A few weeks ago I realized that I needed to create some structure to the over 900 people that I follow on twitter. I was losing track. Some tweets were no longer appearing in my feed as the most recent followees take precedence over older ones. I was losing contact with some truly innovative thinkers and and was becoming frustrated by the time it took to find their tweets. It was time to organize and create lists.
Going through the names and sites was interesting as followees are listed chronologically and reflect my interests at particular points in time. I had to look at each person or organization and decide where to list them. I ended up creating 16 different lists:
singularityu
aboriginal
assistive tech
finned
math/science
RSCON3
researchers
developers
media
industry
thinkers
AR
educators
interesting
Web 2.0 tools
edcampto
Minecraft
Class 62 (which is locked)
Real World Learning and began placing people where I thought they belonged. Some people I follow may appear on more than one list.
Creating these lists was time consuming, but has made my twitter life much easier. I can now click on a specific list and see the tweets of everyone on that list.
The skill that I used to categorize and create my lists is called curation. If you are not yet familiar with this term, you need to learn it. Curation skills are essential for survival in this world of fast information. (Steve Wheeler has just written a good explanation here: http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-collective.html )
Creating my twitter lists has caused me to reflect on how we organize information. I remember when there was only one way to do this - the Dewey Decimal System. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification In order to use libraries (the kind you walk into) you had to know this system. We were all taught it in school and used it to find books on specific topics, complete research projects and pursue our own interests.
What strikes me now about this practice is that the Dewey Decimal System was not just a method for organizing information, but a cultural reflection of our thinking. We all agreed that information would be organized in a specific way and then adhered unquestioningly to that system. While perhaps efficient, this method, is none-the-less very limiting. It limits the way we think about content and stifles creative connections.
Curation and the tools of curation allow greater flexibility and richness to our organizational choices. The beauty of curation is that each person is able to organize information in ways that are meaningful to him or her . The way I curate will be different from the way you curate. It is interesting then to examine people's choices. I've been visiting peoples' lists on twitter to see how they have chosen to organize their followees People's lists reflect their thinking and interests. They are cultural. Each is unique. It is as fascinating to see how someone curates as it is to see the actual content that is curated.
Rather than relying on predetermined categories, learners now have to think about how and why they are choosing to organize and connect information. Curation allows for deep thinking, creativity, meaningful organization, divergence and for connection of ideas that may not be obvious to everyone. We are developing complex personal systems. Our content ecosystems are exploding and we are all richer because of it.
Given the rich possibilities of curation, there is no point bemoaning the loss of Dewey Decimal skill. We must look forward and teach students the skills they require today to navigate and organize information effectively. It is incumbent upon educators to learn how to use the tools of curation.
Going through the names and sites was interesting as followees are listed chronologically and reflect my interests at particular points in time. I had to look at each person or organization and decide where to list them. I ended up creating 16 different lists:
singularityu
aboriginal
assistive tech
finned
math/science
RSCON3
researchers
developers
media
industry
thinkers
AR
educators
interesting
Web 2.0 tools
edcampto
Minecraft
Class 62 (which is locked)
Real World Learning and began placing people where I thought they belonged. Some people I follow may appear on more than one list.
Creating these lists was time consuming, but has made my twitter life much easier. I can now click on a specific list and see the tweets of everyone on that list.
The skill that I used to categorize and create my lists is called curation. If you are not yet familiar with this term, you need to learn it. Curation skills are essential for survival in this world of fast information. (Steve Wheeler has just written a good explanation here: http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-collective.html )
Creating my twitter lists has caused me to reflect on how we organize information. I remember when there was only one way to do this - the Dewey Decimal System. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification In order to use libraries (the kind you walk into) you had to know this system. We were all taught it in school and used it to find books on specific topics, complete research projects and pursue our own interests.
What strikes me now about this practice is that the Dewey Decimal System was not just a method for organizing information, but a cultural reflection of our thinking. We all agreed that information would be organized in a specific way and then adhered unquestioningly to that system. While perhaps efficient, this method, is none-the-less very limiting. It limits the way we think about content and stifles creative connections.
Curation and the tools of curation allow greater flexibility and richness to our organizational choices. The beauty of curation is that each person is able to organize information in ways that are meaningful to him or her . The way I curate will be different from the way you curate. It is interesting then to examine people's choices. I've been visiting peoples' lists on twitter to see how they have chosen to organize their followees People's lists reflect their thinking and interests. They are cultural. Each is unique. It is as fascinating to see how someone curates as it is to see the actual content that is curated.
Rather than relying on predetermined categories, learners now have to think about how and why they are choosing to organize and connect information. Curation allows for deep thinking, creativity, meaningful organization, divergence and for connection of ideas that may not be obvious to everyone. We are developing complex personal systems. Our content ecosystems are exploding and we are all richer because of it.
Given the rich possibilities of curation, there is no point bemoaning the loss of Dewey Decimal skill. We must look forward and teach students the skills they require today to navigate and organize information effectively. It is incumbent upon educators to learn how to use the tools of curation.
Excellent blog entry: "We are developing complex personal systems."...
ReplyDeleteMy question would be (just because I am a teacher and need another opinion): what age would you recommend for students to start curating at? Do you think 3rd grade (second-language learners) is too early?
Thank you Cristina. I would say that by grade 3 all students should have been introduced to curation. When I posed the question to Aviva Dunsinger (@grade1 on twitter) she thought the junior grades as well.
ReplyDeleteGiven the shift to personalized learning I would add that as soon as a child expresses frustration at being unable to find a site, it is time to begin teaching the skill.