What’s Your Curation Strategy?

This activity helps students map their own curation practice. It is based on Beth Kanter’s curation framework Seek-Sense-Shareand is designed to run in a tutorial group of no larger than 30 students, in groups of 5-6 students.

Prior to Semester

1. Prepare A4 size handouts containing the following:

   • Student’s name: 

   • Name of Curation:

   • What is your curation strategy?

   • Divide the page into three columns:

2. Prepare a short introduction to curation using Beth Kanter’s work and http://www.slideshare.net/SM4nonprofits/beth-kanter-mindful-content-curation-social-media. Example of educational curation resources are Pinterest or Scoop.It and RMIT Research data curation

3. In your Blackboard site include any resources mentioned above or other content curation resources you may want to include.

In session (Time: 40 minutes)

4. Present a short introduction on content curation. Include some ways in which you curate content. For example, a Blackboard site is a form of content curation for a very specific purpose and audience

5. Explain that students will work in groups at their tables to map their own curation practice. Give each student a handout

6. Explain that you will follow the three phases as outlined on the paper. You will guide their mapping for each phase with questions. After each phase there will be time to share at the table

7. Now begin the Seek phase (5 mins writing, 5 mins sharing). Ask students to write in the Seek column:

   • Their topics of interest. These can be personal or study information.

   • Who are key experts in their topics? What are key communities or knowledge hubs?

   • Where do they find information on their topics?

   • Encourage them to list all channels, so Facebook is acceptable. List any sites or newsfeeds they subscribe to.

   • Which tools do they use to manage all these information streams?

8. After they have completed the Seek column, ask students to compare their findings with a person sitting next to them

9. Now move onto the Sense phase (5 mins writing, 5 mins sharing). Ask students to write in the Sense column:

   • Three resources they have found through curation that they consider very valuable. These can be anything from videos or articles to cartoons.

   • What made these resources so special?

   • How do they determine whether a resource will be of value for them? Immediate purpose? Popularity? Uniqueness?

   • How do they determine the validity of a resource? What are signals that tell them it is a trustworthy or valuable resource?

10. After they have completed the Sense column, ask students to compare their findings with a person sitting next to them on the other side.

    • Now move onto the last column, the Share phase (5 mins writing, 5 mins sharing). Ask students to write in the Share column:

    • Where do students collect links and resources they want to find or use again later? Which platforms do they use?

    • List the different collections they maintain

    • Are their collections closed off or public?

    • Who do they share their resources or collections with? Who is their audience? And how do they share? Facebook, Twitter, other?

    • During their study or for a project, how would they use a collection of curated content?

11. After they have completed the Share column, ask students to talk with all 5 or 6 people at the table about this last questions: 

    • During their study or for a project, how would they use a collection of curated content?

EXTENSION
This activity can double as an icebreaker, to get students to share information, resources and practices about themselves.

For a more in-depth version of this activity use the Social Curation Mapping Tool. This tool also contains a guide, so it can also be provided as a self-directed learning activity.

It is also possible to create an online version of this activity by setting up an online template of the handout in Google Docs including the instructions. Students can then create a copy and fill it out. These can be shared in small groups through forums for feedback and knowledge sharing.