Weekly Report & Reflection Post #3

Content curation is the act of collecting and presenting digital content for specific topics.  In my personal learning environment, I had included Feedly, my news aggregator, in my Curation Tools category.

With the plethora of information on the web, I’m not sure of how anyone can manage the wealth of information that would help them keep up-to-date with their topics of interest.  With the shift to digital information, content curation tools, whether it be Pinterest, Feedly, or ScoopIt is almost a necessity.  I believe it is important to use such tools especially in the workplace to keep abreast of what is happening in our professional fields.  But it is not all about consuming the information; it is important for us to be able to critically reflect, individually or collaboratively, on information in order to make sound judgments and/or implement change.

In my workplace, information is stored in many places depending on the department we belong to.  A lot of non-formal and informal learning takes place in my organization and I’m sure in all organizations.  Additionally, people begin to develop their personal learning networks.  Wouldn’t it be great if people would share their knowledge, experiences and best practices and curate it for others to tap into and explore?

Additionally, I believe that it is important for students to develop skills in content curation.  For example, there are many ways in which RSS feeds can be used in the classroom.  One example I can refer to is how our Professor has used a reader to create a collection of all our Weblogs.  Another example of how RSS feeds can be used is to keep students and educators up-to-date in their fields by using an aggregator to collect current news items or innovations in their fields.

Content curation has really changed the way in which we consume information on the web or even how we interact with information that can be made readily available on our mobile devices.  There are a multitude of benefits in using RSS feeds for both students and educators that range from passively consuming content, to collaborating with others in our personal learning networks (PLN’s), to influencing innovation in our fields and contributing towards our professional and personal fulfillment.  

News aggregators and other forms of content curation are essential for everyone today especially as lifelong learning has become the norm in any field.  The more we become self-directed in our learning, the more important it will become to develop a skill as content curators.

As digital citizens we have to be cautious and provide credit to other’s for their work.  Not everything on the Internet is credible and reliable.  And when we share our knowledge and experiences, we are looking to add value.