2xT_PEL0M&feature=related